最近 あちこちでバラ科の花木が開花し始めているので、いつもより早い時間帯に午後の散歩に出かけました。この民家の庭では豊後梅のような木（写真左）の横で慶応桜（写真右）が満開でした。
Some rose family trees have started to flower recently, and I decided to go out for an afternoon walk earlier than usual. This is a neighbour's house with a Bungo Ume tree on the left, and Keio cherry blossom tree on the right.
In the first park we visited, a mature Asian cornel tree was in bloom. This tree stands above 4 meters tall with lots of upright branches. In spite of all these blossoms every spring, I see hardly any fruits in autumn. I cannot wait for my Cornus mas trees to grow and start producing fruits - it will be such a beautiful sight.
タイガは遊びに誘いますが、オモチちゃんは無視。後ろからスバル君がにじり寄って来るのを警戒している様子。
草地を歩いていると、久しぶりに友達と会えました。白柴のオモチちゃんと、柴ミックスのスバル君。いつもはオモチちゃんが目ざとくタイガを見つけて駆け寄ってくるのに、今日はクールな態度で、タイガの燥ぎぶりが空振りです。飼い主さんによると、オモチちゃんは現在ヒートの真っ只中で友達とじゃれ合いたい雰囲気ではないそうです。
As we were walking through a field, we met familiar faces - Omochi, a female White Shiba Inu, and Subaru, a male Shiba mix. Normally, it is Omochi who spots Taiga from a distance and rushes to meet but, today, she was totally calm in front of excited Taiga. According to her dad, Omochi is in heat and in no mood for jostling with other pooches.
Still, Taiga keeps inviting Omochi to play only to be ignored. From behind Omochi, Subaru sneaks up to her and Omochi is weary of him.
タイガは諦めてオモチちゃんの飼い主さんに挨拶に行きました。
Taiga leaves Omochi alone and says hello to her dad.
バツが悪そうなスバル君です。口を舐めて自分の心を落ち着けようとしています。
スバル君が新ためてオモチちゃんにアプローチ。
Subaru tries his luck,
一括されました。
only to be repelled.
Subaru looks embarrassed and tries to calm himself down by licking his mouth.
他の草地へ移動すると、もう咲き始めたコブシの木がありました。山のコブシの花より豪華で、白モクレンよりも小さいので、実際にはどちらなのか定かではありませんが、コブシのように開花直後の花は北向きです。
We moved to another field and saw a Kobus magnolia tree already starting to bloom. The Kobus magnolia trees in this park have larger flowers than those of wild trees in the mountain, but smaller than regular magnolias that bloom much later in the season. Nevertheless, the flowers of this park face the north just like those of wild varieties.
帰りしなに初めて会った豆柴の女の子。生後８か月のナナちゃんだそうです。最初はガウガウ言って偉そうにしていましたが、そのうち甘え始めました。
As we were leaving the park, we met a new face - a female miniature Shiba Inu, 8 months old, named Nana. She started with a growl and then became playful.
タイガが怒らない犬だと分かると、したい放題。
Once she found that Taiga was a totally calm dog, she got bold.
でも、顔を近づけられると途端にビビって前足が浮いています。
However, the moment Taiga put her face close to Nana's, she became nervous with her front paw not touching the ground.
タイガが飼い主さんに挨拶するために前に身を乗り出したとたん、ナナちゃんは怖くて後ずさりしました。
When Taiga moved forward so as to greet Nana's mom, she was frightened and jumped back.
去り際に、最後の勇気を振り絞って吠えて来ました。タイガは相手が噛みついてこようとしない限り反応しない犬なので、終始無言で落ち着いていました。
As we were parting, Nana mustered the remaining courage and started barking. Taiga stayed calm all the time, since she does not react unless the other dog tries to actually attack her.
