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Otto's blog

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Carpenter Bee

May
5
thread
Carpenter Bee
Do you like The Carpenters? How about carpenter bees? I found this one pollinating my lime tree. I hope the chickens don`t eat it.

Vocabulary:
pollen = 花粉
pollinate = 受粉する
花粉症 (pollen allergy) = hayfever
#動物 #昆虫 #虫

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Spring on a Stick

May
4
thread
Spring on a Stick
Are you enjoying spring*? Do you have a spring** in your step? Well, I have a spring*** (& blue styrofoam) on a stick! But why...? What`s it for? The answer is in comments.

Hint: I made it for my kids to play with.

Vocabulary:
* 春
** 弾み
*** コイルばね

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What`s That For?

Apr
24
thread
What`s That For?
I`m currently teleworking, teaching students by Zoom. It`s very useful for teaching English. Have you used it? What for? Anyway, between classes, I made this. What is it? What`s it for?

I will put the answer in comments tomorrow night!

Vocabulary
- What... for? = 何のために / どうして

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Tiny Treasure

Apr
23
thread
Tiny Treasure
While my kids were playing in the park, I poked around a nearby mound of dirt & found some interesting items, including a tiny brown bottle.On one side it says キンカン (kinkan) & on the other side 金冠堂 (kinkandou). I looked online & found out that this is a brand of anti-itching, insect bite medicine, which is still sold today. I couldn`t find out exactly how old this bottle it is, but maybe about 70 years old.

Vocabulary:
find = 見つける
find out = 分かる, 探り当てる (?)

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Retro Stereo

Apr
17
thread
Retro Stereo
This stereo system belongs to my wife`s dad, but he stored it away ages ago & hasn`t used it since, so I thought I`d see if it still worked. Well, the record player & amplifier work, but the tape deck doesn`t work well. I`ll spray some of the points with contact cleaner spray & see if that fixes the problem.

Vocabulary:
- "see if..." = ...かどうか見る/調べる

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Fish Tank Cleaning Tool

Apr
13
thread
Fish Tank Cleaning Tool
I found this interesting item in a 100yen store (although it cost 200yen). It`s a 2-piece magnetic tool for cleaning the inside of a fish tank, so you don`t have to put your hand inside the tank. Pretty clever! And pretty effective, as you can see.

Vocabulary:
- fish tank = 水槽
- septic tank = 浄化槽
- 満タン = full tank
#動物

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Four-Leaf Clover Challenge!

Apr
10
thread
Four-Leaf Clover Challenge!
While out walking with* my son, I found a four-leaf clover. Lucky me! I took this photo with** my smartphone. Can you see the four-leaf clover? If not, check in comments - I marked it with** a pink line.

Vocabulary:
* with = と
** with = で, をもって

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Common Copper

Apr
9
thread
Common Copper
I`ve seen a couple of these small butterflies in the last couple of days. In English, it`s called a Common Copper*. It`s on a yellow rapeseed flower (菜の花).

* copper (Cu) = 銅

Vocabulary:
- 'A couple of ___s' = 2 or 3 ___s
#昆虫 #花 #虫

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Otto`s Blog`s 10th Anniversary

Apr
9
thread
Otto`s Blog`s 10th Anniversary
I started this blog 10 years ago, on the suggestion of Teragoya founder, Akemi. People told me, "A blog? You`re crazy!" & "It`s a lot of work!!" & "Nobody wants to hear about your geeky hobbies!!!" & "You`re gonna run out of ideas, get stress, catch swine flu & DIE!!!"

Okay, nobody said that. In fact, everyone was very supportive, and I`ve enjoyed not only blogging, but also picking up some useful computing, teaching, & language skills by doing it.

Please keep reading my blog ...for 10 more years? Maybe!

Grammar:
- People told me... OK
- People said... OK
- People said me... WRONG (People said to me... OK, but uncommon)
#ブログ

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Fly Away, Butterfly

Apr
8
thread
Fly Away, Butterfly
Last summer I found a chrysalis & kept it ...& kept it ...& kept it, all winter. I wondered if it was okay... Finally, this week a common swallowtail butterfly came out. After a while drying in the sun, it flew off. Bye bye, butterfly!

Vocabulary:
- birds, butterflies etc: fly off/away
- people, legged animals, etc.: run off/away
- fish, mermaids, etc.: swim off/away
#動物 #昆虫 #虫

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