Cherry blossom viewing

  Cherry blossoms are in full bloom. 

cherry blossoms in the neighborhood

Yesterday, I went cherry blossom viewing with my sister-in-law.

Everywhere cherry blossoms are in full bloom now. 

We didn't decided where to go.

In the end, we chose a Zen temple, Toshoji, which we had visited in fall before.

temple gate

Main hall

There were only a few people visiting and it was very quiet.

Our lunch we bought at a convenience store was delicious under the falling petals of cherry blossoms .

 

The next place we visited was a Shingon sect temple called Kokushoji.

 

 

we visited there two years ago and also posted it on this blog.

The bright red camellias and cherry blossoms in full bloom were so beautiful.

Happy new year

Happy new year !

May this year be a happy one.

Koujin Kgura

It was a very cold day yesterday, but I went to see " Koujin Kagura " a kind of Bittyu Kagura held in the neighborhood. 

It seems to be one of the most important in the national designated intangible folk cultural property.

It was held from 4:00 in the afternoon to 11:00 at night.

I watched it from around 8:00 p.m.

There were free services for "oden" and " hot noodle" in the cold open air.

There was a bonfire too.

During the performance, many rice-cakes and cookies were thrown to the audience.

 

These are photoes from the middle of the play.

appiarance of an old woman and a man 

 

about making SAKE

 

 

 

SAKE was made

 

four large snakes 

 

extermination of  snakes

The costumes were gorgeous and perfprmanses were splendid.

I had a wonderful time. 

At memorial service

seeed of lotus

On Sunday, September 10th, I attended a memorial service for the first anniversary of my aunt-in-law's death.

I couldn't attend her funeral due to the coronavirus, so it was my first reunion with my cousins in a long time (17 years).

This time, the memorial service was held at Henjho-in Temple in Kurashiki City, a very splendid temple of the Omuro sect of the Shingon sect.

And the Buddhist priest chanted a sutra with a wonderful loud voice.

That's no wonder; the priest is a vocalist (his wife plays the piano) and his son was a student at Kunitachi College of Music.

His son majored in violin.

The priest is the head priest of a musical family.

My aunt was said to have received guidance from the chief priest in the chorus group.

I was reminded of the wonder of art.

 

Speaking of art... I was surprised to learn that my cousin's son's wife is also a ceramic artist who graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts.

Her name is Mami Furukawa.

By the way, is my cousin's son also artistic a bit ?

He runs a thrift shop called Off Bazaar.

I would like to go there again someday.

 

After chanting the sutra at the temple, we visited the grave by car.

  After lunch, we said "Please be fine and see you again'' and came home.

centipede？

Tincture made from Houttuynia leaves

 

Tincture made from Houttuynia flowers

 

  Around 4:30 in this morning, Iwoke up with a "bee buzzing" sound near my left ear.

At the same time, I felt severe pain.

I thought, "This must be a centipede," so I turned on the light and searched around my pillow and everywhere, but I couldn't find it.

Immeditely, I went to the kitchen and boiled water.

 I poured hot water of about 43 degrees into a cup and soak and rinse my ear for about 20 minutes.

This may or may not break down the centipede's protein poison.

(There seems to be no conclusion as to whether cold water or hot water is better. When I am bitten by a mosquito, I use hot water.

The itchiness subsides when I put a hot cup on it, so I prefer hot water.)

It seemed to be good to apply steroid ointment after that, but I didn't have it at home.

I remembered the homemade "Dokudami tincture'', which is said to be effective against insect bites.

And I used  tincture made from Houttuynia flowers.

The pain gradually subsided and was almost gone after about 5 hours.

At one time, I thought I was stung by a bee, but it was early in the morning, so the bee might not have been active yet.

So the culprit was a centipede?

Now, ten hours later, my earlobe is still swollen, and 2-3 small blisters are also found.

scary, scary!

Weeding

 

　The words of greeting after the end of the rainy season is "It's very hot !"

I can't go out during the day due to the heat wave.

The fields where I planted flowers are filled with weeds.

What should I do ? 

I got up early this morning and mowed the grasses with a sickle from  5:30 to 6:30.

I sweated a lot and I was bitten by a lot of mosquitoes. 

The field is not so clean yet.

I can't resist weeds !

prank of ants

flowers of aloe

 I went to toilet in the middle of last night.

The atomosphere was somehow different from usual.

The toilet seat was cold and there was no response when I tried to flush water.

So I flushed water with manual and I was sure the remote control or something was broken.

In the morning, my husband also knew something strange with the toilet and he read the user's manual.

It seemed that electricity was leaking from the toilet power plug. 

I serched it on the internet before calling an engineer and it said that "the concent may be dusty".

So we checked it up.

Surprisingly, there were many tiny ants.

After removing them and plugging the power plug into the outlet again, it was restored.

Why were tiny ants there ?

I went to an art museum.

Denchu garden

 

I went to Hirakushi Denchu Art Museum in Ibara City with my brother and his wife yesterday. 

 

front door

In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of Tanaka's birth, it reopened in this April.

We can look down on Japanese garden from 3rd floor.

I was able to appreciate a lot of wonderful works.

 

Admission ticket

 

post card

 

Masterpiece selection(commemorative magazine)

 

We are not allowed to take pictures inside the museum, so I bought some postcards and commemorative magazines.

 

summer solstice

oleander

canna

zinnia and swallowtail butterfly

 

Today is the summer solstice, one of the 24 solar terms.

As you know, the daytime is the longest in a year.

The time of sunrize will be later and the sunset earlier from now on, but the temperature will continuew to rise steadly.

It's going to be hot and humid days.

It is cloudy and sometimes it rains today.

 

I'll change the subject.

My neighbor brought me these vegetables and fruit.

They are a sunny lettuse, five cucumbers and many loquats.

All of them look delicious.

My thought

pond of lotus

My daily life is calm and a day, a week, a month and a year go by like an arrow.

In some sense, this may be a thankful thing.

As you know, there are lots of problems in the world and in Japan.

Though I don't know how they will turn out, I wish they will change for the better.

Long time no see

Japanese wisteria 

It’s the season of fresh green leaves are everywhewe.

The leaves in the hills are budding and changing beautifully day by day.

While I was wondering what to post, it became an "abandoned blog".

It seemed that there was nothing to write.

It was a daily life without a big change.

I become " the latter-stage elderly" from tomorrow.

I become very old but admirable?

Happy new year

 

Happy new year !

May this year be a calm and peaceful one.

Too hard

Bottle gourd

 

A field with a mixture of watermelon, cucumber, bottle gourd and sweet potato vines

 

　These are  Bottle gourds that my husband harvested the other day.

I remembered that my mother-in-law used to make dried gourd.

So I challenged myself to make dried gourd.

But I gave up it at the first stage.

I didn't know that the peel of the bottle gourd was so hard.

I couldn't cut it at all.　

So my husband put a knife on the gourd and hit it with a hammer, and we managed to cut it off.

　I couldn't handle it at all.

At last, we disposed them into the compost.

　

　By the way, I planted three seedlings of watermelon.

But we harvested watermelon, cucumber and bottle gourd. 　

Flowers of the season

balloon flower

 

lotus

 

sun flower

 

sun flower

 

okra

 

Long time no see.

My brain is dormant because of the sudden heat of  this summer.

In additon, various changes and incidents occurring in the world and Japan make me confusing.

No matter what happens in the human world, the natural world is calm and the flowers are as usual.

So I uploaded some photoes I took recently.

Glorious spring

 

 

 

 

Thursday, April 7.

I went to a temple called Kokusyouji to see Camellia in the afternoon.　

Fallen flowers were like a red carpet.

The tree is about 300 years old and is designated as a natural monument.

It is the midst of spring and cherry blossoms are in full bloom.

Petals of a cherry blossoms were dancing like snow.