Days in June: Spells in a rainy season |
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June 7
On a spell of fine weather in the rainy season, I drove up together with my to a small lake Kagurame (sacred Shinto music female dancer) in the hills of Beppu City to see famous iris garden.
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Unfortunately, the garden was filled with still swelling buds of iris. Workers are bust to clean the park for opening ceremony to be held late in this month.
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I found a bush of yellow iris. I also found the first flowers of pale violet iris tagged with the date of the bloom, June 5th. A municipal officer in charge of the garden care said that the bloom would be delayed about one week because of the cooler climate this year.
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| Haiku: "Yellow irises are swinging in the breeze with morning dews on the leaves." |
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Mt. Yufu reflects its elegant slope on the surface of the lake. Damselflies are picking waterweed, whirligig beetles are floating on the water, and bush warblers are singing here and there. The lake is a nice place to forget time. Across a wooden bridge, I found a beautiful flower of rhododendron in the shade of thick forest.
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Leaving Kagurame Lake, we drove down to Sagiridai viewpoint overlooking Yufuin Valley. Mt. Yufu wears a beautiful green cloth.
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We visited Kamenoi Besso Hotel in Yufuin. We enjoyed tea in the shade with green breeze. The cool color of calling bell and pale pink flower make a really beautiful contrast.
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We then took lunch in the garden near a beautiful stream. The fresh leaves may dye us green.
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Today's specialty is a large omelet in Japanese style. Usually, one omelet serves two, but today, we asked a larger one for three. The ingredient is chicken rice with tasty sweet sauce.
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June 11:
As the rain stopped in the morning, we visited our favorite Yufuin again. The fresh leaves of maple tree is very beautiful hanging over a wooden bridge leading over the stream running down from Lake Kinrin.
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| Mt. Yufu appears from the rain cloud.
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I visited a small museum that has been attracting my attention for a long time. It was Norman Rockwell Museum. A large picture of the Museum in Stockwood, NY was on the entrance. I love his painting and visited all the way this Museum two years ago.
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He painted scenes of daily life with his warm heart together with a light satire. I love a painting on the right in particular. The bag under the boy tells everything about the boy, and the worrying eyes of the police and the master tell the whole warm story.
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Rice paddies in Oita are now in their busiest time for transplanting. This is a field on my way back home from Yufuin.
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A hydrangea bush in my garden holds a lot of flowers this year. Pale pink spots in the violet pedals are very impressive.
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Bellflowers (Campanula punctana lam) are now in full bloom together with white lilies. White flowers of Dokudami (Houttuynia cordata Thunb) cover the garden surface as well.
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A rose arch on the backdoor holds small white flowers. Last year, I planted several seedlings. It grew healthy and I could enjoy watching the flowers.
We have many white flowers this season in the garden.
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The red sky at sundown promised us a fine day regardless bad weather forecasting.
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