It is so nice to see them grow day by day. Mei-Shun is so happy to see many birds including this wild duck couple. Or a mother and a child, bigger one was waiting for the other slimmer flying across the lane between rice paddy to slide onto water. You finally meet, congratulations. And Ms. (or Mr.) White, nice to see you here. We cannot recognize you crouching among grown-up greens.
Ohhhh, you are so cute. This breed survives freezing winter in our garden, grows these little babies on each “leaf” around 八十八夜=hachiju-hachi-ya, 88th day after 立春 when the last frost might cover the ground, every year. You might not feel better than a few days before — it remains raining all day today, with continued cold air from yesterday. Expected 十五夜 full moon cannot see you tonight.
They watered rice paddy at the beginning of this Golden Week. It seems to take a few days to calm down ground surface, because planting of young rice started from yesterday. Mei-Shun enjoys looking such process to grow our dietary staple, walking along a lane through baby greens. Oh, here comes a wild duck couple. A beautiful white egret as well, joining pheasants and swallows.
Mei-Shun planted 蝋梅=robai, Chimonanthus praecox babies in the garden. They are called wintersweet or Japanese allspice as well, one of her late father’s favorite flowers. Her mother loves plants while an earnest caregiver. With a garden full of memories, she has raised peach, rose, wisteria, bush clover and so on. These twins are expected to follow Princess Momo-chan.
Here is twin Kasane-chan, layered babies. They’ve come onto Ms. Piano recently, met with Mei-Shun at one of her favorite pâtisseries Arles. Nobody know if they are either bear or rabbit, even pug or piggy, yet anyway cute creatures have no problem to join her family. Sweet elephants, please get along with these pink friends. Would their ears stand straight when one stop mounting on another?
Mei-Shun loves cherry flower blooming directly on trunk. It seems like saying “here you are” to viewers. She sometimes touches them softly, enjoys cold and fresh feeling. And oh, 乙戸沼 gingko babies, you are ready to grow. When they become awake, each branch might put on green air which soon change into real leaf buds. Ours in backyard is a slow starter, not yet … what, you too already?
Pheasant, Chinese partridge and bush warbler started to sing for their lovers. Cherry trees began to loosen their buds. Mei-Shun cooked a 筍=takenoko, young bamboo by herself for the first time. She found that 乙戸沼 Park also accommodates white magnolia trees arranged like a big one full of fist-size flowers by the pond. Narcissus blooms one after another under our garden princess.
Mei-Shun attended a funeral today with mom-in-law on behalf of Shin. Such a stormy weather made them feel more depressing. Soon after they came home, he emailed that he would do the same in an hour. You could not sleep at all in the plane? That might be because your late aunt wanted to let you know her start of a long journey. Oh, father of our baby elephant found in Thailand? Good for you, darling.
Welcome to Japan, Angry Owls, yet could you please calm down? Your looks are at the opposite ends of your taste, so gentle. Shin has brought you home, leaving the U. S. just on the day of new president’s inauguration. We wish no facade like yours would reflect real emotion among them. By the way, it is rare to employ blue in food for us Japanese. Flowers, are you trying to decrease our appetite? You might be right, since shortbreads are high-caloric delicacy.
Mei-Shun visited 乙戸沼 Park — long time no see. Winter mornings are too cold and dark to be there after driving Shin to the nearest station, so she has used to walk to the nearest shrine since around 大雪, the third of winter 二十四節気. Amazingly beautiful it is. A flock of wild ducks play on the pond with white dots of swans. Yuri-kamome or Larus ridibundus, great to see you here. It looks like grey herons rest on each fountain nozzle, or are you cormorants?
meishunkikunoe 