Empty Rooms Available

Coming home from an errand, I looked up at the light at the front door. I forgot to turn it off this morning, but I was given a great surprise by all the hives in the crevice... @-@ There are at least 7 in there, and there are traces of an old one. Thankfully, they are all inactive now...

There were 2 active hives on our property a few weeks ago: one on one of our trees, and one on a corner of an eave. They have since been removed, but it makes me wonder why our house is so popular with bees/wasps. I think it might be because our next door neighbour's backyard is an unkempt field overgrown with blackberry plants, weeds, and other plant varieties that may produce attractive flowers.

There is a horizontal gap in the fence separating our backyard from theirs, and I saw a mouse running along the gap once.

Yesterday was a very good day. While on my way to a volunteer shift, my supervisor called me to ask if I would be interested in a position with more responsibility. Considering that I only started volunteering there 2 months ago, I felt very honoured that I was given this opportunity. I felt proud of myself, too! I am looking forward to starting my first shift. I think it will be a wonderful learning opportunity, and also a lot fun!

Also, last night was a clear night that allowed a "good" view of the stars. The moon was VERY bright, almost to the point of needing to wear sunglasses to look directly at it. Here in the city, it's hard to get a good view of the stars. Under the best conditions, one can only see a few here and there. There are many blippers that have posted breathtaking photographs of night skies filled with bright, twinkling stars. One of my goals is to develop my photography skills so that one day, when I travel to a place where I can see such an extraordinary scene, I will be able to capture it.

Extra Photo:

I went to a bookstore today and saw this musical ornament. I turned the pin, expecting to hear an ordinary classical song used for music boxes, such as Swan Lake, or Waltz of the Flowers from The Nutcracker (which I love), but I would never have guessed that the song would be Always With Me, from the (amazing) Japanese animated movie "Spirited Away". I love the movies animated by Studio Ghibli. "Spirited Away" is one of my favourite ones; other ones include "Castle in the Sky" and "Howl's Moving Castle". No matter the movie, though, I ALWAYS love the soundtrack. Joe Hisaishi has composed the music for many of the films, but there were other composers as well. The music always matches the films so well, and I love that it can evoke such poignant emotions.

A few months ago, I watched the film "The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness". It is a documentary that details primarily the production of the film "The Wind Rises" and its director, Hayao Miyazaki, as he worked on the film. I quite enjoyed watching it. It was a gentle and quiet film, yet there were moments filled with tension as well. I liked learning about the process of producing an animated film, and it was interesting to hear Mr. Miyazaki's thoughts about life.

*This was quite a long post... If you've read to the end, thank you for persevering. :)