Happy New Year!  2018 was a very busy, and very difficult year for me.  I changed jobs, focused my free time on establishing myself as a photographer, and when I had the time, which was not nearly as often as I’d have liked, I’d contribute here.  At’s been crazy, but I wouldn’t change any of it.  When it does get to be too much though, there is one place I often go to relax, enjoy some nature, chase some birds, and use my camera for my own fun.  My favorite place to shoot is Izumi Forest, a short walk from Yamato Station in Yamato, Kanagawa, Japan.  This huge collection of parks has flower gardens, a forest, a river, a large pond, and even a folk museum consisting of two old farm houses and an old water wheel.  Whatever outdoors activities you enjoy, Izumi Forest and the other parks around it will have something for you.  For me, I spend most of my time at the pond or along the river, because the area is full of waterfowl.  I’ve taken so many shots of ducks, cranes, herons, and other water birds that I don’t know what to do with them all.  And I’ll probably end up shooting a lot more photos of those same ducks.  It’s relaxing and it keeps me sane when everything else is going crazy.

So here is a collection of my favorite shots of the birds in Izumi Forest.

With all that Izumi forest has to offer, and considering it is only a ten minute walk from Yamato station, it is a great place to spend a day relaxing.  If you ever find yourself in the area, with some time to kill, it is definitely worth a look.

Going into 2019, I think I’ll be posting more of these short blog updates so I can be better about keeping up my half of the blog.  I’ll still sometimes do the longer stories on historic places like my co-blogger here, but expect to see more photo collections of whatever I’ve been shooting.

Have a great 2019!

This Kawasaki P-1 is circling to land at Naval Air Station Atsugi. Izumi Forest is located just north of the Atsugi runway,so you can also get shots of great metal birds.