Datura

A Datura;(Chyo-u-se-n a-sa-ga-o) bloomed last night for the first time in this season.

Though the flower is very beautiful, it has a deadly poison and is famous for Seishu Hanaoka using this plant as narcotics in late Edo period.
He used it when he operated on surgery of the breast cancer.

It blooms only at night throughout summer season.

Preparation for rice planting

Farmers are busy preparing for the rice planting.

They cut the weeds on the footpaths around the field and burn them after drying.

After nine days

　Sprouts of rice plant are like this.
They are about four centimeters now.
My husband uncovered the white vinyl cloth and covered this net lest the sparrows shoud come to eat them.

Taking this picture, my neighbor who are also growing rice plant came to see these sprouts.
She asked us to give her some as many of hers withered because of shortage of water.
Perhaps ours will be too enough, so we will be able to give her some.

Growing rice needs much care!!