After Opening Reflections

My my my, it's been a while, hasn't it my friends? Tsuru speaking here. I woke up to the peaceful sound of birds chirping and the wind blowing softly through the leaves this morning, how different it is from the week before the last in human time. The regular humans still come around to work on the island, but newer ones have arrived as well. They like to sit in the shades on log-like things they call benches and watch the stillness of our small solitude.

Instead of "babbling" about it, as Kame puts it, I'll let the video, uploaded by the humans, tell you the story.
http://youtu.be/K74tFXpTQXQ

(Hush Kame! I'm not jealous >.> You were easier for people to see, they had to find me.)

YouTube Channel

We are proud to announce that the official Tsuru Island YouTube channel has now been launched.

Check out our progress over the last couple years here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwOBsjbLQjk&feature=autoshare

Take a visual tour of the Gresham Japanese Garden here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ldKWXl0sGw

Please continue to support us! The Gresham Japanese Garden is opening on June 28th. Please come by for the festivities and fun!

Spring Update

These past few weeks have just flown by so quickly! Spring has come and the turning of the season brings a lot of changes. Tsuru Island will be having a grand re-opening on June 28th alongside the annual Japanese Skosh festival.

Feel free to come by join the festivities. Attached below are some pictures from the last couple weeks. Please keep an eye out for our promotional video! (coming soon)

Of Moss and Green Things

Yesterday was quite a chilly day. The sun shone brightly above us, so it was not too bad.

Off the island:
Kame was still snoozing in the morning when vicious scraping sounds startled him awake. Voices of humans could be heard from the area off the island, a place the humans call "The Nursery". I was sleepy so I ignored the noise and tucked my head back into my wing. Surprisingly, Kame did just the opposite, he stretched out his sleepiness and contented himself to watch the area beyond the island's trees.

When I had woken up a little while later, Kame told me what the ruckus had been about. A few of the humans were re-potting roses and had been shoveling soil into larger pots.

I was surprised that Kame, who's been complaining all this time about my interest in humans, was actually paying attention to the going on of events off the island. He's is so strange sometimes. (Just admit you're happy with the island's change, won't you? They are doing a fine job for humans!) The obnoxious scraping sounds from earlier were actually the moss harvesters. There are many ways of safely and quietly removing moss as to not disturb the peace but these humans certainly did not know them. They used flat shovels and scraped the ground (resulting in those loud unpleasant sounds), placing them in single flat layers.

Though it was cold and difficult work, the humans managed smiling faces. Kame claims that he heard their laughter from all the way inside the island itself. I thinking he's bluffing. (Ow! What was that for?)

On the island:

A man dressed in red was busy creating a bridge across the dry stream bed. Kame (yet again) was complaining that the sound of construction was giving him a headache. I wonder if stone turtles actually get headaches or not, after all, his skull is too thick for anything to penetrate.

A little bit later on, the moss gatherers also came onto the main part of the island. They planted the greens in a circular pattern around trees, a move that brought even more color to our humble abode.

Well, that is it for my report this time. Many events have happened to us in the last few months, but most notable is the change. Kame and I are bored here most days, so feel free to come visit us. He's such a grouch, but I promise he's only complaining for the sake of it.

A New Year, A Cold and Bright Beginning

So much for my winter hibernation! Kame and I were quite rudely awakened by shovels on the wet soil and the sound of machinery at work.

Kame (The Turtle) rocks

Tsuru (The Crane) rocks - back center

Those humans were at it again today, digging holes and placing boulders into them. The adults each took a shovel and created some holes about the same size as the boulders, then discussed which ones were suitable for which hole. Those humans humans encountered some root problems in the process, which amused Kame and I to no end. Unfortunately for us, that didn't last long. The roots were cut off with strong hits from the shovels. Oh well.

They also planted some moss by the maple at the front, fern around their "stream" and dug a good sized hole for a pine. Kame scoffed when a human stood in place posing as the pine while an older human walked around examining her. There was a lot of work done even though it was chilly.

Rock sorting

Moss to be planted

View from the back of Tsuru Island

On A Breezy Day

A few weeks ago, on Saturday (November 22nd according to the human calendar), it was quite breezy. Alright, because I'm made from stone it was, but to the humans, the wind was strong enough to make one lose balance. Despite all this, there were still 6 young humans from that place called Reynolds High School, two of which were complete newcomers. It was a different day, for they worked passed their usual time and even brought coffee here.

Work wise, the humans planted some dwarf rhododendrons near the middle of the garden. They also planted some grass-like plants near Kame and I. (He's been sneezing nonstop since then, complaining about his allergies. Do turtles really have allergies to grass though?) I don't mind, at least it's going to keep me a bit warmer when the weather turns cold.

The azalea cuttings that were in the garden were taken care of well and transferred into larger plastic pots when they weren't sufficient enough to support the plants. Some of those were planted into the island itself. The plants in the garden, especially the pines, have also been pruned and shaped for winter. (Again, Kame has been making a fuss about how much it smells around here. Personally, I like that piney scent hovering lightly over the garden. He's such a pest sometimes.)

Talking about pests, the resident beavers have been downing more trees from the garden for their dam. Luckily, the trees are growing well. One of the trees is big enough that two weeks hasn't been enough time for them to down it and drag it away.

The humans have also moved some of the specimen trees from the barn house area behind the garden into the island. I hear that the trees will be here permanently (provided that those beavers don't take those as well).

That's all for my report, the last couple weeks have been quite cold and frosty. I think it's in my best interest to hibernate for a little while more. (No, I'm not a bear Kame!)

The Past Couple Weeks

The weather has been quite chilly the last couple of weeks. Just today, a cold rain fell upon our island, covering everything in a moist layer. On one of the better days, the red maples on the island sang with the brilliance of fire.

The replicated stream that the humans were working on a few weeks ago underwent some reconstruction. A few of the boulders in the presentation area were re-positioned to make more flat area. Some timbers were also brought onto the island. These will be used to create the foundations to the two small bridges that will go over the stream.
The humans also cultivated the soil by mixing in compost with the soil already on the island to create amended texture. Kame was slightly amused as the humans mixed it in by hand and not by the tools they usually use.
I overheard the leader of the humans saying that three younger humans will be building the new bridge. These young humans were representing Ace Academy. According to their conversation, they were from Reynolds and Springwater High Schools. Kame is chuckling in his corner by the stream about my obsession with these humans. I ought to give him a piece of my wing.