December 21, 2017  Hello everyone. It has been awhile since my last entry here. A combination of the weather and preparing for Christmas year-end parties.  About three weeks ago, I got up at around 4 am in order to arrive at the top of Kusenbu Mt. in the predawn hours to take some pictures of the sunrise. From my home, it is about a 45 minute drive to the top of Kusenbu. I packed up my camera gear, a folding chair, and a warm blanket, (-1 degrees C up there) into the car and headed off.

When I got to the foot of the mountain, as is my habit, I placed my camera in the my lap and turned it on. I sometimes come upon animals that are mostly crepuscular, (active in the twilight hours) and I wanted to be ready.  As I rounded a curve about halfway up the mountain,  a hare was caught in the beams of the headlights. I was able to get a few shots off before it ran into the trees. A few curves later, I was lucky enough to see a weasel that posed for a few seconds before bounding off into the darkness. Just long enough to get the shot below. Due to the inadequate  light, and being taken through the windshield, they are a bit fuzzy, but I thought I would post them anyway. I added a few photos of a weasel at a river near my home hunting a few years back.

Please click on images for a larger view.

Japanese hare

Japanese weasel

weasel near Homan river

Hunting

 Images from the top of Kusenbu Mt.  One image  shows the Radar array on top Mt. Sefuri silhouetted by the moon. It is about 7 kilometers away as the crow flies. Both the Japan self-defense force, and the United States operate radar for tracking missiles and aircraft. They also monitor the radio transmissions of North Korea from here.

Venus

Illuminated jet trail

Rising from the mist

Taking timelapse

Radar-antenna array