Among the seemingly infinite variety of objects in the gardens behind the Nishimura Stone Lanterns stone-carving workshop in the mountains of north-east Kyoto, Japan, I was particularly taken with the curved pieces. And of these, there was quite a variety, including water basins, pedestal tops, lantern-top adornments, and sloping roofs like the one in the photo above.

The roof of this piece looks thin and delicate, but the original block of stone it was made from must have necessarily been thick and substantial, only to surrender most of its mass to the carver's chisel. The bulk of that original block [...]

Well, my previous stone-related "What am I?" quiz was apparently too difficult for everyone, so here's a softy....

I found this stone lantern among the hundreds of odd-shaped and beautiful stone carvings in the gardens behind the Nishimura Stone Lanterns workshop. Those familiar with the Star Wars™ world (or with the vast array of Star Wars™ toys their kids might leave underfoot) will likely find that these photos call to mind the Imperial Star Destroyers from the original movies.... especially after I write "Imperial Star Destroyer" several times. 🙂

I would assume that this was carved before any of the [...]

Goodness, that sounds morbid, but I mean it to be witty. (Note to self: if you have to explain that you're being witty, you're not.)

Walking by the shared garden area of my condo today, I was impressed that there are still quite a few colorful leaves left on the tree, and with the lateness of the season and the inevitable march toward winter, the Darwin thought came to mind.

My first thought was to take a picture of a dried, curled leaf surrounded by vibrant colorful ones...

It was difficult getting a good angle because I was limited in [...]

The answer to the Stone Puzzle "What am I?" Quiz is "lamp". It's made of simulated faux stone (that is, real carved stone) with a lamp and sensor inside.

It's in the garden behind the Nishimura Stone-Carving Workshop in north-east Kyoto, Japan, and was visible in the "Gazebo" photo on that post.

In my previous post, "Changing Lenses", I showed a picture of a friend in front of a serious splash of fall colors. The leaves were so low in the view because we were at the top of a set of stairs. From the bottom of the stairs, looking up, the view was the impressive canopy seen above.

The view was pretty impressive from most everywhere...

In the background of the center of the shot above, you can just barely make out bits of the namesake for my "Gate of Disrepair" post.

The shrine area itself is fairly small, but picturesque...