台風15号 Typhoon No.15

 台風15号の影響で、今日は朝から雨が降りっぱなしでした。午後２時のタイガのオシッコ散歩のときも、雨合羽の装着なしでは出られないほど。でも、夕方４時半頃には急速に台風の影響が消え始めた印象です。予報では明日は台風一過の青空で、気温も再び30℃超えになるようです。

Due to the effect of passing typhoon No. 15, we had continuous rain since we woke up this morning.  When we went out for Taiga's toilet walk at 2 p.m., the rain was so hard that the raincoat was indispensable.  However, at around 5 p.m., the typhoon seems to be heading towards the ocean, away from the land.  According to the forecast, it will stop raining during tonight, and we will have blue sky all day tomorrow as if nothing had happened.  And, the maximum temperature will easily exceed 30℃, as before.

近所のライオンズマンションの向かいにある空き地の、その更に向こうには、完成間近の分譲マンションが建っています（写真右側）。以前ここにはタクシー会社の古い本社建物、自前の整備工場、自前のガソリンスタンドと広大な駐車場がありました。コロナで一時的とは言え大きな影響を受けただけでなく、クルマのEVシフトの影響もありガソリンスタンドは無くなり、駐車場はこぢんまりした新本社社屋横の立体駐車場に移されました。時代の変化を感じさせます。

Across the field near my home, there is an almost completed block of flats (on the left).  This used to be a vast place owned by a tax operating company, with its old Head Office, own repair shop, own petrol station, as well as a vast carpark.  The Covid outbreak had a deep impact on the tax operator - less demand for taxis and less need to keep many cars, and the shift to EV meant that the petrol station was becoming obsolete.  As a result, the land was sold off.  They shoved the Head Office function into the newly converted space underneath the multi-story carpark across the road, what were left of the cars were housed in the existing multi-story carpark, and no more repair shop or petrol station.  To think that during the bubble economy of the 80's, this tax operator was a force in Tokyo, I really feel the flow of the times.

マンション建物の周りには数日前に樹木が植えられたものの、猛暑で葉っぱがカリカリになっていたので、今回の台風の雨に救われたはずです。

Several days ago, they planted trees around the block, in the middle of the heat wave.  The leaves were starting to go dry and crack in the hod wind.  So, this passing typhoon with its heavy rain must have been a blessing.

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もう９月。うちのミカン「日南の姫」は極早生品種で、９月以降の収穫が可能だそうです。

We are already in September.  The tangerine Hina-no-Hime is an extra early ripening variety, and it is possible to start harvesting in September.

２個だけ、少し色づき始めました。

Two fruits have started to turn yellow.

バルコニーが暑すぎて木が弱っていた数年前は、まともな実を味わったことがありませんでしたが、今年こそはと思っています。

This tree nearly died on the upstairs balcony, since it got too hot during the summer every year, and I never had a decent fruit.  So, I am looking forward to tasting the fruits this year.

実のサイズは派手に大きくはなく、昔タイプのミカンを思いださせます。

The fruits are not particularly large - more like the tangerines we used to have when I was a child.

９月はスダチの季節でもあります。この種無しスダチを以前は10号ロングスリット鉢で育てていたときは毎年鈴なりでした。あまりに成績が良いので玄関横に地植えにしたら、木の成長に栄養が集中して実は生りませんでしたが、今年初めて３個の実がついています。

September is also the right time to pick my Seedless Sudachi.  I used to keep this plant in a 30 cm diameter pot, and it proved to be prolific.  When the pot became too small for the tree, I planted it in the soil near the porch door.  For the first 2 years, it concentrated on growing the tree.  This year, it started to produce fruits again - though only 3.

ネット情報によると「最も香りと酸味が強くなる旬は８月上旬から９月下旬の露地物」だそうです。現在うちのは指で挟んでみると石のように硬いので、もう少し待ったほうが果汁がのると思います。種無しは最高です。多田錦は普通の柚子よりも小振りになってしまうけど、種無しスダチもカボスも、実のサイズは種あり品種と同じ、でも種が無い分 果肉・果汁がたっぷりで、料理に使うととても有難いです。しかも、両者ともにトゲ無し。

According to the information on the net, 'Sudachi's best picking time in terms of flavour and taste is between early August and late September'.  Currently, mine are as hard as stones when I feel them between my fingers, so I am going to wait for a few weeks to get more juice inside.  My Sudachi and Kabosu are both seedless and thornless.  The sizes of the fruits are no smaller than the regular ones with seeds.  So, for the absence of seeds, I get more flesh and juice in each fruit, and this is a great fact when I use them in cooking.

プチマル金柑 Seedless Kumquat

金柑のプチマルは７月の頭から咲き始めて、今でも返り咲きを繰り返しています。朝食後の洗い物をしていると、網戸を通して花の甘い香りが漂ってきます。

The seedless kumquat started flowering at the beginning of July.  As is the way with kumquat plants, my seedless variety also repeatedly flowers throughout the summer.  It is again in bloom right now and I can smell the sweet scent when I open my kitchen window in the morning.

何度も咲く割には、幼果のつきかたは「鈴なり」というわけではありません。でも、真夏には他に柑橘類の開花は無いので、自家受粉で種がほとんど入らないのが有難いです。

Considering how often the tree blooms, the young fruits are not exactly in abundance.  However, this tree being the only citrus plant flowering in the summer, the seedless characteristic of this cultivar is enhanced.

この小枝は大実柚子に高接ぎしたもの。こちらは着果率がバツグンでした。

This tiny twig is grafted onto Yuzu.  Although a tiny graft, its fruit setting has been good.

私が夕方散歩前に写真を撮り始めたので、辛抱強く無言で待つタイガ。５時半に家を出ましたが、帰り道では首輪状の明りが活躍しました。暗い道を黒っぽい犬が歩いていると目立たないので、人とぶつかるのを防止できます。

I started taking the above photos just before leaving for our evening walk, and Taiga waited patiently.   We left home at 5:30 p.m., and it was completely dark on our way home - days are really getting shorter.  The dog collar light is indispensable for Taiga to avoid accidents, since she becomes almost invisible in the dark.

フィンガーライムなど Finger Lime etc

 タイガは去年の秋から今年の７月までは、一度も２階へ上がって来ませんでした。老齢の脚でもう階段へは上れないのだろうと思っていましたが、７月からの猛暑が始まると夜は私より一足先に２階へ上がって、寝室のエアコンを催促するようになりました。以前のように一緒の部屋で寝られるので嬉しいです。

朝は私の朝食、シャワー・身支度などを終えて、散歩に出かけるギリギリまでタイガはエアコンにあたりながら幸せそうな顔で寝ています。タイガを起こしに行った後は、私は階段の下で両手を広げて、タイガがズリ落ちてきた場合に備えて待っています。私のそんな配慮をよそに、もったいぶって階段をそろりと降り始めます。

Taiga stopped coming upstairs in autumn last year, until the heat wave in July this year.  Until then, I thought that her legs had become too weak to climb the stairs due to her old age.  However, since the arrival of the heat wave, every night, she goes upstairs before I finish watching the TV and starts asking for the air conditioner to be turned on.  I am only too happy to oblige since it is so nice to sleep in the same room as we used to.

In the morning, I leave her sleeping in the cool air until I have had my breakfast, shower, and get ready to go out any second.  After waking her up, I hurry down the stairs and stand at the bottom of the staircase with my arms stretched open so that I can catch her if she ever slips and falls down the stairs.  Whether she is aware of my thoughts, she moves slowly like a princess.

その前に、ひとまず伸び。これも、もったいぶりの一部。

Before actually coming down, she stretches herself - a part of the diva ritual to make me wait on her.

おもむろに踊り場まで降りると、

After she reaches the landing gingerly,

今朝の私は手にカメラを持っているので、それを置いて両手を広げるまで偉そうに待っていました。こいつめ、と思いながらも、ばーちゃん犬にケガされたくないので、両脚を踏ん張って身構えて待ちます。

she pauses waiting for me to lay down my camera and stretch my arms towards her like a religious admirer.  Such a diva!  However, since I do not want an old dog to slip and get hurt, I obey her with my legs planted firmly on a stair and the floor.

公園近くの屋敷林で見かけたセミの殻。

Near the park, I saw cicada shells on a tree.

セミのけたたましい鳴き声は、暑さに拍車をかけるような効果があります。

The deafening noises of cicadas add to the exhausting heat of the day.

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フィンガーライムのダラムズエメラルドが先月開花していました。この苗は去年の春に練馬の渋谷園芸で売られていた極小苗です。小苗にも拘わらず、去年から結実して実を収穫できたので非常に優秀な苗です。今年の春に８号鉢に移植したので、急に木が大きくなっています。フィンガーライムのトゲは半端ない痛さ。何とか樹形を小さく維持するために、新梢を数回切り戻しています。
This is finger lime Durhams Emerald which I bought in spring last year at a nursery in Nerima. It was an extremely tiny plant then, but a few months later it flowered and even produced fruits that I harvested last year.  Such a good performer.  I repotted the plant in a 24 cm diameter pot in spring this year, and it has been growing nicely.  Finger limes have vicious thorns and I have trimmed back the new growth many times this year.

もう長さ３センチほどの実が生っていました。

I saw the plant flowering last month, and already there are young fruits measuring about 3 cm.

「エバーリーフ」のレモンバジルが伸び放題で60cm超えになっています。これと一緒に買ったジェノベーゼバジルは料理に何度か利用したけど、このレモンの香りの方は、自分では一度も使わず終いになりそうです。苗がまだ新鮮だった頃に一度、お茶にするのが好きだと言う近所の知人にどっさり袋詰めにして持って行ってもらっただけです。

The Everleaf Lemon basil that I bought in May this year has grown taller than 60 cm.  The Everleaf Genovese basil I bought at the same time was very useful in cooking, but I have never used this lemon version at all.  When the plant was still fresh, I cut a bagful of branches and gave them to my neighbour who said she liked making tea with it.  Otherwise, this plant has been left alone.

ついに花穂が出てきて、もう夏の終わりを感じさせます。

It has started flowering which indicates that the summer is nearing its end.

雨のなかのライム Lime fruits in rain

 台風９号の影響で、今日は朝から夕方までほぼ一日雨でした。５号のときのような大雨ではなかったので、庭木にはちょうど良い潅水になりました。東向きのバルコニーに置いてあるタヒチライムの幼果が順調に育っています。

Due to the effect of typhoon No. 9, we had rain intermittently from early morning to the evening.  However, the rain fall was not as heavy as No. 5, and for the plants in my garden it was a day of generous watering.  The Tahiti lime on my balcony facing the east is doing well in the hot and humid Japanese summer.

春の第１回目の開花からの実がついたとき、果皮が葉っぱと同じ色でどこにあったか毎回探すのに時間がかかったので、白いテープを括り付けておきました。それが４個。

The first flowering in spring produced 4 fruits.  The colour of the fruits was exactly the same as the leaves and, every time I wanted to check the state of the young fruits, it took me a long time to locate them.  So, I tied a white string next to each fruit to make them stand out, and it worked.

第２回目の開花からは２個が着果。この苗は２年前に棒苗で買ったばかりで今年が初結実。なので、２回目以降の開花からは着果を期待していませんでしたが、成長し続けています。

The second flowering ended in 2 more fruits.  I bought this plant 2 years ago as a newly grafted tree, and it flowered this year for the first time.  So, I was not expecting any fruit setting from the second flowering onwards, but these 2 fruits look as if they are here to stay.

そして最近の第３回目の開花からの幼果も落ちずに育っていきそうです。

We recently had the 3rd flowering, followed by some fruit setting, out of which at least these 2 seem safe to stay.

金柑の返り咲き Kumquat keeps flowering

 種無し金柑のプチマルが、７月初旬の本格的な開花時期のあともチョロチョロと返り咲きしています。返り咲きの花からも多少は着果するので、歓迎です。

The seedless kumquat has been producing a few flowers repeatedly, following the real flowering period of early July.  I welcome it since such flowers can end in some fruit setting.

最初の開花からの幼果が育っています。地上部が密生していたので今年の春に鬼剪定したときは、来年の収穫は諦めていましたが、いくらかは期待できそうです。

Young fruits from the first flowering are growing nicely.  I cut down this tree in spring this year, as the tree was getting too large.  At that time, I had given up the hope of getting any fruits for next spring, but it made a remarkable recovery.

玄関ちかくに植えてある本柚子を中間台として、セミノールとモロが高接ぎされています。その本柚子の一箇所に、去年の夏にプチマルも接いでみました。

On the yuzu tree in front of the porch, I grafted Seminole and Moro oranges a few years ago, and they are growing steadily.  Last summer, I also grafted the seedless kumquat in one place.

それがまだ小枝の状態で幼果を着けています。ミカンの石地が10号鉢で根詰まりを起こして、去年 枯れそうになって以来、鉢植えのものは保険でどこかに高接ぎしておかないと不安になりました。

The branch is still tiny, but it is already fruiting.  I did this because I was getting worried that the seedless kumquat might end up in the same dire way as my favourite Ishiji tangerine which nearly died as the 30 cm diameter pot was getting too small for it.  Since then, I am trying to graft all the pot-growing citrus trees, as an insurance, on other trees growing in the ground.

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日中はよく晴れて、買い物に出ると発狂しそうなほど暑かったですが、天気予報では夕方には不安定になって所によっては雷を伴うにわか雨が降るかも、という内容のことを言っていました。夕方散歩の時間には本当に曇ってきました。石神井川近くで柴犬のコンちゃんと遭遇。いつもは城北公園の草地で会うので、一瞬 目を疑いました。

During the day, it was so hot that I nearly went mad while out shopping.  However, the forecast was that the weather would become unstable and cloudy, and in some places, there might be rain with thunder.  It did become very cloudy in the evening by the time we went out for walk.  Near the Shakujii River, we ran into Kon, a male Shiba Inu, whom we normally meet at the park.  I had to look at him twice to believe it was Kon.

タイガは興奮して遊びに誘いますが、場違いなのでコンちゃんに却下されました。

Taiga was delighted and invited Kon to play.  However, Kon knew when and where it was appropriate to play and rejected her invitation.

今日のコンちゃんは、公園ではなくうちの３丁目を歩く気分のようです。

Today, his choice was to walk in our home 3-chome district.

今日のタイガの気分はというと、公園とは逆方向の練馬の方角へ、石神井川沿いに歩くことでした。

Taiga's choice was to walk in the opposite direction to the Johoku Park, along the Shakujii River.

川から少し離れたところに生産緑地の指定を受けた区画があり、その一角には一坪ほどのスペースに十数種類の果樹が植えられているところがあります。興味は無くなったけど一応ここに植えておこうという、まるで掃きだめのような扱いです（気持ち分かりますが）。よーく見ると、そのうちの１本がサンシュユでした。

At a small distance from the river, there is a plot officially designated as productive green space.  In one of the corners, there is a space equivalent to two tatami mats, where there seem to be easily more than 15 fruit bearing trees squashed together.  I suspect that the owner lost interest in these trees but not enough to discard them (I know the feeling), so the trees were shoved into this corner.  Today, I discovered one of them was a fruiting dogwood.

そのサンシュユは、極東アジアに自生するもの（野生種）なのか、それとも西洋サンシュユなのか、判断がつきません。城北公園近くの、幼児専用の公園（こどもの森）には２本の野生種が植わっています。大木なのに実の付き方は非常に疎らで、公道から見てよく目を凝らさないと見つけられません。疎らの点ではこの木の実付きも同じですが、実のサイズはこちらのほうが大きいです。ただし、ショリコなどの西洋サンシュユなら、実の形は似ているけど遥かに豊産性のはず。

However, I cannot tell whether this is one of the wild dogwood trees that are indigenous to the Far East Asia, or if this is one of the Cornelian cherry varieties (Cornus mas).  Now, there are two Asian wild dogwood trees in the park dedicated to infants, near the Johoku Park.  The trees are large and mature, but the fruits are sporadic.  Looking for fruits on those trees from the public road (the park is for infants only), I really have to strain my eyes.  The fruits are also very tiny, which is expected of the Asian wild variety.  In contrast, the fruits on this tree are much larger.  However, if this tree was a Cornelian cherry tree, it should be prolific like Jolico.

この木の存在が私にとって意味ある発見だったのは、蕾の観察ができたことです。うちの近所にはハナミズキの木ならいくらでも植わっているけど、蕾の出方に関しては全く参考になりません。また、「こどもの森」のサンシュユは大木すぎて、公道からの観察はムリ。それが、この木の枝は手にとって観察できます。

The value of discovering this tree was the fact that I could study when and how next year's flower buds grow.  There are countless flowering dogwoods in my district since they are popular garden trees, but they are no use when it comes to learning about flower buds.  As to the two large wild variety trees in the kids' park, they are too tall and too far from the public road.  In contrast, with this tree, I can reach out and hold the branches in my hand to study.

この丸いポチは、うちのパイオニアに出ているものとそっくり。やはりあれは蕾で間違いないようです。見方を変えると、パイオニアのあの１個だけが蕾であって、１歳上のカザンラクに現在全く出ていないということは、来年も花は無しということになります。そういう判断を可能にするという意味で、この木の発見は貴重でした。

今日は既に薄暗くなっていたので、日を改めて見に来たいです。

These round flower buds are almost identical to the one on my Cornus mas 'Pioneer'.  I am now convinced that it is a flower bud for next year.  Looking at the situation from another angle, it means that I have only one flower bud, and Kazanlak, although one year older than Pioneer, will have no flowers next year again.  Finding this tree has been meaningful in the sense that I can have a clear idea about my Cornelian cherry trees.

It was getting dark, so I will come back another day at an earlier hour.