{"id":2078,"date":"2015-07-23T16:05:09","date_gmt":"2015-07-23T07:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/?p=2078"},"modified":"2015-07-23T22:00:09","modified_gmt":"2015-07-23T13:00:09","slug":"rainbow-rocks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/2015\/07\/23\/rainbow-rocks\/","title":{"rendered":"Rainbow rocks"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"150720_oyarei_blue_3_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Because the sky is blue . . . it makes me cry.<\/em><\/p>\n

Because the sky is blue — aaaaaaaahhh.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"150720_oyarei_blue_sky_embryo_clouds_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I was pretty much doomed the moment we\u00a0stepped out\u00a0from the woods\u00a0and got our first big view of those white\u00a0clouds in the blue, blue sky. The clouds were just breaking up, “splitting,” and it was not hard to see an embryo taking shape.<\/p>\n

This was Oyarei Kuzure,\u00a0or the Oyarei “Landslide” Slope. In 1707, an earthquake caused the side of Mt.\u00a0Oyarei to crumble, and the result is a steep, rocky, gravelly\u00a0climb\u00a0 up to the ridge that leads to the top of the mountain.<\/p>\n

\"150720_oyarei_climbing_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Steeper than any climb in the Umegashima area—I think.\u00a0 Or at least it felt that way to some of us.<\/p>\n

The camera in my hand made everything worse.<\/p>\n

You know, because you see those clouds splitting up and you’re amazed. You’re amazed and have to take\u00a0a picture. But every moment is different. Every moment fascinates. And it’s the only moment you’re in right then<\/em>. You take another picture, and another and another—and then your eyes are\u00a0zooming into\u00a0that high\u00a0focus that makes something in your feet buzz—and you are looking at everything <\/em>and wondering how everything got to be so\u00a0goshdarned beautiful.<\/p>\n

Then one of your fellow hearty hikers really, severely,\u00a0messes you up. She shouts out, “A rainbow rock!”\u00a0 And she shows<\/em> it to you. Puts it right there in front of your revved-up eyes.<\/p>\n

Yes, now you\u00a0truly and absolutely are<\/em> doomed. Now you’ve got\u00a0to find your own rainbow rock.<\/p>\n

Okay, so now\u00a0you’ve got sky above you and rainbows below you. This is sensory overload if ever there was sensory overload.<\/p>\n

\"150720_rainbow_rock_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When you do find your very own rainbow rock, you naturally start thinking that you might want to hang it on your wall. Actually, you tell<\/em> everyone that.<\/p>\n

I\u00a0think I’ll\u00a0hang this on my wall, you say.<\/p>\n

Hey, you’re with good people. There’s nothing to worry about. None of them think you’re crazy. After all, you’ve brought them here.<\/p>\n

Or maybe they do <\/em>think you’re crazy—but\u00a0even so\u00a0you’ve got nothing to fear. They’re feeling a bit “out of the normal” themselves.<\/p>\n

\"150720_rainbow_rock_abstract_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ah, but don’t forget that sky. Yeah, look back up\u00a0 toward the ridge—at that unbelievable blue.<\/p>\n

\"150720_happy_hat_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And don’t forget to stop and admire the view back toward the ocean. That view is\u00a0needing your attention, too.<\/p>\n

\"150720_oyarei_vista_3_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Has there ever been a day better than this?<\/p>\n

So the magic’s begun—and it won’t stop for a long time. How lucky you are!<\/p>\n

Creatures begin to appear.<\/p>\n

\"150720_sideways_elephant_tree_b_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And up up you go.<\/p>\n

\"150720_oyarei_blue_2_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sunlight on flowers\u00a0wow-wow-wows you.<\/p>\n

\"150720_purple_bell_flower_sun_450\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0And up, up, up you go.<\/p>\n

\"150720_oyarei_blue_4_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Whether you’re knees are hurting or not, the buzz prevails. You’re hovering<\/em> in the blue.<\/p>\n

\"150720_purple_bell_flower_bee_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And then you’ve passed over the ridge (Shinkubo), and slipped into the woods. Just below the ridge, on the shaded side, you work your way up to the top of Oyarei. The sun tries to find you.<\/p>\n

\"150720_under_the_ridge_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The iwagami<\/em> (“rock mirror” plants) are not blooming now, but the sun has decided they are glorious just the same. It somehow finds a path through the trees and\u00a0alights upon\u00a0them.<\/p>\n

\"150720_iwakagami_leaves_450\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ah, so, so much to see!<\/p>\n

And\u00a0you will not be content until you can see, really see<\/em>, everything.<\/p>\n

\"150720_prickly_red_buds_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Everything.<\/p>\n

\"150720_wild_dandelion_450\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And some things just look so nice together.<\/p>\n

\"150720_yellow_white_flowers_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Don’t you think?<\/p>\n

\"150720_yotsubahiyodori_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I do.<\/p>\n

\"150720_Shimotsukeso_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By the way, these pinkish little guys are called shimotsukeso<\/em>. Just in case you wanted to know.<\/p>\n

\"150720_birch_abstract_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Then you’re atop Oyarei, among the birches, having lunch, verifying for yourself that nature can indeed be quite the\u00a0intriguing painter.<\/p>\n

Ah, yes, eventually the mist is going to roll in. It does nearly every afternoon.<\/p>\n

\"150720_gas_beginning_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But it’s been damn hot and you’re grateful for the cover, and\u00a0now you’re back in the land of rainbow rocks, so your descent is quite the pleasant one. (Slip and slide a bit in the\u00a0loose rock\u00a0and your knees will thank you.)<\/p>\n

And\u00a0it won’t matter that you don’t find\u00a0a better rainbow rock than the one you’ve already pocketed, because\u00a0you’ll be discovering how interesting it can be to look at any<\/em> rock—at least, at any rock that has flown from the innards of a mountain during an earthquake . . .<\/p>\n

\"150720_oyarei_rock_1_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

. . . and it will tickle you to death that you can just walk along and look and look\u00a0and look at\u00a0a bunch of rocks and be so happy . . . and yes, crazy or not, you might\u00a0start to consider . . .<\/p>\n

\"150720_rock_abstract_1b_450\"<\/a><\/p>\n

. . . hanging more\u00a0of them on your walls.<\/p>\n

\"150720_rock_abstract_2_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hey, you might even use them to make<\/em> your walls!<\/p>\n

Almost down, back into the woods, everything is so distinct.<\/p>\n

\"150720_mushroom_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

And you wonder why you didn’t notice that rough old cowboy on the way up.<\/p>\n

\"150720_green_berry_b_450\"<\/a>Well, I can tell you why: You weren’t buzzing quite enough way back\u00a0then. Your eyes had\u00a0not yet shifted\u00a0into their mega-gear focus. Go ahead, wave at him. Tip your cap. Tell him he needs a shave.<\/p>\n

And if (if, <\/em>mind you)—if<\/em> you thought you had found your very own personal Rosetta Stone, who<\/em>, I ask, who <\/em>could possibly tell you that you had not?<\/p>\n

\"150720_rosetta_stone_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Don’t worry. You’re not ever going to forget the blue.<\/p>\n

\"150720_oyarei_blue_5_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Or at least, you’re not going to forget the buzz it got going.<\/p>\n

And no, no, this is not all some opium-induced lunacy. I’m a boringly sober guy.\u00a0(And anyway, lunacy<\/em> is something that comes from the moon<\/em>. I was out in the sun<\/em>.)<\/p>\n

The simple fact is I did<\/em> climb the mountain with my hearty hiking\u00a0buddies and\u00a0I\u00a0did<\/em> see the things I’ve talked about above.\u00a0All four of\u00a0the other hearty hikers\u00a0can testisfy to my presence\u00a0on the\u00a0Landslide Slope\u00a0and<\/em> to the glimmer in my eyes.<\/p>\n

\"150720_steve_oyarei_400\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Really, no joke, I was there. See.<\/p>\n

\"150720_oyarei_sky_with<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Because the sky is blue . . . it makes me cry. Because the sky is blue — aaaaaaaahhh. I was pretty much doomed the moment we\u00a0stepped out\u00a0from the woods\u00a0and got our first big view of those white\u00a0clouds in the blue, blue sky. The clouds were just breaking up, “splitting,” and it was not hard … Continue reading Rainbow rocks<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2078","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2078","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2078"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2078\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2124,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2078\/revisions\/2124"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2078"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2078"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2078"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}