Not Even Remotely Close (Wait, Does that Make Sense?) to Being under the Volcano

It looks like our volcano, Shinmoe Dake, won't be going away any time soon. But I guess volcanoes aren't exactly like the tap in the kitchen sink. Apparently they've evacuated everyone within a few kilometers of the volcano--probably less because of any fear of some kind of "Krakatoa, East of Java" event than the simple fact that the air isn't fit to breathe...

I mentioned in an earlier post that last weekend we had a nice load of volcanic ash dumped here in Miyazaki. I kinda thought at the time that that would be, more or less, the end of it. Wrong. Not washing my car (which, by the way, is so covered with bird shit and the usual scum that accumulates from driving around) last weekend is making me look more like a genius than the lazy fuck I actually am. Well, I did make sure my wife's car got washed... Maybe I don't care that much what my car looks like, which could point to deep-seated psychological... Oh, yeah, the volcano...

So, for a couple of days things were pretty "normal" here in Miyazaki. I think it was Wednesday that I began to notice a certain dusty tang in the air, a dustiness that's still here. It's nothing like the major dump last weekend. This is a very fine dust that doesn't bother the eyes (or, not mine anyway). You taste it in the air, a bit like when you walk into a place where they grind metal or something.

It was around Wednesday that I noticed everything outside looked different. I haven't heard anyone else comment about this, but a) there's a very fine layer of very fine grey dust all over everything outside; I imagine that it's accumulating, and b) there's a very fine cloud of dust floating in the air. Everything outside looks different to me.

It's the light. It's reflecting differently off surfaces and it's coming through a fine haze of dust. As I mentioned, it seems like I'm the only one who notices it. I really notice it. But then, I curse the light every time I take a picture... It still sucks, by the way...

Blast

It's night, so no pic, but the volcano just gave a huge blast that shook our condo here in Miyazaki.

More Volcano

A couple of cell phone pics I took from work last Thursday that maybe give a better sense of the scale of the ash cloud from Shinmoe Dake:

Here's what our car looked like this past Sunday morning:

And then around 8 this morning, after a bit of rumbling, the volcano gave out a little burp:

About 30 minutes later:

Volcano

Tonight on my way home from band practice (well, after the band practice beers) I noticed that dust was getting in my eyes. As I got near my place I could see that all the parked cars were covered with ash.

These volcanoes are good for a couple of days of laughs, I guess. But, like most things, they eventually become annoying.

On a Clear Day You Can See the Volcano

A volcano, Shinmoe Dake, which I think is about 60 kilometers from Miyazaki City, erupted yesterday. There doesn't seem to be much news about this in English, but there's some good info and cool footage here.

Things have been rumbling a bit around here the past couple days. There is no danger at all here in Miyazaki. I'd sure like to take a drive up that way this weekend though...

I took these from the top of my condo.