Yuki's favorite

My cat Yuki likes this basket very much these days.



I had been using the basket for putting various small articles in it.
But my cat began to enter the basket and sit on them, so I gave the basket to Yuki.
Though it is too small for her, she likes it very much now.
A cat likes tight place, but I can't understand her feelings well.



She is sleeping in the basket today too!!

Pomegranate

　The fruits of pomegranate are growing now.

We will be able to eat red seeds in fall.

It tastes sour a little.

Rose of Sharon;(Mu-ku-ge)

Pink flowers of 'Rose of Sharon' began to bloom in my yard.

Day of Ox at midsummer

　Today is 'the Day of Ox at midsummer'.

We have a custom to eat eels this day in Japan.

The custom seemed to have begun at Edo period.
There was a eel shop, but the owner couldn't sell eels so much.
So he consulted Hiraga Gennai who was a very famous scholar about the way of selling well.
Then he hit a good idea of eating eels this day.

In fact eels are very nutritious and rich in vitamine A, E, B and so on.

Let's eat eels for summer heat prevention !!

Proverb 48

Four-o'clock；(Yu-u-ge-sho-u or O-shi-ro-i-ba-na)

No gains without pains.

We won't be able to get anything without effort or pain.
　　　

Typhoon No.7

Sky in the evening
As you know, typhoon No.7 is coming near the Kanto district.

It will be the first one to hit Japan island if it lands.
But it is not certain whether it will land on or not yet.

It brought much rain at other part of Japan, for example, Shizuoka prefecture.
And it caused the disorder of traffic like trains, airlines and highways very much.

Here in Okayama prefecture, it was cloudy and windy all day.

Now it's fine.

(It hit near Kamogawa city in Chiba prefecture about 8 o'clock in the evening.)

Chestnut

There are many chestnut trees near Inari-shrine.

I could see these green fruits of them.

These plants are already preparing for the coming of fall.

Cicada

I could see many castoff skins of cicada at Inari-shrine near my house.

While I was taking this picture in the evening, my legs were bitten by the mosquitoes because I was wearing a short culotte skirt.
I should have worn a pair of trousers to protect my legs !!

Badger;(A-na-gu-ma or Mu-ji-na)

Taking a walk with my friend in the evening, I happened to see a badger.

It was walking around the swimming pool of a primary school slowly.
I was very surprised to see it, but the badger wasn't surprised at all.
It might be accustomed to man.

I sometimes hear that they appear at night to eat vegetables in the field and farmers are very angry.

I feel again I'm living in the country !!

I first thought taht it was a raccoon dog, but my friend told me that it was a badger.
So I corrected the title of this article;'raccoon dog' to 'badger' on July 28.

Hot day

　It's very hot.

Perhaps many people are using air conditioners today.

I am not using air-con now but I am opening every windows and doors so that the cool wind from the rice-fields could blow through the rooms.

The only sound I hear is the cry of cicada and insects.
I see nobody outside.
So farmers must be taking a nap in their house.

It's the silent afternoon.

Seeing these ice cubes, I feel cool a little !!

E-bank

The flowers of Begonia that was presented last December are blooming again now.

Do you have an account in the e-bank?

I opened my account in the e-bank the other day.
Why?
The answer is that I had collected lots of points while I was returning my questionnaire in some sites.
And they said they would change the points to money.
So I had to have an account to transfer the money.

Now I have ￥1950 at the bank.

At last, the day when we have an account at the e-bank has come !!

Beautiful rice-field

It's very hot today.
It's good for the rice-plants, but it's too hot for us.

These are rice-fields today.
I uploaded the picture of rice-fields about two weeks ago.
They are not so different to see, but rice plants are growing day by day.

Proverb 47

Plantain lily;(Gi-bo-u-shi)

Money makes the mare (to) go.

Money is necessary for us to live, but I don't want to become the slave of money.

Let's use money, not be used by money!!

Ho-u-ki so-u

This green 'Ho-u-ki so-u' turns flaming red in fall.
We can make some brooms with this plant. 

 

End of the rainy season

Ground(Winter) cherry or Chinese lantern plant

　 The  meteorological agency announced the end of the rainy season in Kanto-Koshin, Kinki, Chugoku and Tokai region.

It's very hot here in Okayama today.