今日は不安定な天気の一日。早朝散歩の頃には雨は一旦止んでいましたが、家の近くの道路工事現場から丘の向こうへ続く道を眺めると、霧のようなモヤがかかっていて、向こうはまだ霧雨が降っているかのようでした。空も怪しい。
The weather was unstable today with occasional showers. By the time we went out for our morning walk, the rain had stopped but the humidity was high. Looking towards the hill where nearby road construction leads to, the scenery was hazy as if it was raining at the end of the road.
When we arrived at the Johoku Central Park, we met Bunta, a male English Bulldog. He had been to the dog park and had lots of fun with large dogs. So, he looked thoroughly exhausted and content to go home.
名前を呼んでもアゴをカゴに乗せたまま。
When I called his name, he did not have the strength to lift his jaw from the basket.
入口広場の林には木漏れ日が射していて、気温も急上昇中。かなり蒸し暑いです。
The sun was shining through the trees when we went further into the woodland, and it was getting very muggy.
もうイチョウが落ち始めています。
The ginkgo nuts season is about to start.
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
これがその庭木で、今年の春にはオリーブのような実が生っていました。どうやら咲いているみたいですが、キンモクセイのような多花性ではなさそう。
ブログ友の「海月ファーム」さんにこの木の名前を教えてもらって、ネット上で開花写真を見ていたので、今日この花を見て納得しました。本当に色が薄い。だから「ウスギモクセイ(薄黄木犀)」。枝によっては白花の「銀モクセイ」かと思うほど白っぽい花の箇所もありました。
花の香はほとんど感じませんでした。この家の近所の家々にはキンモクセイが咲いているので、微風が顔に当たるたびにそれらの花の香が強烈に香ってくるのは分かりますが、風が止んだとたん、ほとんど匂いがしなくなりました。
お昼ご飯のあと、通常は近場でオシッコ散歩だけで済ますのですが、今日は天気が良いので長めの散歩にしました。うちの前の坂道を登り切ったところにある、紀州犬のウメちゃんの家ではキンモクセイが満開状態。つい２週間前に植木屋さんたちが庭木の剪定をしていたとき、「キンモクセイは花の後に剪定すれば良いのでは？」と思いながら通りましたが、さすがに職人さんの仕事は違う。
After lunch, we normally have the shortest possible walk in the neighbourhood, just for Taiga to relieve herself. However, since the sky was turning blue after so many rainy days, we had a longer walk. About 20 meters up on the slope from my house, Ume, a female Kishu Ken lives. They had gardeners 2 weeks ago for autumn pruning of their trees. At that time, I thought that they should leave the osmanthus tree alone until after the forthcoming flowers. However, I can now see that the professionals knew what they were doing.
花が露出するように、枝の先っちょの葉っぱの部分を取り除いた剪定方法のようです。
They meticulously removed the end of each branch where there were leaves.
小枝の下を覗く必要もなく花を見ることができます。
The result is that the flowers are exposed fully.
そういえば例の「ウスギモクセイ」はどうなっているのだろうと思い、6丁目へ向かいました。途中の小さな公園。道の横のザクロの実をチェック。
That reminded me about the rare kind of osmanthus that I saw in spring this year. That tree had fruits looking very much like olives, which was a great surprise. When osmanthus was introduced to Japan, I am told that they brought only female trees and they do not get fruits without male trees.
So, we set out to the next district to see if that tree was in bloom this time of the year.
まだ落ちずに綺麗な実がついています。春にはおびただしい数の花が咲いて、秋にはこうやって実を眺めることができるなら、結構優秀な庭木です。
On our way, there is a pomegranate tree growing in a small park and its fruits are looking very pretty. This tree had an abundance of flowers in spring and now it has many beautiful fruits. What a good ornamental tree.
その公園の斜め向かいの家のキンモクセイもチェック。
Almost opposite to the park, there is a tall osmanthus tree in a large private garden.
これは全く剪定してない自然体の枝ぶり。この家の庭は広いので、放任するスペース余裕があります。
This one is without pruning and this is how it should look if left naturally. But you have to have a large garden.
私がキンモクセイに集中している間、タイガは藪の中のネコに夢中でした。数匹のネコが、さっきの公園とこの広い庭を行き来しながら住み着いています。
As I was absorbed in looking at the osmanthus tree, Taiga was busy with something else. A cat in a bush. Several cats live in this garden and the park opposite, so Taiga enjoys passing through this area.
三毛猫でメスのようですが、野良のキツイ目つきでした。
A calico, so it must be female. However, she has a fierce look in her eyes since she is a feral cat.
ウスギモクセイ目がけて坂道を下りていきます。
A calico, so it must be female. However, she has a fierce look in her eyes since she is a feral cat.
We went down the slope towards the unusual osmanthus tree.
This is the tree. Its formal name is Osmanthus fragrans var. thunbergii Makino, according to Wiki. To you and me, it's osmanthus with pale flowers.
The unusual thing about this variety is that it produces fruits by self-pollinating.
A blog friend who saw my posting told me the name of this tree, and the name in Japanese means "pale yellow osmanthus". This tree does not produce abundant flowers.
I have seen a white flower variety whose name means "silver osmanthus", as opposed to the normal variety whose name means "golden osmanthus". On some sites, people treat the 'pale yellow' and 'silver' varieties as more or less the same.
The flowers do not have noticeable scent. Many houses nearby have golden osmanthus trees and, every time I felt a breeze on my face, I smelt their scent. The moment the breeze stopped, the scent ceased, too.
