Hope you are feeling better, Barry!

Actually, Merlin got it immediately, so maybe there’s some technique to learn heee. I downloaded the photo to the iPad, cropped it to focus just on the bird, and submitted that. It was Merlin’s number one choice, with four or five less probable alternatives.

Hey, Bartletts! Rachael and I have been absorbed in our own little soap opera for the last six weeks so we haven’t looked up much. I haven’t kept up or really followed much of your journal up to now but I’m just starting to actually read it rather than just browsing around randomly from time to time.

I just want to say that you’ve got a brilliant story here and I really look forward to following it along - through Kyushu in particular. Your writing particularly recently has brought back many memories and new insights into what we experienced in Japan almost 20 years ago, arguably the most interesting and exotic tour we took anywhere.

And one more thing. I’m reading this section with particular interest because it’s so similar to the second pass we kept talking about taking but never made happen. We had the route picked out though - we were going to take a month or so (we were still working then) and bike from Onomichi to Kagoshima: inland hop across the inland sea again, south along the west coast of Shikoku, ferry to Kyushu, and then north to the top: Beppu, Kunasaki, Usa, then angle southwest over the top and toward the coast: Aso, Unzen, Amakusa, Izumi, Kagoshima. Or maybe the other direction depending on whether we went in spring or fall: follow the Sakura north, or the autumn foliage south. Or something like that - I’ve probably got an old planning document archived somewhere if I could find it.

It will never happen now at this point of our lives, but I’m loving getting a look at the possibilities we never picked up on through your eyes and camera. Keep it up.

Ouch! Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Barry!

Hope he's feeling better soon!

This is reminiscent of what is taking place now, here in Santa Cruz, CA where parts of the 100 year old pier has collapsed and swept away in the Monterey Bay to the Pacific Ocean. Mother Nature Rules!

Scott Anderson could do this task! :)

This is the best way to make coffee! I do this every morning. One cup is enough to start and save my day! Verve Coffee Roasters in Santa Cruz started this trend and continues to serve it ONLY this way to everyone.

The leaves are so different! Very interesting and pretty; the yellow flowers aren’t so bad themselves, but the leaves are the real showstopper.

I'm really enjoying your diary. So many pictures, it's almost like being on tour with you both! Thanks for taking the time to share 😊

It has been a delight to dig around the internet and find nature IDs. Thanks for posting all the great pictures. Seems most cycle tourists do not notice nature, let alone make the effort to photograph, then post shots with limited time, limited energy and limited internet.

Great job!

Indeed, it is magical.

Thanks Bill.

It’s funny, not many bagels in Japan.

Sometimes internet searching for an image that seems to look like what is posted actually is better than computer programs that will likely get better sometime in the future.