台風の合間に In between typhoons

 台風30号が過ぎ去って今度は31号が接近しつつあるそうですが、昨夜から今朝にかけての強風で軒下のキンカンライムの鉢植えが転倒していました。

As soon as typhoon No.30 was gone, another one, No.31, is approaching the southern tip of Japan.  We had strong winds during last night and this morning.  When I came out of the house, I saw the limequat plant having fallen from its usual spot.

今年は成り年なのでもっと気を配るべきでした。

This is the bumper year, so I should have been more careful.

黄色く色づき始めたものは大丈夫でしたが、

This fruit starting to turn yellow was safe, but

鉢を戻してみると全部で７個の実がもげていました。

I found 7 fruits on the ground when I lifted the plant.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

今朝の風は冷たくて手が悴むほどでした。なので防寒具を着て、手には軍手で公園へ向かいました。川沿いの歩道を歩いていると、先日開花していたクコの株が

This morning's wind was very cold and my hands were freezing.  I went out with a rain jacket on, and gloves for my hands.  As we walked along the pathway, we came to the spot where we had seen a goji berry bush several days ago - this is how it was then.

今朝はこんな↓状態になっていました。植樹帯は年に数回の草刈りなどが行われますが、雑草の状態をみると前回と今回では何ら変わりありません。もしかしたらアベリアなどの花木を剪定した際、この株が何なのか知らない作業員がこうしたのでしょう。

This is how it was this morning.  The local government send out workers to tidy tree planting areas several times a year.  However, the weeds look untouched since last time we saw the goji berry plant.  They probably came to trim the flowering bushes and some ignorant person thought this was an unwanted plant.  In that case, what a sloppy job - it looks as if they vandalised it.

毎年こうなので実が生っているところを見たことないですが、株自体は根元が結構大きくなっています。それほどタフな植物です。

They always do this to this bush, so I have never seen red goji berries growing on the tree.  At least, the base of the bush is getting pretty large, which proves what a tough plant it is.

最初の草地に到着。風が強くて本当に寒いです。

We arrived at the first field near the Johoku Central Park.  The wind was still strong and cold in the woods.

川を渡って城北中央公園の上のほうを目指します。数日前に久しぶりにここを通ったとき、対岸の元草地を見てびっくり。異様に大きな構築物があります。

We crossed the river and entered Johoku Central Park and walked towards the higher ground.  When I passed here several days ago for the first time in months, I was surprised to see the strange-looking huge structures on the other side of the river.

洪水対策として地下に調整池を作っているところです。第１期は写真の右側にL字型に伸びていて、７-８年かけて終了。現在第２期が進行中で、やはり７-８年かかるので完成した頃にはタイガはもういないはずです。ここはタイガが子犬のときから数年間、朝・夕に遊びにきていた草地で、ワンコ友達がたくさんできました。その意味では大変ラッキーな犬生を過ごしました。

They are building an underground reservoir to cope with potential floods.  The First Phase was completed a few years ago after 7-8 years of work.  They moved the site to the current place for the Second Phase which will also take 7-8 years.  By the time they complete the whole project, Taiga will be long gone.  When this place was a vast field, Taiga played with her friends every morning and evening.  She virtually grew up in this field forming friendships with many pooches.  She was very lucky to have had that experience.

これが草地だったころの眺めを見下ろしたところ。

The field looked like this, viewed from where we are standing now.

これはタイガの仲良しが草地に到着したのを見つけて出迎えに行くところ。

Every morning, Taiga used to wait for her friends to turn up - she has just spotted some.

これはバーニーズのジャム君とのショット。ジャム君はタイガよりも半年後の生まれでしたが、大型犬なのでもう虹の橋を渡ってしまいました。でもタイガとたくさん遊んでくれた思い出があります。道でジャム君ママに遭遇しようものなら狂喜して喜びます。

This is with her Bernese friend, Jam, who was 6 months younger than Taiga.  As a large breed, he is no longer of this world, but the memories of playing together remain.  Even now, when Taiga runs into Jam's mom on the street, Taiga goes nuts with joy.

現実に戻って、公園上のほうを目指します。

Back to reality, we continue our walk towards the top of the hill.

道の左の土手を見上げると、強風にあおられて大枝が揺れています。風が冷たい。

Looking up the left side of the path, large branches were swaying dramatically in the cold wind.

古代家のある林を通り抜けて、

We walked through the woods and

広場でゆっくり休んでから帰宅しました。

having reached the field at the top of the hill, we relaxed before going home.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

天気が良いのでガイガが家の中に入らずにグズグズしています。

Due to the fine weather, Taiga did not want to go inside when we arrived home.

通路の右手に珍しいものを発見。

I noticed something new on the righthand side.

ジミだけど見たことない花です。

An unassuming flower that I have never seen before.

夏の間ほかの植物の後ろになって私はすっかり忘れていたのですが、今年の１月に買った小さなタラゴンの苗が育っていました。冬の前に乾燥させて、お茶用に保存しようと思います。

It was tarragon that I bought in January this year as a tiny plant.  It had been quietly growing behind other plants through the summer months.  I now remember learning about the benefits of tarragon tea, so I will be drying the leaves for later use.

タイガが目くばせで「道に出せ」の圧をかけてくるので、

Taiga has expressive eyes when she wants something.  Now she is demanding to come out to the road.

家の前でほんの少しの間、追いかけっこをしました。

We had a game of chasing each other in front of the house, just for a short while.

今朝の最低気温は12℃、明日の予報は11℃となっているので、パッションフルーツの鉢植えは今日中に２階部屋へ移動させます。南向きガラス戸のそばにおけば越冬は楽勝です。

This morning's lowest temperature was 12℃, while the same for tomorrow morning is forecast to be 11℃.  So, I will be taking this passion fruit plant upstairs later today.  It will comfortably spend the coming winter sitting close to the south-facing glass doors.

大雪棗の2026年ほぼ終了 End of 2026 for Big Snow Jujube

 今日の雨のなか、大雪棗の残っていた実のうちの最大果が色づきました。7月の開花から２個だけ着果したうちの一つです。もう１個は先日のアクシデントで枝が折れた際、青いうちにもげてしまいました。

Another rainy day, but the last of the large-sized Big Snow Jujube ripened.  This is one of the two fruits from July flowering, and they were larger than those from August flowering.  Of the two, the other one fell off the branch when the whole tree was knocked down by the typhoon gust.  

これくらいまで赤くなれば完熟でしょう。

The fruit is red all over and looks ready for picking.

果皮はまるで油を塗ったかのようにピカピカです。

The skin is shiny as if covered in oil.

他に残っているのは非常に小粒で時期的にこれ以上肥大しないと思います。よって大雪棗はこれで2026年度を終了、同時に棗全体がこれで今年は終わりました。来年は、今年買った新疆棗王が実を着けてくれれば、もう少し収穫期間が延びるかも。

What is now left on the tree are tiny fruits and they are not likely to grow further this late in the season.  Therefore, this is the end of 2026 for Big Snow Jujube as well as for all jujube varieties I have.  Next year, however, I am hoping that the Xinjian jujube variety that I bought this year will produce some fruits.  As a late maturing variety, the Xinjian jujube should extend the harvesting period in the future.

果重は29gで、先日もげてしまった７月着果からの最大果の31gに届きません。

This fruit weighed 29g, whereas the other large fruit that fell off the tree the other day weighed 31g.

でも、こちらは完熟なので糖度は高いです。46.3%と

The other fruit was still green when I lost it but this one being ripe, the sugar content is higher with 46.3% and

44.4％。とても甘いですが、果汁が少ない。来年以降に期待です。

44.4%.  When I tasted it, it was very sweet but not juicy.  Hopefully the juiciness will improve in the future as the tree matures.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

YouTubeで見たベトナム風のフランスパンに挑戦。正統派のバゲットとは異なり少量の油・バターも入ります。生地の成形が終わり最終発酵へ。

I baked sandwich buns using the recipe for no-knead crusty bread.  

The dough is ready for final proofing.

発酵完了

Final proofing one.

クープを入れて230℃で30分焼きました。

After making coupes, bake for 30 minutes at 230℃.

焼き上がり

Done

冷めたら試食。

The bread is now cool enough.

外はバリバリ、中はフンワリです。

It is hard on the outside but very soft on the inside.

菊の開花始まるetc Chrysanthemum etc

 玄関前に植えてある食用菊の「松風」が咲き始めました。今日は台風30号の影響で終日雨だったので、花の開きかたがゆっくりです。他にも２品種の菊がありますが、まだまだ硬い蕾です。菊は毎年春に新しい土に植え替えていますが、狭いうちの庭では場所を変えることはできないので、古い土をごっそり取り除いて、他で休ませてあった土と入れ替えています。

The edible chrysanthemums in front of the porch have started to flower.  Due to the typhoon No. 30 approaching the southern tip of Japan, it rained all day today, so the flowers are developing very slowly.  I have two other varieties of chrysanthemum, but they are far behind.  Chrysanthemums grow better in new soil every year, so I change the soil in spring by removing the old soil out of the ground and replacing it with fresh soil that I prepared during the winter.

今年はヒョロヒョロと草丈が伸びてしまいました。例年なら夏の間に数回切り詰めることで、草丈を抑えながら且つ枝の分岐を促しています。それが、今年の夏は相次ぐ台風の影響で雨続きだったので、いつもなら８月下旬に行う最後の切り詰めをさぼってしまいました。切り戻しがなかったことで蕾の形成が早くなり、開花時期も早くなってしまいました。

The plants are looking lanky this year.  Normally, I cut the plants back several times during the summer, which encourages them to stay stocky as well as producing more branches.  This year, due to the continual rain lasting nearly 1 1/2 months, I skipped the trimming in late August that I do every year.  As a result, flower buds were formed earlier than usually followed by early flowering, and the stems were left long.

これは玄関から門の方向。

This is the view from the porch, and

こちらは門から玄関の方向。

this is from the gate.

去年は11月にオレンジが色づき始めた頃に、これらの菊が満開でした。

Last year, these chrysanthemums were in full bloom in November when the oranges were turning yellow.

オレンジのほうはまだまだ青いです。

As you can see, the oranges are still green this time of the year, while the chrysanthemums are starting to flower.

毎年秋に、ユリの球根、エビネ、クリスマスローズなどの植え替えを行います。それらの作業が昨日でやっと終わりました。土の再生のために苦土石灰を漉き込んでおいたので、今日の雨は有難いです。春には菊やヒガンバナの植え替えのために利用します。

Every autumn, I repot lily bulbs, Ebine orchids, Christmas roses, etc.  Those tasks were at last completed yesterday, which left a mound of used soil.  I tilled magnesium lime into the soil for reuse in the future, and today's rain is most welcome.  I will be using this soil next spring for replanting of chrysanthemums and spider lilies.

コーネリアンチェリー苗には今年も苦戦しています。猛暑の時期には葉っぱが茶色く枯れて、その後の１月以上の雨で、枯れた葉っぱが腐り始めました。

これ↓はパイオニア。枝の分岐が少ないうえに葉っぱが刈れると貧相になります。写っている緑色の葉は、秋になって出てきたものです。

My Cornelian Cherries are looking miserable this year again.  During the heat wave this summer, a lot of the leaves turned brown, followed by rotting in the long rain.

This↓ is Pioneer.  It always had few branches to start with, and when most of the leaves are gone like they are now, the plant looks rather shabby.   The green leaves you can see are those that came out in autumn.

初夏にはたくさん確認されていた来春用の蕾が、夏の間にポロポロ落ちてしまいました。今残っているものは干からびているので、去年のように冬の嵐に当たると落ちてしまうかも。

In early summer, this tree had lots of flower buds for next spring, but most of them fell off during summer.  Those that are left on the tree look shrivelled and they are probably not viable.  They will likely be blown off in winter storms as they did last time.

こちら↓はカザンラク。枝の分岐は申し分ないですが、葉っぱの枯れ込みが激しいです。

This is Kazanlak.  This one has sufficient branches, but again a lot of leaves have gone dry.

こちらも蕾が落ちて、今確認できるものはこれ１個だけ。これも風に当たっただけで落ちるかも。

Kazanlak lost almost all the flower buds - this is the only one I could immediately find, and it will probably be lost during winter.

玄関前に置いてあったオニユリの球根を植え替えて場所が開いたので、先日株分けしたアロエベラをここに移動させました。軒下で雨水を避けられるので、より適した環境になると思います。これらの苗全部が直径18cmの鉢に植わっていたとは驚きです。

After repotting the Oniyuri lilies that used to stand beside the porch door, I moved all the aloe vera pots in the vacated spot.  I separated these plants recently and they look much happier than they did in an 18cm diameter pot.  Also, being under the balcony, they can avoid direct rain, which should be more suitable for them.