Road Runner Times Two

David, Dawn and Mochi are off for a few days, and once they're back, we leave for Italy! So now's the time for all the last-minute to-dos and the final round of packing. Luckily, after so much packing and moving around over the past year or so, we've gotten pretty good at it--which means a lot less stress this time around.

Ira's Bonsai Work: Road Runner

With David away, it was time to get work done on Ira's personal tree. For context, here is what it looked like after it's last full working in September 2023. At that time he was trying to keep a reasonable shape while developing the structure of the main branches.

Road Runner September 2023

In August 2025, you can see how much it had grown, a big green "beach ball" of foliage. Now that it's healthy and strong, it's time for a little refinement. Starting with cleaning up the soil. 

Road Runner in early August

There was still some native soil that needed to be removed, and Ira wanted to expose more of the roots near the live section of the tree. He also re-did all the tie-downs that anchored the tree to the slab.

Soil before the work

Ira carefully teased out the surface and removed parts that were no longer necessary. When a collected tree is first potted, a portion of the root mass is left untouched to help it survive. But now that the Road Runner has fully recovered, the goal has shifted toward aesthetics--revealing more of the roots and the stone slab beneath.

Soil after the work

You can see much more of the slab and the exposed roots--both desirable features in this case. It was a major operation, so Ira let the tree recover over the summer. Now it's October and the tree has bounced back, it's time for the next phase of work.

With junipers, the beauty lies in the interplay between the live and dead sections. The first step is to clearly delineate the two. For the live section, Ira uses a dull gouge and various grits of sandpaper, cleaning until just a thin layer of red remains.

For the deadwood, he'll apply lime sulfur to whiten and preserve it. The final step will be wiring out the foliage--shaping the branches to emphasize age and movement. The goal this time is to make the tree appear older, which often means creating more deadwood and reducing foliage.

We've spent so much time in national parks looking at ancient trees--weathered, twisted, and full of character--and that's exactly the look Ira's going for here.  

Road Runner After

And if you're wondering why Ira named his bonsai Road Runner, this classic reference might help:

Road-Runner and Wile E Coyote

Shoe update

The new shoes and insoles have been a success--no more pain while walking! As long as I keep up with my stretches and exercises, I can loosen up the morning stiffness and stay pain-free. 

Before leaving the U.S. I decided to visit another Road Runner, that is, Road Runner Sports store (how fitting!) to get a winter pair--something that will get me through to spring. 

Big Box Store

The store is enormous: apparel to the left, shoes to the right. and shoe analysis stations in the center. When you enter, a staff member greets you, determines what you're looking for and then pairs you with someone who can help.

We skipped the foot analysis this time--since we'd done it recently--and went straight to David, who brought out three pairs of shoes suitable for colder, wetter weather. I tried them all while he explained the differences.

Of course, Ira couldn't resist trying the same three pairs (in men's, naturally). 

Midway through I noticed that David was wearing one blue shoe and one black--perfectly coordinated with his outfit! When I asked how many shoes he owned, he laughed and said, "Too many...probably around 80." Eighty pairs! Definitely the right person to help us pick. 

In the end, I went with Hokas, and Ira chose Brooks. Both pairs are packed and ready for Italy--we'll see how they handle the wet stone walkways.

Book Corner

I finished A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman--a story about a grumpy but lovable Swedish widower. It started a bit slow, but once it hooked me, I couldn't put it down. Ira can confirm: I laughed, I cried, and I was genuinely sad when it ended. I love books that do that.

It turns out the novel has been made into two movies--a 2015 Swedish version and a 2022 Hollywood remake starring Tom Hanks, titled A Man Called Otto. We watched the Tom Hanks version, which was quite good--a few cultural tweaks, but still heartfelt and true to the spirit of the book. Once we get to Italy, I plan to track down the original Swedish version. I'll  keep you posted.

A Man Called Otto

A dopo!