Here I am taking pictures of autumn grasses again.  Can you guess why?  Because fortune has once again stopped my car!  Last time I was stuck in a traffic jam, this time I had a tire blowout on my way back from Japan Fest Altanta.  But I couldn't have had a nicer day for it!  I had pleasant friends along, some mochi for an impromptu picnic, beautiful weather, and speedy roadside assistance.  So here's a quick look at autumn in South Georgia. 

 

Speaking of fortune, fair or foul, I bought an omikuji (御神籤) at Japan Fest.  This is a slip of paper with your fortune on it that can usually be bought at shrines in Japan.  First you pay, then shake a container with bamboo strips each having numbers printed on them.  The bamboo you tip out will be matched with a fortune.  Mine was "Lesser Good Fortune" that included a warning against unnecessary travel...but I had to get home!    When you draw a bad fortune, it's customary to fold up the paper and tie it to a pine tree or, nowadays, a rack of wires located by the side of the shrine.  Supposedly, then your bad fortune will wait there and not go following you home.  I kept mine, though, since the remainder of the prophesy wasn't too bad.  (^_^) 

 

Here's the wire set up at Japan Fest...and a photo of similar fortunes tied to a tree in Nikko (from my trip back in May 2010).