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.

台風と大雪棗 Typhoon and Big Snow Jujube

 今日の最高気温は30℃だったそうですが、それよりも台風30号の影響で強風がものすごかったです。熱風＝ブロードライ効果、ということで、獣臭を放っていたタイガを午後に洗いました。タオルで拭いただけで出かけたので、毛はボソボソです。

Today's maximum temperature reached 30℃.  Moreover, with typhoon No. 30 approaching Japan, we had strong winds all afternoon.  However, hot gale could be used as a blow dry for a dog after shampoo.  So, I washed Taiga in the afternoon, and we went out only after drying her with towels - she looked like a tramp.

道の脇、金網の向こうに赤い花が咲いています。場所は将来 幹線道路になるところで、土地を確保した今、一時的にアスファルトで覆われています。

As we went along, I noticed red flowers on the other side of the wire fence.  Beyond the fence is a stretch of land covered with asphalt, which will be turned into a major road in the future.

センニチコウの「ストロベリーフィールズ」という品種のようです。種がなったら欲しいなぁと思いますが金網の向こうです。

I think it is a variety of globe amaranth called 'Strawberry Fields'.  Although I have placed an order for seeds of another variety, I would love to get some of these when the flowers are all gone.  Unfortunately, they are beyond the wire fence.

強烈な熱風にあおられて不機嫌そうな顔のタイガ。

Taiga looking annoyed with the strong winds rubbing her coat in the wrong way.

城北中央公園の広場に着くと、強風のせいか人影が疎らでした。

When we arrived at the entrance of the Johoku Central Park, there were few people in sight due probably to the weather.

川沿いを歩いていると仲良しのキリュウ（輝龍）がやってきました。

As we were walking along the river, Kiryu, a male Shiba Inu came to greet us.

キリュウはタイガのことが大好きなのに、今日のタイガはそっけないです。

Kiryu is several years younger than Taiga but has always been fond of her.  Yet, Taiga was not in the mood to play with him today.

無人の広場でぶらぶら歩きまわってタイガが乾くのを待ちました。突風は坐骨神経痛あがりの私の脚には酷で、何度も転倒しそうになりました。

We reached a deserted field where we ambled waiting for Taiga's coat to get dry.  But for me just recovering from sciatica, it was quite a challenge not to fall down in the gale.

たいぶ乾いてきたので帰ることにします。

Taiga is now rather dry, so let us go home.

来るときに通った林、大木の枝が大揺れです。

We walked through the woods that we had passed earlier.

さっきの広場に到着。来た時よりもタイガのコートがましに見えます。

Now back to where we were when we came to the park.  Taiga's coat looks much more decent.

帰りしなに通った草地には夏ミカンが生っていました。

On our way home, we walked through the field where a Japanese bitter orange tree stood.

大きな実が強風で大揺れの様はドラマチックです。夏ミカンの左後ろにあるのが

The Japanese bitter oranges are large fruits, and it was quite a sight to see the oranges and their branches swaying dramatically in the wind.  Behind the orange tree is a Chinese quince tree.

カリンの木で、こちらも沢山生っています。

This tree is also prolific.

根元には1個の実が落ちていました。

A quince fruit on the ground.

ずしりと重い。私はあの臭いが苦手なのでカリン苗は育てたことありません。

It was quite large and heavy.  However, I am not fond of that distinct smell, so I have never grown this tree.

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帰宅して、玄関前でタイガの乾燥の仕上げをヘアドライヤーでしていたら、突然頭上のバルコニーで大きな音がしました。後で２階へ見に行ったら、大雪ナツメの鉢植えがハデに倒れていました。何本もの枝が折れて、実と一緒に床に散らばっていました。

大雪棗の鉢植え苗は、つい最近までヒモでバルコニーのトレリスに括り付けてあったのを、実の陽当たりが良くなるよう鉢の向きを変えたときにヒモをほどいたのでした。「ドライヤーが終わったら、苗をまたヒモで固定しよう」と思っていたやさきでした。薄暗いなかで見たところ、苗の半分以上の実が落ちていました。こんな青い状態の実をかき集めてきても無意味に見えますが、一応自分への教訓を記録しておくためです。

At home, as I was applying a hair dryer trying to finish off Taiga's coat outside the porch door, I heard a thump above my head - it came from the balcony above.  After I finished drying Taiga, I went upstairs to see what had happened.  The Big Snow Jujube plant had been knocked down by a gust of wind.  A lot of branches had been broken in the fall together with young fruits, scattered on the floor.

The pot of plant had been tied to the balcony trellis until a few days ago, but I untied the rope so as to turn the plant around for better exposure of the young fruits to the sun.  This evening, after coming back from the park, I was going to tie the plant again after I finished drying Taiga with a hair dryer, when I heard the thump.  The upshot of it was that the tree lost more than half of the young fruits in the fall.  Now, what is the point of gathering the fallen fruits when they are nowhere near ripe yet, you might think.  I took this photo so as to remind myself of the mistake in the future.

そのなかの最大果を計ると、31g。将来、苗が成熟したらもっと大きな実がなるはず、と思って頑張ろう。

I weighed the largest fruit which turned out to be 31g - it was disappointing.  When the tree becomes mature in a few years, I am hoping that the fruits will be larger and uniform in size.  For that, I must take better care of the tree.

念のため最大果と赤く色づいた小さい実の糖度を計ることにしました。

For the record, I checked the sugar content of the largest fruit and the one that was already red.

最大果のほうは41.1%。甘いけれど未だ水分なし。

The green fruit's sugar content was 41.1%.  When I tasted it, it was sweet but not juicy yet.

赤い実のほうは47.1%と

The red fruit showed sugar content of 47.3% and

46.0%。こちらは熟していたので、甘くてジューシーでした。

46.0%.  Since this fruit was ripe, it was sweet and juicy.

頂きものの柿 Persimmon fruits

 お隣さんから庭で生った柿をいただきました。その木は樹齢数十年の大きな木で、柿の実が色づくといかにも「日本の秋」の風情があります。実の形は四角っぽいので一見 次郎柿のように見えますが、こんにちの次郎とは少し違うと思います。果肉は次郎のように硬いけど、風味が爽やか系です。

My next-door neighbour gave me these persimmon fruits this morning.  Her house was built many decades ago by her late parents and the tree looks it has been there since the beginning.  The fruits are squarish, similar to Jiro.  If the tree is Jiro, it must be of the old type - Jiro is an old variety and it has been improved over the years.  The flesh of these fruits is crunchy like that of Jiro, but the taste and flavour are fresher instead of heavy like the modern Jiro.

過去にいただいたものから総合して、種の入りは少なく0-1個です。

From my experience of eating that tree's fruits over the years, the fruits are almost seedless.

糖度計によるとこちらは42.3%

According to the brix meter, the sugar content was 42.3% with this half, and

こちらは25.9%。とても甘くてジューシーでした。

25.9% with this one.  They were both very sweet and juicy.

多田錦柚子など Tada Nishiki Yuzu etc

 今日も冬の前の草むしり、ユリ球根の植え替え、使用済み土の再生準備などで午後が過ぎてしまいました。秋になって自然光が変化したのか、写真がどれも白っぽくなります。玄関前の菊の蕾が膨らんできました。いつもは玄関ドア前を陣取るタイガが、

Another afternoon spent getting ready for the winter, by tiding up weeds, more lily bulbs repotted, recycling used soil for future use, etc.  With the arrival of autumn, the natural light seems to have changed a lot - plants in recent photos look pale.  

Flower buds on the chrysanthemums in front of the porch are getting ready for flowering.  Today, Taiga is absent from the picture.

今日は玄関の中でリラックスして、呼んでも出て来ません。昨日は蚊取り線香の煙を嫌がっていたので、たぶん今日はそれを避けているのでしょう。

She preferred to stay inside the porch, relaxing on the cool tiles.  I think she wants to avoid the incense that I burn in order to repel mosquitoes while I work outside - she hated it yesterday.

秋は果樹の最後の施肥の季節。近所のJAで初めて見かけた肥料を試しに買ってみました。Pが突出しています。骨粉たっぷりの肥料だそうです。これまで果樹のために骨粉だけのものを買っていましたが、結構高い。そこで、リーズナブルな値段で骨粉中心のこの肥料を試すことにしました。

Autumn is the last time I apply fertilisers to my fruit trees.  When I went to the nearby JA, I saw a new type of fertiliser and decided to try it.  I give bone meal to my fruit trees, but it is not cheap.  However, this fertiliser with lots of bone meal was quite reasonable.

さっそく牛糞と混ぜて多田錦などに施肥。この苗は去年買ったばかりですが、今年の春に地植えにしたあと急に枝が繁茂して、現在樹高は1m+。今年の夏はずっと台風の雨続きで、数個の実が裂果して落ちましたが、まだけっこう残っています。

I mixed the above fertiliser with dried cow dung before using it on Tadanishiki Yuzu.  I bought this plant in spring last year.  After I put it in the ground this spring, it grew rapidly and it now measures just above 1 meter.  Due to the long rains during summer this year, several fruits cracked and dropped off the tree, but there are still quite a few surviving.

ほんのり色づき始めた実もあります。

This fruit is starting to turn yellow.

完熟したらマーマレードにする予定。種が殆ど入らないので加工しやすいです。

When these are ripe, I will make them into marmalade.  Tadanishiki is a seedless yuzu which makes it easy for marmalade.

多田錦の隣にはカラカラが植わっています。数年前に地植えにしたあと、初年度に１個だけ実を着けた以外、今までろくに花も咲きません。来年こそ。

ただし、カラカラに高接ぎした星タンゴールの枝に、今年１個の実が生りました。

Near Tadanishiki, there is Cara Cara Orange.  After I planted this tree in the ground several years ago, I had one fruit.  Since then, the tree hardly produces any flower buds even.  Hoping for a better result next year.

However, the Hoshi Tangor Orange branch that is grafted onto Cara Cara has a fruit this year.

栄養を独占してか、星タンゴール本体でも見たことない大きな実になっています。収穫は来年の４月頃なので、さらに肥大するかもと期待しています。

This one fruit gets all the nutrition it requires, and it is already larger than any I have seen growing on the Hoshi Tangor tree itself.  This variety ripens in April, so there is still time to grow.

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健康な食生活のために黒色の食品を摂るべきだそうですが、黒豆は時間がかかるし他に手軽なものはあまり思いつかないので、身近な黒ゴマをおかずに添加しています。今日は黒ゴマ入りの丸パンです。小麦粉400gに黒ゴマ20g (5%)

I am told that for a healthy food life, you should consume black food items, too.  However, I cannot think of many such items that I can take with little effort - black beans take a long time to cook, black garlic is very expensive.  So, I add black sesame seeds to my cooking, and today, I baked buns with black sesame seeds.  I used 20g (5%) sesame seeds with 400g flour.

発酵済みでオーブンへ。

Final proofing done, and to the oven.

もう少しゴマを入れても良かったかも。

Perhaps I should have used more sesame seeds.