カテゴリー: LQ Laoshi

Chrysanthemum flower and other, Photos I took Yesterday

I didn’t take a care of them well this year. So, there are not much chrysanthemum flowers in my garden.

If I could, I will plant more chrysanthemum in coming year so that my garden can be more colorful in November.

These two are the very last persimmons. It is said that part of persimmons should be left on the tree so that birds can eat. But I think persimmons will soon fall onto the ground. Probably I will eat them.

This fig will not be able to ripen before winter comes. All the figs had fallen because of drought in summer. This one came out after that. 

This citrus tree is standing by the road where many elementary and junior high school students walk to their schools. Last year, the only one citrus on the tree was stolen. This year too, there is only one citrus on the tree. I expect that a junior high student will steal it again, though I will not get angry so much.

Seven Radishes (Daikon) are kept under the Ground for Preservation

This morning, I buried seven radishes in the soil in order to keep them fresh. Although cutting all the green leaves of radish is better for preservation, I cut them so that 5 centimeters (2 inches) of green leaves would remain. It is because I think I can find a radish easily by green leaves on the ground as a mark, especially when they are covered with snow.

They are only seven. I thought I should have planted more radish in August. If one radish lasts 3 days, 7 radishes could last only 21 days. Winter continues three months. Vegetables available in winter are precious.

From the seven radishes, I could also get a lot of green leaves. Before cooking supper tonight, I washed them, boiled several minutes, and put them in three Tupperware. I think now three Tupperware have cooled down, so I am going to put the three in freezer after I upload this post.

A long time ago, when I was living in US, one day I was going to buy a radish in a supermarket. A lady working at the cashier called the radish “Daikon”. I was a little surprised because “Daikon” was a Japanese “大根”.

The last persimmon in this Autumn

I have eaten the last persimmon “KOYO(TM)” at the supper just before. It was the last for eating raw. Still two KOYOs remain hanging under the roof to be dried persimmons. But anyway, I have harvested 29 KOYOs this autumn. It is a good variety of persimmon with trade mark, which is a popular bitter persimmon in Japan. I want to make the tree bigger in next year so that I will be able to get more.

What I thought, taking a look at a photo of ten years ago

This photo was taken ten years ago. Ten years are not short period of time. I have experienced a lot of things; went to vocational training, worked in a company as a translator, studied so many things to be a Japanese teacher, and worked at a foreign university. Pandemic of corona virus was also a big thing that happened during these ten years.

And now I am in my home that was inherited from my deceased father. I have no job to earn money right now. Perhaps my life as a working person might have ended. And I feel like memories of these ten years are going to disappear like memories of things twenty years ago.

Two mountains’ peaks are there in the photo. The left peak is round and the right peak is sharp. My father’s family had lived at the foot of the left mountain, and my mother’s family had lived at the foot of the right mountain.

Swans were taking rest in Rice Field of Niigata, Northern JAPAN

Today, I went to a DIY shop in this afternoon. The shop is located in rice fields. I needed to walk 3 kilometers (one-way) to get to there.

When I crossed the railway from residential area to rice fields, I found “white creatures” on the fields.

Coming from Siberia, they were taking a rest on the rice field. I wondered if there were anything to eat there. I thought that if I had got closer to them, they would have run away from me. But they were staying there as if they didn’t care of me.

If weather was fine, snow covered Iide mountain could be seen in this direction. But today, Iide mountain was hidden in the clouds.

That’s it for today.

Yesterday, I went to Kanto region (But I am already back in Niigata)

I got on a local train from my village, and got off at Niigata.

Niigata is the starting station of Jo’etsu Shinkansen (High-speed trains).

I saw the mountain whose height is 1293 meters. I was born 50-some years ago at the town near that mountain.

I don’t know the name of the mountain.

I got off the shinkansen.

It’s an urban city in Kanto Region. It looks very different from my village.

Hoping they enjoyed drinking with me

When I was young, I had been working as a company employee. Some times I had to drink with my boss. It was stressful for me, and I couldn’t enjoy such occasions at all. Today I had a supper and drank alcohol with two young people, who were my ex-students. I hope that it was not so stressful for them and they enjoyed talking with me.

I took an X-ray test on chest today in the town next to my village

X-ray test on chest once a year is free-charge under the Japan’s national health insurance system. Although the test was done at the community center in my village last month, I just forgot about it. The last chance for me was today’s test in the town next to my village. So, I got on a local train in this morning.

An object displayed on the west side of the Station; Many dolphins are swimming and jumping.

Yellow leaves; I saw on the way to the venue of X-ray test.

There were two vehicles which have the facilities of X-ray test; one for female, the other for male citizens.

On the way back, I saw this board. It reads; “Morning, day time, and evening, Say greetings loudly and cheerfully”, “Smile each other”, “Greetings Street”, and “Let us try to recycle that eases the Earth”. Telling people these kind of things is good, but I was just wondering; if there are any other countries, cultures, habits that tell people these kind of things on a board by a street or not.

I was back to the railway station. And then I got a local train to my village.