You are gentle enough to give a warm glance at Mei-Shun when she coughs on your shoulders, looks like saying “are you all right?” Thanks a million. She replaced Exodus Wizard with you: he is not a bad boy, yet would not give a good lesson — even if he makes a barometer to show a rider his/her current level of technique. Oh, regarding lessons, Mei-Shun drives Ms. Scarlet to everywhere including the club to get used to her.
Mei-Shun feels happy since our hagi or bush clover keeps round, lovely leaves this year. Including gingko in the backyard, yellow dominates our garden in early winter. The latter changed his clothes from green to current color of ripe banana via pale gold. Fallen leaves are collected to dry perfectly, hoped to work as good-looking nutrition for the real banana pot.
Already in winter, we can still enjoy breath-taking maple foliage in Tsukuba Botanical Garden. It is interesting that color of leaves looks a bit different depending on viewpoints: when we see it from a distance, orange is reinforced while red occupies our sight when we stand by a trunk to look up. If they keep green and yellow leaves, we feel like staying in a rainbow.
It is for Mei-Shun, or her favorite play along with petal catching in spring. Since Mr. Gingko in our backyard started to change clothes, lovely yellow fragments fall on the floor of eastern balcony every day. When they are dry, it would be very easy to choose clean ones to keep. On the other hand, she has to wait for a while before discarding brown ones to collect wet beauties on read newspaper.
Tsukuba Botanical Garden accommodates a lot of attractive plants. Your eyes would be drawn toward a beautiful guard just after one step into this institute. Well, let’s stop gazing at it, or you cannot go beyond the front gate. Walking between mammoth sequoias, a greenhouse to grow Savanna plants appears soon. Mei-Shun loves these white cacti while Shin Lithops or living stones.
Our backyard gingko finally began to turn yellow. He is the last to do so, that means autumn is leaving soon: temperature in early mornings has already sunk under 3 degrees Celsius. Mr. Aladdin has asked Mei-Shun to replenish his stomach for a few times. Now, blown by gale after gale of winter, she receives another occupation to pick up fallen leaves in balcony.
Mei-Shun’s first workplace in Shinagawa accommodated splendid view from a wide window facing the sea under an expressway bridge, where rainbow often saw us rejoice its perfect color and shape. A national research institute has many lovely trees including her favorite 山櫻=yama-sakura, a wild cherry. And her current office at home enjoys Christmas cactus in a big pot of Shin’s grandfather this year.
Dr. K kindly sent a box of beautiful 富有柿 to Mei-Shun the other day. She was very happy while a bit surprised, e-mailed him to show her appreciation. He immediately replied that above persimmons are from his birthplace 岐阜. His remote relatives living there own an orchid, began to enclose these beautiful leaves and a leaflet in fruit boxes following his wife’s advice.
Which would you like, tea or coffee along with marvelous desserts in dry and warm air, both indoors and outdoors? Mei-Shun’s favorite café around here in Ibaraki Prefecture gives you perfect satisfaction. Since the friendly owner is a flower lover, you can enjoy autumn roses both planted and in vases right now. Following strawberry-colored cup was served by another in different occupation, yet they nicely share hospitality.
It might be one of the most beautiful scene in Japan — rice paddy after harvest dotted by persimmon trees with ripe fruits left on naked branches. Mei-Shun chose a different route today to go shopping on foot, looking down her normal lane to the nearest shrine from opposite side. Still before 15 o’clock, sunlight cannot warm her shoulders any more. It stops at yellow leaves to make them shine in gold.
meishunkikunoe 