This past Sunday, we held the December Forestry Management Day. Using the momentum from the previous night’s year-end party, we worked hard at the task of trimming branches.

Lunch was delicious!!
Take a look at the smiling faces of the students in the title photo! Just after 9:00am we drank some coffee kindly donated by Matsuba-an which perked us up and saw us through the morning. Mitsuyo Matsumura! Thanks for always treating us to your delicious coffee!

The Kuniko Aihara Team took care of lunch this time around. We had rice balls, stewed salmon and vegetables, pork soup, and narae. They used the sake lees that Mr. Ominami’s wife got from her friend who works at a sake factory in Fushimi, Kyoto in the pork soup. It gave the soup a very rich texture. Delicious!

Take a good look at this picture! Kuniko’s big smile seems to say, “It looks like I’ve outdone myself with lunch this time!”

Compared to her, the guys sitting on either side seem so stiff! Ha ha!

And now, a portrait of the Kuniko Cooking Team.

And now,
Wooo!
I have a new member to introduce to you.
Mr. Yamane, who works for a major company in Tokyo… (actually, it’s Narita, Chiba to be precise). He tells me he’s retiring in two years and planning to move from Narita to Kamiyama. He said that he really wants to participate in our Forestry Management once he moves here. By all means!!!

Now finally, I would like to introduce another master of the woods, Mr. Takeichi Fujimoto. I took this picture with a zoom lens, but in fact Mr. Fujimoto is standing ten metres off the ground.
Amazing!

Hinoki branches are very hard, so he uses a chainsaw. Using a chainsaw at such a height – incredible. I watched from below, eyes wide in wonder.

It was as if he was lit up from behind. OK, actually he kind of was. (ha ha)

Lastly, a few reflections on the day. The words of Einstein: “Body and mind are not two different things. They are the same thing experienced in two different ways.” (translator’s note: I couldn’t find a reference for this quote so I’ve just translated what Nikolai wrote. If anyone finds the actual quote in English, could they let me know? )

The “joy of the mind” could also be the “joy of the body”… a ha ha. I pulled too hard on the saw and hurt my arm… This month’s session was another experienced to the fullest. (ha ha)

Next month’s forestry management day will be held on January 25 (the fourth Sunday.)