うちの斜め向かいにある小さな公園では、一重赤花の西洋サンザシ、クリムゾンクラウドが開花中です。毎年秋には小さな赤い実がたくさん生るので、二度楽しめます。今年はいつもより濃い赤色が出ているので特に綺麗。
In the tiny park, which is nearly opposite to my house, there is a Crimson Cloud tree that I planted many years ago. It produces lovely blossoms every spring and tiny red fruits in autumn.
The colour of the blossoms this spring is deeper than normal years and very beautiful.
Further up the hill, my neighbour's azaleas are also in full bloom. The gardener frequently comes to take care of the trees in the garden, and the plants are always in shipshape.
こちらはうちと同じ３丁目にある開進第三中学の横。赤い一点は君子蘭です。
This is one side of the Junior High School ground that is in the same district as mine. The red spot is Clivia nobilis in bloom.
今年の２月の雪で葉っぱがダメージを受けたので開花があるか心配していましたが、毎年のように咲いています。
When we had the snow in February this year, most of the leaves were damaged and I was wondering if the plant would produce flowers this year. Luckily, the flowers are just as beautiful.
角を曲がると第三中学のグラウンド横の垣根。延々とツツジが続きます。
Going around the corner, we come to the other side of the school ground, where the hedgerow of azaleas seems to stretch forever.
帰宅して二度寝するタイガ。今は人にもワンコにも過ごしやすい気候で、すっかり気がゆるんでいるようで寝てばかりいます。リラックスした精神状態は様々な病気の予防になるので良いことです。
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Coming home, Taiga enjoying the second sleep of this morning. The current weather is so pleasant to dogs and humans, and she seems to be totally relaxed. Being relaxed is a good thing that wards off all sorts of ailments.
ヨモギの葉がだいぶ大きくなったので昨日の夕方、１回目の収穫をすることにしました。これ↓は先日の写真で、
The mugwort leaves had grown sufficiently, and I made my first harvest yesterday. This photo was taken a few days ago, before harvest.
こちらは今朝の状態。刈られたヨモギの横にある鉢は、ローゼルの種が発芽し始めたもの。
This is how they looked this morning. The pot next to the mugwort contains new buds of roselle that have just germinated.
種を播いて１週間もたたないうちに発芽が始まりました。スペース難から、どんなに欲張って育てようとしても３本が限界なので、播いた種は６個だけ。うち３個がすでに顔を出しているので、これで十分です。余った種は来年用にとってあります。
It took less than a week before the first two buds to come out. Due to the lack of space in my place, 3 roselle plants would be the maximum that I can grow this year. So, I sowed only 6 seeds and already 3 of them have germinated. I am keeping the surplus seeds for next year.
刈り取ったヨモギは昨日のうちに葉っぱを蒸して、３段仕立ての青い網を使い、夜のうちは部屋の中で吊るしておきました。今朝になってバルコニーに吊るしたら、短時間でカリカリに乾燥していました。
Back to mugwort, I steamed the fresh leaves for 60 seconds, before spreading them on baking sheets and placing them in a drying net. I left them hanging indoors during last night and then hung the net on the upstairs balcony this morning. As it was sunny and dry, the leaves became completely dry in a few hours.
生のまま乾燥させると食用菊のように黒く変色するのでは、と心配だったので60秒間蒸しました。完成した状態の葉の色を見て満足です。
使わない分は瓶で保存したら、さっそく味見です。
I believe steaming prevents the leaves from discolouring (I do the same with edible chrysanthemums, since drying fresh flowers straight away would make them go brown.) I was pleased with the result with the mugwort leaves which retained the green colour.
I tried the taste of dried mugwort, after storing the rest in a jar.
マイルドで意外と美味しかったです。ほんのり甘味があって飲みやすい。同時に、僅かな苦味とシビレも感じましたが、気にならない程度です。大変気に入ったので、刈り取った株が再生してきたらまた乾燥させる予定です。
This was the first mugwort tea I tried in my life, and it was surprisingly pleasant. It had a slightly sweet taste with a nice scent. But at the same time, there was a hint of bitterness and a tingling sense on the tongue, both quite negligible. I actually liked it a lot, so I am going to make some more when the mugwort plants recover and grow more leaves during the summer.
