タイガのシャンプーなど After shampoo etc

 ピンク花のノコンギク「桃山」が咲き始めました。秋の花のはずが、桃山はうちでは秋よりも初夏のほうが開花に勢いがあります。デリケートな性質で最初の２年間は苦戦しましたが、３年目の今年は元気に育っています。これの他に青紫のノコンギクもありますが、そちらは普通の野菊のように10月頃に咲きます。

This is an extremely rare Japanese wild aster with pink flowers, as opposed to normal lilac-coloured flowers.  There used to be two on-line shops dealing in this variety, but they have stopped selling it because supply was unpredictable.  By sheer luck, I found a private seller 2 years ago and jumped at the opportunity.  I have since then found that it is a very delicate variety and struggled to keep it alive for the last 2 years.  To my delight, they bounced back and they seem to be thriving in my place this year.  Japanese wild asters normally flower in October, and my other variety with dark purple flowers come into season like common wild asters with lilac flowers.  However, this pink variety seems to produce more flowers in early summer instead of autumn.

種から育てたボリジが勢いよく育って、花茎が続々上がってきます。な～んか、期待とのギャップが大きいので、葉も花も利用していません。葉はサラダとして生で食べるとキュウリの風味だと言うので、一度だけ齧ってみて終わり。他にはスープや野菜炒めにも使えるそうです。葉っぱ、茎、花のガク全てにトゲトゲの毛が生えています。

The borage plants that I grew from seeds are doing exceptionally well in a pot, with flower stems coming out one after another.  I had never seen borage plants, and these are turning out to be quite different from what I imagined.  The ratio of flowers to the total plant is not attractive, and the whole plant (leaves, stems and even the calyces) are covered with spiny hairs.

エディブルフラワーと言われても、毛むくじゃらの花は童話の中の魔女が育てる植物のようなイメージです。

They say the flowers are edible, but they look like something that fairy tale witches might be growing.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

毎日タイガをブラッシングしているうちに「洗ったほうが速い！」と思い、午後にシャンプーしました。その後は自然乾燥の散歩で公園へ向かいました。

I brush Taiga's coat every morning during her moult.  However, I decided that it might be much quicker to wash her.  So, I gave her a shampoo this afternoon, followed by a walk to the park for natural drying.

歩いているうちに抜け毛が浮き上がってきます。引っ張りたい衝動をガマンして、

As she walked, loose undercoat hair started rising to the surface, but I resisted the temptation to pull it out until we arrived at the park.

公園に着きました。ブラシとゴミ用袋を持参しているので、林の日陰で休憩。

Once in the park, we went into the shade of the woodland, and I pulled out the brush and a plastic bag to collect the loose hair.

まずは浮いた抜け毛を手で引っ張って、その後にブラッシング。

Such a satisfying feeling to pull out the loose hair, before the actual brushing.

さっぱりしたところで公園の上の草地へ移動しました。

Brushing done, we went up to the upper part of the park.

ちょうど良い風が吹いていたのでオヤツタイム。

In the shade of the tall trees, we enjoyed a cool breeze.  Taiga also enjoyed her treat.

帰宅して、持ち帰った抜け毛を処分。

Having returned home, Taiga saying goodbye to her unwanted undercoat.

ナツメなど Jujubes etc

 先日の網掛ケージの出来に気を良くして、今度はバルコニーに置いてあったケールも網で保護することにしました。2階のナツメ苗の間に点在していた状態でモンシロチョウがやって来ると、狭いバルコニーを移動しながら追い払っていたのですが、ナツメの枝に服が引っ掛かってしまいがちでした。ケールを一箇所に集約して網掛することでチョウの産卵の心配が無くなります。ポルトガルケールはバルコニーに３株、庭に２株。普通のケールはここに４株、庭に１株。

Having confirmed the usefulness of the vegetable cage that I built a few days ago, I decided to cover the kale plants on the upstairs balcony, by gathering them in one place.  These kales had been placed between jujube pots, and whenever I saw cabbage butterflies, I had to walk sideways chasing the insects.  Every time I did so on the narrow balcony, my clothes got caught by jujube branches.  By covering the kales with a net, I no longer have to worry about green grubs.  Having sacrificed one pot of each variety, I now have 5 plants of each, including the ones in the garden.

庭の棗は、今年の春に地植えにした皇帝ナツメと、鉢植えの日本ナツメ。これ↓は皇帝です。

The jujubes in the garden are one 'Emperor' and one Japanese variety.  This tree in the below photo is Emperor which I planted in the ground this spring.

２階のナツメ苗はおびただしい数の花が咲いていますが、着果の兆しは無し。対して、遅れて咲き始めたこの皇帝は、授粉の確認ができる箇所がたくさんあります。でも、本格的な着果が期待できるのは７-８月の猛暑のなかでの開花です。

The jujubes on the upstairs balcony have tons of flowers but no sign of fruit setting.  In contrast, the Emperor started flowering late but I can see numerous flowers that seem to have successfully pollinated.  However, I must not forget that it is really flowers of July-August, during extreme heat, that result in serious fruit setting.

こちら↓は２年前の７月に買った日本種の苗。そのときは猛暑の時期だったので、そうっと鉢増ししただけで、去年の春に絡まった根っこをほぐして徹底的に粘土の土を洗い落としました。そのショックで去年は全く成長なし。今年の春にやっと新梢が出てきて、それがもう50cmほどに伸びています（赤矢印が今春のスタート点）。

This is the Japanese jujube that I bought in July 2024.  We were in the middle of a heat wave then, so I simply potted it without disturbing the roots.  In spring last year, I washed off the heavy clay soil and cut a great deal of entangled roots.  The shock to the plant was too much and there was no growth during last year.  However, this spring, new branches shot out and they are already 50cm long (the red arrows indicate the starting points of this year).

花数も去年より多い。

And, it has more flowers than last year.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

今日も暑かったですが、夕方は乾燥した涼しい風が吹くなか、城北公園へ向かいました。草丈が伸び始めた草地に座り込んでリラックス。

It was another hot day today.  In the evening, we had cool breezes and we set off to the Johoku Park, where we sat down and relaxed among the tall grass.

タイガが目でオヤツを催促。ヨダレが風に揺れている。

Taiga urging me to pull out the treat, with her saliva swaying in the breeze.

今日のは牛タンの乾燥皮で、完全無添加です。

A healthy treat - dried skin of cow's tongue with no additives whatsoever.

カリカリ音をたてて満足そうに食べています。

She savours it making a crackling sound.

あっ、カンタ。

She spots Kanta in the distance.

カンタはタイガより４歳ちかく年下なのに、タイガはいつも低姿勢で挨拶します。しっぽが完全に右側に倒れている。

Kanta is nearly 4 years younger than Taiga, but she always greets him as if she were his junior.  Notice her tail falling to the right - she likes him a lot.

カンタはシュッとした甲斐犬です。

Kanta is a sharp-looking Kaiken.

紫色の舌班が見えます。タイガの舌班は口の奥に小さなのがあるだけ。

He has purple stains on his tongue.  Taiga's spot is much smaller and is located at the back of her mouth.

帰りしな、タービュレンのルイ君にも会えました。ルイ君はタイガより１歳下の12歳で、幼馴染です。
On our way home, we met Louis, a male Belgian Tervuren.  He is 12 years old, and one year younger than Taiga.  They have been good friends since they were puppies.

家の近くまで来ると暗くなり始めていて、東の空に満月がかかっていました。

By the time we reached our neighbourhood, it was getting dark, and I noticed a full moon in the east.

西の空は夕焼け。明日も暑くなりそうです。

In the west, there was a shepherd's delight, indicating another hot day tomorrow.

防蝶ネットのケージ Buidling a vegetable cage, etc

家の北側通路に何年も前に自然発生したピンクのヒメオウギが、今年も少しずつ開花しています。 

Freesia laxa flowers are starting to open on the northside footpath.  It started many years ago with a single seed that might have attached itself on my clothes after I visited my neighbour's garden.

去年から１輪だけ朱色のも咲き始めました。これから増えて欲しいです。

Among the pink flowers, I noticed a red one last year.  I hope this will multiply in the future.

矮性ラズベリーのルビービューティが順次 熟しています。風味はジョーンスクワイアと比べれば少し劣るけど、地上部の扱いやすさも踏まえると十分魅力的な品種です。また、早生でJSやブラックベリーの前、しかもカメムシが登場する前に収穫できるのも有難い。
The dwarf raspberry, Ruby Beauty (or, Raspberry Shortcake) is doing well in the current spot (it was not happy in a pot).  This variety's berries may not be as good as Joan Squire's, but when I take into account the ease of managing the canes, this is an excellent variety to have.  Also, its berries mature before Joan Squire or Navaho blackberry, and before the stink bugs start to appear.

要らない？

Not interested?

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

ケールがモンシロチョウの害に会っています。青虫と競争するかのように葉っぱを収穫するのに疲れ気味。下の写真では、左の２鉢がポルトガルケール、右の１鉢は先日バルコニーから下してきた普通のケール。写真奥のポルトガルケールは今朝も蝶々を追い払ったあと、使えそうな葉っぱを収穫しました。手前のは救いようがない状態です。

バルコニーに置いてあった普通のケールは、庭に下したついでに10号鉢へと鉢増ししたら急激に育ち始めました。

Cabbage butterflies have been raiding my kales.  As a result, I have been forced to pick leaves in competition with green bugs, and I am getting tired of it.  In the photo below, the two plants on the left are Portuguese kale, and the one on the right is a regular kale which I brought down from the balcony the other day.  The Portuguese kale in the back is looking bald, because I picked the salvageable leaves after chasing away a few butterflies this morning.  The one in front is beyond hope.

これがダメージが大きすぎるポルトガルケール。青虫が株の芯の最も新鮮な新芽に集中してウヨウヨしていました。芯が食べ尽くされたのではポルトガルケールの長所が生かされません。よって、この株はボツ。

The green bugs were concentrated on the core of the plant, where the leaves were the tenderest.  Once the core is eaten up, the advantage of Portuguese kale is gone.  So, I decided to get rid of it.

ということで、バルコニーにあった新たなポルトガルケールを10号鉢に鉢増しして置き換えました。
Instead, I brought down a Portuguese kale from the balcony and repotted it in a 30cm diameter pot, as a replacement.

もう毎日モンシロチョウの訪問に目を光らせるのは疲れるので、有り合わせのネットと百均で買って来た支柱とU字型のアーチパイプでケージを組み立てました。慣れない作業で延々と時間がかかりましたが、何とか完成。

To save myself watching out for butterfly visits, I decided to build a vegetable cage.  I built the structure with U-shaped props that I bought from a 100-yen shop, as well as old props and nets at hand.  I had never done it before, and it took me a long time to finish.

マス目が大きいですが、飛来する蝶々の侵入は防げると思います。また、後で気づいたことですが、マス目が大きいので網を開けずにホースで水やりできるのは便利です。「扉」の開け閉めは、付属のクリップのような金具を外すだけなので楽。葉っぱを収穫するときと追肥のときだけ開けます。

The nets vary in size - some pieces with 1.5cm squares, and others with 2.0cm squares.  However, they are small enough to prevent butterflies flying in.  A pleasant surprise I noticed later was that due to the large square sizes, I could water the kale plants without opening the cage.  If I wanted to open the cage, I undo the clips that came with the nets.  However, I will be opening the 'door' only to pick the leaves or add fertiliser.

網の中はギリギリ３鉢が収用できる空間です。

Inside the cage, 3 kale plants manage to fit in.

玄関から見るとこんな感じ。ポルトガルケールの数年後の高さを想定して組み立てたので、よい練習になりました。霜が降りる冬には鉢を軒下へ移動させますが、夏にチョウが飛んでいるうちはこのままで行きます。

View of the cage from the front door.  When I built it, I assumed the height of Portuguese kales in a few years' time, so this has been a useful trial.  I will be moving the pots under the balcony in winter, but as long as butterflies keep coming during summer, the cage will stay.

作業が終わったときは夕方近くで、タイガは退屈して門のそばで寝入っていました。ここなら顔なじみの人たちが通りすがりに声を掛けてくれます。

When I finally completed the cage, it was already nearing dusk.  Taiga was bored and placed herself in front of the gate.  Here, her fans would call her name as they passed by.