The science of cherry blossoms (3:00)

Explained artistically by the Washington Post.

Sharing Tea on a Beautiful Day

Last Sunday we offered a demonstration of Cha-no-yu on Eureka's Old Town Gazebo. What a glorious day it was! For several weeks we had been deluged with rain storm after rain storm, but the sun shone brightly on the weekend of our demonstration. There were even a few cherry blossoms left on the trees for us to enjoy.

Some blossoms remained on the Eureka Gazebo

Preparations for Chabako temae --
a tea ceremony to be enjoyed outdoors

Harvey-sensei performs Chabako temae for
Holly (center) and several guests; Pia is assisting Harvey.
Laura (not pictured) also assisted and took photos.

Harvey-sensei serves tea

Barry and Louisa Evans of the Arcata Zen Group joined us

Holly serves tea while Harvey answers questions

Several members of members of the Arcata Zen Group joined us and presented an information table. A gentleman is growing tea plants in his Eureka garden and wanted to learn more about tea culture and cultivation. Another gentleman who had just toured the visiting Lady Washington tallship bought a brick of tea on board, and brought it to show us and other guests. It looked just like this:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/BlackTeaBrick.jpg

Our gratitude is never-ending for the assistance of Laura and Pia and all of "Team Horai," who are vital to our mission and instrumental to our presentations. We also extend a special "thank you!" to Charlotte MacDonald of the Eureka Main Street organization for her assistance with organizing our demonstration. And most of all, we thank our warm and friendly guests, both old friends and new. Everyone who attended has our gratitude for making our demonstrations possible and creating connections by the sharing of tea.

Humboldt Ohanami

One of the best displays of sakura, cherry blossoms, in our little town is on the Old Town Gazebo here in Eureka, Calif.

Stand beneath them, crane your head upward, their soft pinkness embraced by the blue spring sky. Petals drift like snowflakes, covering the cobblestone sidewalk.

Later this month, on April 22, we will demonstrate Cha-no-yu here on the Gazebo. Look in our upcoming events for details. Perhaps there will be some cherry blossoms!

Tea Ceremony Demonstration and Ohanami

 

Blessed with perfect weather and beautiful cherry trees, we shared tea with about 15 people on Eureka's Gazebo in Old Town. Harvey-sensei performed Chabako-temae ("tea box" or "pic-nic box" procedure), and Laura, Holly and Pia assisted.

Our gratitude to Kay White who first suggested this idea, to Laura and Pia who are ever-stellar hanto, and to everyone who came to share a beautiful spring morning with us!

More photos here: http://cid-96599097726ee4d6.office.live.com/self.aspx/Public/CB%20Tea%2006.jpg#resId/96599097726EE4D6!897  (Thank you Jim and Kay!)

and here: https://picasaweb.google.com/selchiedubh/OhanamiChanoyuDemonstration?feat=content_notification (Thank you Laura!)

UPDATE APRIL 26, 2011

Published April 14, 2011 in the Times-Standard, our local
daily newspaper, http://www.times-standard.com/

Eureka Sakura Update, April 3

The Old Town Gazebo sakura are at their peak!

Tea Ceremony Demonstration and Possible Cherry Blossom Viewing

Our next demonstration of Japanese Tea Ceremony is April 10. Weather permitting, we're considering gathering on the Old Town Gazebo to appreciate the blooming cherry trees and enjoy some tea. (Unofficially, of course.)

Our usual meeting place is at the Ink People Center for the Arts, 517 3rd Street, Suite 36, Eureka, Calif. (on the 3rd floor, an elevator is available). The Gazebo is two blocks away, at 2nd and F streets. View map here. Interested? Start at the Ink People, we'll post signs to indicate where the gathering will take place.

Today's weather forecast does not include next Sunday's weather, but it looks as if weather will improve toward the weekend. I'm not entirely confident in the forecast, however, since this weekend's forecast was entirely wrong. Springtime weather in Eureka is anybody's guess, but that's part of the fun.

Eureka Sakura Report, March 22

Grotto and F streets, Henderson Center

Old Town Gazebo, 2nd and F streets

Eureka City Hall, 6th and L streets

Eureka Sakura Report

What is the saying, hope springs eternal? After more than a week of terrible news from Japan, we are ready for an eternally hopeful spring. Let's celebrate O-Higan!

Eureka's cherry trees greet the spring with freshly-opened flower buds. On my way home from work yesterday I took note of the status of several of my favorite trees:

Eureka Gazebo in Old Town, 2nd and F streets


Eureka City Hall, 6th & L


Henderson Center Pharmacy, F and Grotto streets


Umpqua Bank, Henderson Center, Grotto St. between E & F streets


Cherry Blossom Bakery, Henderson Center, E St.


           Residence, Lucas and Harrison streets -- status TBD

Our own cherry trees are not far behind. The Kanzan in the front yard didn't get pruned this year, but still has good form. It is a dark pink variety that blooms late. The Yoshino in the back yard is an early bloomer, its buds are ready to burst open.

Sakura icons are from the website http://hanami.walkerplus.com, which features a beautifully interactive sakura report. Total eye-candy.