Tiny things of exquisite beauty

This wooden bucket was a lucky find at the local thrift store.

Silently the buds

Wait and watch the bolder blooms

Loudly shout their joy

As you may or may not know, in my other existence I speak Japanese. Now some readers of this blog may cry…

“But you are obsessed with France!” and indeed they would be right.

I learnt Japanese at high school and went on to combine it with a Commerce degree at University. I learnt to love Japanese art and culture and have travelled there many times.

It is a world of incredible contrasts, crush trains and temples of calm stillness; extraordinary pristine landscapes and ulra-modern urban communities.

I have painted pottery in a mountain village unchanged for centuries and ridden on a roller coaster on top of a skyscraper in the centre of Tokyo; seen monkeys in the snow in magical Nikko and luxuriated in a hot water spring on a cliff side high in the mountains while the snow drifted down upon me.

So yes, I do love France for so many of the reasons I will continue to write about, but there is a part of me that loves Japan too. It also explains my love of Haiku. The Japanese attention to the beauty of small things is one of the aspects of Japan I particularly love. Tiny things of exquisite beauty.

Yesterday I found in a thrift store this Japanese ikebana vase. A few lilies and a couple of bits of geranium later it brightened up our kitchen. I do not possess a black belt in Ikebana, but I do love the vase which is fashioned in the shape of a traditional Japanese bucket with the wood treated to expose its wonderful grain.

In response to the beautiful prompt “In a Vase on Monday” hosted Rambling in the Garden whose floral photography will brighten up your day and to Ronovan Writes inspiring Haiku challenge. Do check them both out!