Comfortable Deep Breath Under Cirrus

I like to see clouds in every season. Last week I saw two types in the east sky. These clouds in the low sky are often seen in summer and high ones in autumn. The sky is not clear.

This is the west sky at the same time. There are no summer clouds. Can you feel refreshed by these autumn ones? 秋天的卷雲

 

Typhoon Has Gone

 

Typhoon Shanshan did not cause damages in my area.

This tropical storm appeared in the Mariana Islands on 22nd August.  The distance between the Islands and Japan is about 2,500 km. Shanshan struck the southern Japan on 29th. 

It was a very powerful one. The lowest air pressure was 935 hectopascal and the maximum instantaneous wind speed was 50 meters per second or 112 miles per hour. The wind of 60 m/s is said to have a power to break utility poles. 50 m/s is also very dangerous. 

Shanshan moved eastward over Japan slowly and came out to the Pacific Ocean on 1st September. It was a very slow-moving typhoon because Westerlies, which can move typhoons faster, were not located near the Japanese Islands this summer. The slow move caused long time rainfalls. Many places recorded that rainfalls by Shanshan alone were more than total of August in a normal year. 

Ninomiya Sontoku, a well-known agronomist in the middle of 19th century remained an aphorism.

 

No one knows,

this autumn

Our rice harvest might suffer heavy damages 

by rains and storms.

Never neglect our daily work,

go to rice fields to do the weeding as usual. 

Slow Moving Typhoon

It rained all day long today. Typhoon Shanshan is moving slowly over western Japan. Its speed is only 10 kilometers or 6.3 miles per hour. Shanshan is still located 900 kilometers far away from the area I live, but it has been continuously bringing thick rain clouds even here. 

 

Stay Cool

Although half of August has passed, it's  still too hot. I have not slept well at night without turning on the air conditioner. News says many areas in the world suffer heat damages this summer.

I took this photo 10 years ago when the plane I got on passed above Mt. Fuji. I would be glad if you could feel cool by this. 冬天的富士山頂

 

Er Hu 二胡

Have you ever heard relaxing sounds coming from this musical instrument "Er Hu"?

I took the four-time lessons for beginners.

Er Hu is a Chinese instrument having two strings. In case of violin, the horse hair on a bow is separated from its strings. On the contrary, Er Hu's hair on a bow is inserted between two strings. Players move the bow to the outer string for higher sounds and to the inner string for lower sounds.

I enjoyed many Er Hu performances on Youtube, but I never knew at all the bow is not separated from the strings. 

In the first step, we had to learn how to pull and push the bow smoothly to lessen the screech noise, blurred and unstable sounds.

In the second step, we practiced the scales. This instrument has no fingerboards. The teacher taught us how to stop the strings with fingertips.

Anyway, we managed to play "Twinke Twinkle Little Star" with a certain noise pollution.

New try brings new joy.

 

The Sea In The Rainy Season 2024

I went to see the sea last Sunday. This area is in the rainy season. The horizon is not clear. Some children are playing on the beach.

This is the same beach in last December.

Waves come up to the sand from the front and side.

 

Rose Garden

All the visitors are enjoying a great variety of roses in the harmoniously mixed fragrance.

Tall pine trees surround the garden. 

Old kinds were registered in 1920's and new ones were in 2010's. I didn't know that breed improvement of rose was so popular.

Have a nice weekend!　

 

A Bowl Of Green Tea

 

One tall cherry tree stands in the garden. Visitors can enjoy the gorgeous silence here.

The gate to the tea house. The mud wall is made with old roof tiles piled up.

The guests wash their hands here before entering the house.

The white confection is "manju". Sweet red bean paste is enclosed in a wheat dough and steamed. Both sides are baked. The fresh green tea has a good harmony of bitterness and sweetness.

Cherry Blossom

Somei-yoshino is in full bloom.

Probably because of global warming, the fcull bloom time has been in the end of March today. It was in the beginning of April in my childhood, 7 to 10 days later than the present.  This year, it turned cold suddenly in the 4th week of last month, the blooming delayed and just came to the time not having been affected by such warming.

A new school term begins in early April. Luckily, new students of this year had a rare chance to take commemorable pictures under the gorgeousness. 

I like to enjoy the blossoms from under the tree.

This kind named "Gyoiko 御衣黃櫻" has yellowish green blossoms.