Chabana with Sleeping Cat

Chabana: azalea and Japanese maple in Laura's new vase

In Nikko they say, "The sparrow is safe as long as the cat is asleep." In our house, it's the flowers.

Poetry Corner

Haiku is in the news today.

NPR's Morning Edition and AZCentral.com report that the Arizona Department of Transportation is tapping Twitter poets to compose haiku about sand storm safety.

To publicize the dangers of driving during the storms, sometimes called haboobs, the agency issued a challenge this week to its more than 14,000 Twitter followers: Write a haiku about safe driving amid blowing dust. http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2012/06/14/20120614arizona-dust-storm-safety-17-syllables-haiku-haboob.html#ixzz1xsWofZ3w

Visit AZCentral.com or Morning Edition to read selected poems, then tweet your own with #haboobhaikus.

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More Twitter-related poetry

Following tweet by Annette Makino @Ant99, my browser turned to Pune Juice, a quarterly online journal of senryu, kyoka and haiga. Submission deadlines and past publications are at http://prunejuice.wordpress.com/ or follow them at @prunejuicemag

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Distance Learning

We may whinge about our remoteness from centers of Japanese culture and tea ceremony education ("DIY Ryurei"), but we closed the gap a little bit with a video chat during our weekly practice.

Laura practices Chabako temae in Eureka, Calif., while
Melanie watches from her chashitsu near Seattle, Wash.

Harvey-sensei provides narration and instruction.

After dogu was presented for haiken, we turned the laptop
toward the guests so Melanie could watch them.

Video chat is not an ideal way to teach or learn the Tea Ceremony, but it helped facilitate a demonstration of procedures and the exchange of questions and answers afterward.

Next week: Kansas!