Old Flood Control Works and Spring Water

 

I visited this place last Tuesday for the first time. In the deep place of this mountain, there are lots of spring water. Many people come to take fresh water which they use for drinking and cooking.  

These artificial falls look harmonic with the environment here. The sound and breeze coming from them are comfortable.

Some people think natural water is healthier than tap water. Although we can easily get natural one in a bottle at super markets everywhere, fresh water in nature would be better than bottled ones.

I made coffee with spring water on the next day morning. The taste was certainly better than that of using bottled water. The water pulls out characters of coffee, I enjoy its body, acidity and aftertaste. The best gift for me is its healthy cleanness.  

The Sea In September

 

I was born and  grew up far away from the sea, its view even now brings me feelings something special.

   

Last week I went to the sea and walked slowly on the beach. The waves came up to the beach in many different shapes with white bubbles.

The sound of the waves is repeated, repeated: a big sound suddenly go away and the silence is left for a while.

I found the sand underfoot had a lot of small holes. Small unknown lives are inside. I heard the ancient Buddhists did not go out for training and stayed in their temples within a certain period in the rainy season so as not to trample down small insects and young plants under growing. The lives in these holes know when dangers comes.  

"All the rivers run into the sea, yet the sea is not full. " This is an impressive epigraph of a long novel.

In September, waves become higher than in summer. Views, sounds and lights of the beach seems to have a power to make people vigorous.

I remember the last of "Tender is the night".  "He raised his hand and with a papal cross he blessed the beach from the high terrace. Faces turned upward from several umbrellas."

I found a piece of seaweed. Crows can eat it?

An expanse of the wave came close to me. I had got my shoes wet in the previous wave.

Thanks for your vast and boundless, the sea. 海闊天空

Rice Plant Growing

The ears of the rice plants in this field are getting heavier. The farmer will be reaping them in the next month.

This dragonfly is 4 cm length, living in Japan, Korea, China and Far east Russia.

Ears of the rice make a deeper bow as they becomes richer. In other words: The boughs that bear most hang lowest.

Rice plants grow by offshooting.

The ears in this field are still straight. This kind would be different from that in the first photo.

They have white small flowers.

People in internet say agricultural rice species are self pollination. I thought they were anemophilous. 

Morning Glory

I would like to show you some summer flowers here.

Morning glories has begun to open. It's nice to see them in a cool and quiet morning. The highest temperature is more than 34℃（94Ｆ）for five continuous days.

Until 200 years ago, its color was blue alone. 

After the daily life of people became stable, they studied improvement of morning glories and got other colors such as violet, red and pink.

In my prefecture, all new pupils of elementary school seed this plant in a pot at school and keep a observation diary.

Dayflowers beside a path welcome people walking for exercise.

This would be a new kind of sunflower.　

They are 1.5 meters high. 

 This is called ”rifle lily".

Laotian Coffee Beans and Silver Lion 老撾咖啡和銀製獅子

Last month I got a pack of coffee beans grown in Laos. 

Laos is a small country located between Thailand and Vietnam. I have visited Vientiane, the capital, a few times almost 30 years ago and still feel a sense of closeness to its culture and people. At that time, many overseas companies had not invested to its industries and the country kept its tradition though the GDP was very low under socialism. No big factory had been established. I remember drinking beer brewed by a French capital. This would be an exception.

Things are changing and nowadays some of foreign investors focus on its environment and labour cost. Tully's is a one of them.

Tully's say they import coffee beans produced in a southern highland, 1100～1200 meters above sea level. A cup of Laotian coffee brings back memories from when I visited this small country in the south east Asia. Laos has been developing now under the global competition. I hope you would try some products exported from Laos.

When I visited Laos, I bought this silver lion. I like its eyes.

The hairstyle looks decent. 

This animal is of bravery especially. I hope Laotian people stay safe amid the corona virus.

Gourd 瓠子 and Sushi Roll

Farmers grow this kind called "yuugao" of gourd in summer. Yuugao becomes 30cm diameter bigness. They are processed by a planing machine into 3cm wide and 3mm thick long strips and dried in a vinyl house, which is very useful both to keep high warmness for drying and to avoid sudden showers in summer. Its dried strip is called "kanpyou". You may have taste it when you had some kinds of sushi roll. Kanpyou is boiled with soy sauce and sugar, changes its white into brown. Boiled ones are put into the center of sushi roll or nori maki.

BONSAI 盆景

 When you visit some places in this country, you will see Bonsai trees. I don't know how old this pine is. I have heard a Bonsai planter said that it takes at least 10 years to grow a tree in a Bonsai style. Imperial Household Agency has kept a famous pine Bonsai tree of which age is 500 years.

These are young maple trees planted in a 20 cm pot. This style is called small Bonsai, which you can put on a table to enjoy its youthfulness. In summer time, green maple leaves bring  you coolness. 

GROWING

 I rode my bike to see fields of vegetables growing under the sunshine before the arrival of the rainy season.

 Potatoes have violet flowers. This supported Inca civilization and has a great contribution to people in the northern Europe. A infection caused Potato famine in Ireland. It can be said that our prosperity has been gained after the battles with awful infections.

 Lines of long green onions are beautiful. Its stalk is covered with soil to keep it white because eastern people in this country like white one while western like blue. This vegetable is indispensable for Japanese cooking. I enjoy Soba or buckwheat noodles with sliced fresh onion.

 Taros are popular not in the South East Asia but also in Japan. This was planted more than 3000 years ago in the New Stone Age in this country. I love taros boiled with soy sauce and bonito flakes.

 Egg plants are growing well. I  love 醬爆茄子 or egg plants fried with Chinese sweet bean sauce. You might want to try it.

 The blue color of a hydrangea becomes blighter.

 I don't know the name of this tree with big white cross flowers. Do cuckoos know this one?

 Have you seen leaves of sweet potatoes? For a long time I just have seen its roots in a supermarket, never imagined how they grew.

Snap garden peas are easy to grow for beginners like me. 

Rice Planting 插秧機

Between the end of April and the mid of May, it is the rice planting season. From 29 April to 5 May, we have four national holidays. Most of rice farmers work at a office or factory and they do farm works when off in this country. Now is, therefore, the best time for planting.

The lower back of this machine has four mechanical claws. One claw pulls off 4 to 5 young plants at one time from the  tray set on the back and put them into the mud field.

Farmers sow rice in a plastic tray and grow them in a vinyl hothouse.

When young plants grow up to about 20cm, rice planting starts. Farmers take both the growth speed and the time of planting into consideration. Too short young plants are not strong enough against unexpected cold weather.

The operator just holds the steering wheel and runs the machine straight. More than 50 years ago, planting was made by the hands of many people. Many of them had suffered serious lower back pain.

 Nowadays good water irrigation supports rice cultivation.

Each field has a gate on the watercourse. I like to hear the sound of water running out vigorously.

The water carries small fish in the field. One heron has been watching into the water carefully. 

A field next has not been planted. This condition is good for a heron as fish have no place to hide.