It makes us feel real beginning of autumn to see golden rice harvest. However, attacked by extraordinary summer typhoons, some of rice ears lean to the ground, looked disappointed this year. Mei-Shun sympathized with them walking along. Now it is over by half: she found them dried on 稲木=inagi or inaki, bamboo hangers constructed on rice paddies after harvest. Bundled ears are spread under sunlight for longer shelflife and better taste.
Today’s highest temperature in Ibaraki was just a bit lower than 33 degrees Celsius. Yes, September is such a month these days. Most of Mei-Shun’s generation, sometimes called 昭和人=Showa-jin, people born in our previous era, remember clearer boundaries between four seasons 2 decades before. Maybe affected by global warming, recent summers appear to reside with us until winters approach just nearby. So does next-door 百日紅=saru-suberi, serving Mei-Shun a gift in eyes.
We had 二百十日=nihyaku-toka, 210th day after 立春 on the last day of August this year. It is said to represent a time when rice harvest and typhoon landfalls often come together, a warning to farmers. And this flower called 彼岸花, higanbana in Japanese or Lycoris radiata carries three names in English including hurricane lily, red spider lily and cluster-amaryllis. Mei-Shun cannot help hoping such beauty in nature be ever resonant with peaceful repose of our lives.
Oh, poor gingko nuts. Chanthu and Mindulle have blown you down on the ground, still premature. Mei-Shun wishes she could pick you up to eat, yet they say you have amygdalin, a harmful toxin. You remind her of their own gingko, whose green leaves have been torn from branches to land onto balcony floor. Both of you left home too soon, yet had no choice.
Shin and Mei-Shun visited 水郷 Park. They found that it is one of “Poké-Sta.” since there were many people walking around with their smart phones in hand. The former looked happy to play on his own while the latter was more interested in flowers around them. She had believed that they slept at night, yet some of these lotuses bloomed in lovely pink. Or mischievous monsters might ask them to provide good hiding places.
Today is 処暑=shosho, the second one of 二十四節気 of autumn. Meaning the end of summer, it has already seen 2 big typhoons including Chanthu and Mindulle, rushed over us last week and raged yesterday respectively. Landing of typhoons symbolizes our autumn while they sometimes hit the Japanese Archipelago in rainy season. We had a kind of pointless one this year, expecting therefore these typhoons to fill our dam. The result was … ?
Our nearest shrine, where Mei-Shun drops in during her walking workout, grows them along the entrance path. Their beautiful profiles seem like welcoming visitors, while leading souls of beloved ones to their homes on obon vacation. It starts from tomorrow on Saturday, looking convenient for most of salaried workers. We had the newest holiday Mountain Day last Thursday, so if a leave is allowed including today, they would have 6-day off.
鮎, ayu tastes the best from June to August. Mei-Shun has a propensity for it, asked Shin to arrange a lunch date at their favorite Japanese food restaurant in Shinagawa. They know well what she covets, serving a course featuring grilled one. This genuine delicacy is edible from top of head to edge of tail, except for white-salted fins. Oh, rainy season is over in Kanto area. Thank you so much for bringing real summer to us.
It seems we are still in the season this year. Such weather may remind Mei-Shun’s generation of 1993, when cool summer affected seriously on rice harvest. We lacked rice so much that our government imported a lot from Thailand. It might have lead to today’s popularity of Thai cuisine in Japan. At that time, however, the fluffy texture of Thai rice was a kind of shock for most of us. On the other hand, もちもち感 =mochi-mochi-kan, a lush mouthfeel of Japanese rice have been well accepted in many countries recently.
She is so small that Mei-Shun’s thumb fits her size in half. You are a lady who gives no voice, aren’t you? Thanks to keep silent, Mikan-chan is very much interested in you. Your peaceful repose let us go on quiet in mind. As for her mom, she is a bit scary at your buzzing to rush toward her. However, she takes you nearly cute today. What is your breed, honey? If you are the romantic 蜩, higurashi who sing at dawn and sunset, she feels quite lucky to see you.
meishunkikunoe 