Appearance of a snake

 

 

　Just before noon yesterday, several parent swallows made a loud warning cry of "chi-chi-chi-chi" around the nest.

When I looked around the nest to see what was going on, I saw a long, big snake coiled around the wires on the roof and the pipes around it.

It was clinging to the wires and it was stretching it's scythe toward the nest.

Horrified by the sight, I immediately called for my husband's help and clapped my hands, causing the snake to escape onto the roof.

MY husband tried to get rid of it with long sticks and hoes, but he failed. 

About an hour later, I found a snake hanging ftom the roof near the nest.

When I cried, it crawded away again.

After that, I looked around the nest from time to time, but the snake did not appear.

This morning, swallows were safe and I thought "I wish they could leave the nest sooner".

Survival in the wild is hard.

I have been watching the nest since this morning.

 

Another topic.

　Yesterday, I caught two large centipedes, one in the hallway of the annex and the other washbasin in the main building.

It was an exhausting day for such an event in the hot and humid weather.

Words of a bulletin board 81

 

This time, words of a bulletin board is

 

”Doctors look for bad place in a body

I want to be a person who tries to find a person's good point"

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.

It's very hot.

water lily

It's very hot today.

Even though the rainy season hasn't ended yet, it's around 30 degrees Celsius in the daytime.

How hot will it be during this summer ?

I leave the flower bulbs that I got from an acquaintance yesterday in the garden because it is so hot.

I don't feel like planting them in the daytime.

I will plant them in the evening when it becmes cool a little.

 

Flowers in the garden

 

 

Hydrangea

 

Dahlia

 

Gradiolus

 

These flowers are blooming in my garden now.

 They are flowers that remind me of early summer.

Cosmos is also growing .

I sowed the seeds of cosmos the year before last. 

My neighbor said "Dont grow cosmos.", but I don't know the reason.

Now I know the reason.

There are many seedlings all around.

If I leave them as they are,  it will be a big problem.

So, I pulled out half of them yesterday. 

Abandoned farmland

 

common cattail

Recently, degraded farmland can be seen here and there.

There are various reasons.

FArmers become old and can no longer cultivate, rice price is not worth the lavor, machines are very expensive and so on.

As a result, scenery around us became like this.

The beautiful scenery of rice fields covered with fluttering ears of rice is gradually disappearing.

Strong plant

mandarin orange

Hassaku orange

I planted mandarin orange, Hassaku orange and Sudachi in my vegetable garden about two and a half years ago.

They managed to grow during the next year.

But Sudachi was withered the year before last, mandarin orange last year, and Hassaku this year. 

The new fresh leaves were eaten by insects.

Today, I found mandarin orange and Hassaku sprouts in the in the weeds.

I was surprised a little.

The fields planted with flowers, vegetables and these trees are covered with grasses.

I couldn't catch up with pulling out these grasses, so I cut them with a sickle.

I was happy to find these treasures.

I want them to overcome the heat of this summer and keep growing until they bear fruits.

Relaxing cat

”I took this pcture from outside of the window”

2.5 years old Fuku is relaxing in the cardboard nail sharpner.

 

Fuku's parents, Tora and Mini are waiting for food at the entrance of a nearby house. 

They are homeless, but they are free and fine.

 

About a month ago, Mini came to the house with a cute kitten.

We see Mini everyday, but she doesn't come with the kitten after that.

What happend to it ? 

Henon bamboo

I was prezented ”Henon bamboo” from my neighbor.

It took a long time to remove the bamboo bark.

 

They are green and white.

 

　Henon bamboos don't have lye, so we can eat them without boiling.

But I boiled them just in case.

I had rice bran, so I added it too and boiled them for about 10 minutes.

I  am cooling down them and I will wash away tomorrow morning.

To tell the truth, I have never cooked Henon bamboo, so I am worring about cooking this a little.

taste good for curry rice

(Left) shallots pickled today
(Right) shallots pickled last year

  I was delivered washed shallots grown in Tottri prefecture from co-op. 

I soaked them in shallot  vinegar.

They are ｄelicious with curry rice.

Last year, shallots were too small and this year, they are too big. 

Google lens

 

 Donkey tail、Burro tail

 

This succulent plant has some flowers now.

I took some pictures of this plant with my smartphone, but I didn't know it's name.

So I looked it up with Goocle Lens, and I knew It is " Donkey tail or Burro tail".

It is "Ta-ma-tu-zu-ri" in Japanese.

It is very useful, isn't it ? 

Flying swallows and ・・・

 

 

Swallows in flight over paddy fields.

Are they catching worms?

It was difficult to take this picture.

 

 

Excuse me for changing the subject.

"I borrowed this picture from the internet"

 

My husband found it on the hallway of the toiletroom last night.

 I was so horrified.

He got rid of it with  Kinchol for Centipede.

I saw a big one in tatami room about a month ago.

This is the 4th time that I saw a centipede in this season. 

I must be careful about these worms for the time being.

Sunset

This is the sunset of yesterday evening.

Pink sky was refrekted in the rice paddies filled with water in preperation for rice planting.

I thought it woud be sunny tomorrow, but it was cloudy most of the day.

Scenery in early summer

Hydrangea macrophylla

June is the season of hydragea and there are verious kinds of hyｄrangeas.

My daughter prezented this flower to me on a mother's day a few years ago.

I planted the flower in the alley and it grew like this.

 

Okuraleaf hydrangea

 

heart-leaved houttuynia, Fish Mint

I made Dokudami tincture by soaking the flower in alcohol last year.

It is useful when I am attacked by mosquitoes.

I did the same with it's leaves, but Ihaven't used it yet.

It seems to be lotion that is gentle on the skin.

 

Swallows are warming eggs in the eaves of the barn.

It seems that they are having a hard time with the lack of places to make nests these days.

They are making their best to protekt eggs from external threats such as crows and snakes.

I hope they grow and leave the nest safely.