When I was at the Giouji Temple (祇王寺) the other day (intro - gates and walls), I overheard a taxi driver tell his customers that there were 18 different types of moss at the temple. I believe it, and they seemed to be mixed and matched all over.

They had a little display showing the types of moss to be found on the grounds. The names are in Japanese (and seem to be native Japanese, rather than phonetic representations of the Latin names).

We awoke this morning to find Anthony was playing with his cars, which, as normal, means lining them up in some neat arrangement. I'm not quite sure what little imaginary world he'd built for himself, but understood that it had something to do with an airport.

He's been lining things up since before he could walk, and for the last four years, he's loved lining up cars, either caravan style or parked neatly. The scene above was one he made today, but he could have made it just as well three years ago or any time in between. I feature [...]

Continuing with shots from my visit to Giouji Temple (祇 王寺) the other day, and following on from yesterday's description of the wall construction at the temple, this leaf on top of one of the walls is something I noticed on the way out.

It seems so peaceful.

I've provided links to various desktop background sizes (for both standard and widescreen desktops) for your enjoyment.

In the post yesterday about my trip to Giouji Temple (祇王寺) in western Kyoto, I commented about the formal entry gate (seen in the background of the second photo on that post). The picture above is the view of the gate while looking over the little door in the front wall.

The formal entry gate, having no doors to be closed or locked, seems to serve no practical function whatsoever. It just looks nice. Well, I guess on a rainy day it might provide some protection, but that's about it. It just looks nice.

You can see above how thick [...]