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.
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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.
