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Here is an interlude post about my trip to Okinawa. Next week, back to bonsai, where I hope to share some wonderful old bonsai on Honshu.

Last month the Bay Area Bonsai Associates held their 42nd annual exhibit at the Lake Merritt Garden Center in Oakland, California. The event featured an exhibit, sales area, and Saturday evening demonstration by Adam Toth.

Here’s one more rough Japanese Black Pine.
There hasn’t been much taper on these 3 pines. A large cut to a new leader is in order for this one as well.

Here’s another Japanese Black Pine with major choices ahead.

In bonsai, some styles announce themselves immediately. Cascades dramatise gravity, literati defy it, and formal uprights project an almost architectural authority. The twin trunk style—Sōkan in Japanese—does something very different. It speaks softly. Its power lies not in spectacle, but in relationship.

I like the Full-Moon maple, Acer japonicum, which is native to Japan and Korea. It is a similar to the widely popular Japanese maple, Acer palmatum, which is also native to Japan, Korea China and Russia. The Full-Moon maple has slightly larger leaves than the Japanese species. However, the main difference is in the leaf shape. Japanese maples have five, seven and rarely nine acutely long serrated leaf lobes which are often extend to the main petiole. While the Full-Moon maple has seven to 13 serrated leaf lobes which are not as long and look like a full moon shape with the shorter leaf lobes. In early spring the young foliage of Full-Moon maples have a white downy hair which is gone by the summer.

Last week we took a look at this leggy Black Pine.
The pine reminded me of a crane. Taking off with its long neck stretched out.

I usually aim to prune flowering quince such as boke, toyonishiki, or chojubai in fall after most of the leaves turn color and begin to fall off. In recent years, however, my garden has lacked the cold required to make this happen.

In the 1930’s engineer Walter Shewhart developed the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle of work. This inspired Taiichi Ohno in the late 1940’s with the idea of kaizen, a manufacturing mindset of continual, incremental improvements. It is credited with the success of Toyota. Now the concept is used in many businesses.

As we step into 2026, a new bonsai season awaits us. Winter has finally arrived, bringing below-freezing temperatures that play an essential role in the life cycle of our trees. This cold period helps them enter deep dormancy—a natural rest that ensures their health and vitality for the coming year.