タイガのシャンプーなど After shampoo etc

 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.

ナツメなど Jujubes etc

 先日の網掛ケージの出来に気を良くして、今度はバルコニーに置いてあったケールも網で保護することにしました。2階のナツメ苗の間に点在していた状態でモンシロチョウがやって来ると、狭いバルコニーを移動しながら追い払っていたのですが、ナツメの枝に服が引っ掛かってしまいがちでした。ケールを一箇所に集約して網掛することでチョウの産卵の心配が無くなります。ポルトガルケールはバルコニーに３株、庭に２株。普通のケールはここに４株、庭に１株。

Having confirmed the usefulness of the vegetable cage that I built a few days ago, I decided to cover the kale plants on the upstairs balcony, by gathering them in one place.  These kales had been placed between jujube pots, and whenever I saw cabbage butterflies, I had to walk sideways chasing the insects.  Every time I did so on the narrow balcony, my clothes got caught by jujube branches.  By covering the kales with a net, I no longer have to worry about green grubs.  Having sacrificed one pot of each variety, I now have 5 plants of each, including the ones in the garden.

庭の棗は、今年の春に地植えにした皇帝ナツメと、鉢植えの日本ナツメ。これ↓は皇帝です。

The jujubes in the garden are one 'Emperor' and one Japanese variety.  This tree in the below photo is Emperor which I planted in the ground this spring.

２階のナツメ苗はおびただしい数の花が咲いていますが、着果の兆しは無し。対して、遅れて咲き始めたこの皇帝は、授粉の確認ができる箇所がたくさんあります。でも、本格的な着果が期待できるのは７-８月の猛暑のなかでの開花です。

The jujubes on the upstairs balcony have tons of flowers but no sign of fruit setting.  In contrast, the Emperor started flowering late but I can see numerous flowers that seem to have successfully pollinated.  However, I must not forget that it is really flowers of July-August, during extreme heat, that result in serious fruit setting.

こちら↓は２年前の７月に買った日本種の苗。そのときは猛暑の時期だったので、そうっと鉢増ししただけで、去年の春に絡まった根っこをほぐして徹底的に粘土の土を洗い落としました。そのショックで去年は全く成長なし。今年の春にやっと新梢が出てきて、それがもう50cmほどに伸びています（赤矢印が今春のスタート点）。

This is the Japanese jujube that I bought in July 2024.  We were in the middle of a heat wave then, so I simply potted it without disturbing the roots.  In spring last year, I washed off the heavy clay soil and cut a great deal of entangled roots.  The shock to the plant was too much and there was no growth during last year.  However, this spring, new branches shot out and they are already 50cm long (the red arrows indicate the starting points of this year).

花数も去年より多い。

And, it has more flowers than last year.

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今日も暑かったですが、夕方は乾燥した涼しい風が吹くなか、城北公園へ向かいました。草丈が伸び始めた草地に座り込んでリラックス。

It was another hot day today.  In the evening, we had cool breezes and we set off to the Johoku Park, where we sat down and relaxed among the tall grass.

タイガが目でオヤツを催促。ヨダレが風に揺れている。

Taiga urging me to pull out the treat, with her saliva swaying in the breeze.

今日のは牛タンの乾燥皮で、完全無添加です。

A healthy treat - dried skin of cow's tongue with no additives whatsoever.

カリカリ音をたてて満足そうに食べています。

She savours it making a crackling sound.

あっ、カンタ。

She spots Kanta in the distance.

カンタはタイガより４歳ちかく年下なのに、タイガはいつも低姿勢で挨拶します。しっぽが完全に右側に倒れている。

Kanta is nearly 4 years younger than Taiga, but she always greets him as if she were his junior.  Notice her tail falling to the right - she likes him a lot.

カンタはシュッとした甲斐犬です。

Kanta is a sharp-looking Kaiken.

紫色の舌班が見えます。タイガの舌班は口の奥に小さなのがあるだけ。

He has purple stains on his tongue.  Taiga's spot is much smaller and is located at the back of her mouth.

帰りしな、タービュレンのルイ君にも会えました。ルイ君はタイガより１歳下の12歳で、幼馴染です。
On our way home, we met Louis, a male Belgian Tervuren.  He is 12 years old, and one year younger than Taiga.  They have been good friends since they were puppies.

家の近くまで来ると暗くなり始めていて、東の空に満月がかかっていました。

By the time we reached our neighbourhood, it was getting dark, and I noticed a full moon in the east.

西の空は夕焼け。明日も暑くなりそうです。

In the west, there was a shepherd's delight, indicating another hot day tomorrow.

終わらない換毛 Endless moulting

 タイガの換毛期がまだ続いています。例年だと２月末頃に年最初の換毛があり、つづいて４月末にまたあって冬毛が抜けますが、今年は５月まで換毛が始まらなかったので、２回分を一気に処理している印象です。梅雨の頃にまたあるはすなので、もう「春と秋の換毛期」というのはタイガには当てはまりません。

Taiga is still moulting.  Normally, the first moult of the year starts around late February, followed by the second one in late April.  However, this year, she did not start moulting until May, and it seems that she is now getting rid of the winter coat in one go.  She also moults during the rainy season in June.  They say that double coated dogs moult twice a year, in spring and autumn.  It worked with Taiga until she was about 4 years old, but since then, she seems to shed almost through the year except during the peak of summer or winter.

散歩中に毛の塊が浮いて来ると引っ張りたくなりますが、それでは道路を汚してしまうので帰宅するまでガマンです。

Lumps of loose hair surface while we are out for a walk and the temptation is great to pull them out.  However, that would littler the pavement, so I wait until we get home.

今までいろんなブラシを試しましたが、「ファーミネーター」が万能。背中の蓑毛、脇腹や腿のアンダーコートだけでなく、足先の１センチもない短い毛まで、全てに対応できます。タイガが未だ生まれてもいないうちから、待ちきれずに買ったファーミネーターなので、初期モデルの黄色と黒のタイプ。タイガは今年の５月で13歳になったので、もうそんなに長く使っていることになります。

I have tried many kinds of brushes, but the best one is the Furminator.  It effectively gets rid of the straight outer hair on her back, the thick undercoat on her sides, and even the miniscule hair on her feet.  I bought it just after contacting the breeder and booking a puppy.  Taiga's mom had not even come into heat, but I was so excited that I started collecting doggy items including the Furminator.  Since Taiga has reached the age of 13 in May this year, I have been using it for so many years now.

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ここ２,３日 庭仕事を頑張ったので、夕方にケーキを焼きました。すっかり定番になってしまったヨーグルトケーキです。まるで軽いチーズケーキのような味です。

As I have done a lot of work in the garden for the last few days, I made myself a cake this evening.  It is my favourite recipe - yogurt cake.  It tastes like a cheesecake.

フワフワして、とても美味しいです。（手前味噌）

It is fluffy and delicious, even though I say it myself.

散歩 Walks

 朝散歩の帰り道、家の前に金魚の水槽が置かれているところを通りました。最近 水槽の掃除をしたらしく、白っぽい個体が多かった前回とは異なる顔ぶれでした。掃除のたびにメンバーチェンジするそうです。

On our way home from the morning walk, we passed by the house where they had fish tanks in front of the house.  The family keeps a lot of goldfish inside the house, and they change the members on display every time they clean the fish tank.  

全身が金色（ここでは白っぽく写っていますが）の個体が綺麗で、写真を撮りたかったのですが、

This morning, there was a beautiful golden individual with sparkling yellow (it looks pale in the photo) and I wanted to capture its beauty.

赤い個体たちが前へ出てくるので撮れませんでした。

Unfortunately, the red ones were eager to come forward, and the golden one was hidden in the back.

その先を少し行くと、家の前の道にまではみ出して、バラの鉢植えがズラリと並んでいるところがあります。この玄関先だけでなく、

Moving on, there was a house with lots of roses.  The potted roses occupied the space in front of the porch as well as on the road.  Not only that,

何メートルも続いて並んでいる。道路に並んでいる苗の根元をみると、挿し木苗で増やした感じです。

there were small pots of roses lined up for meters.  These little ones looked like they were developed from cuttings.

角を回ってその家の横側をみると、ペラルゴニウムの鉢がズラリ。用土の管理の秘訣を知りたいです。

Turning the corner of the same house, there were pots of Pelargoniums.  I would love to know the secret of managing the soil to keep these plants looking so healthy.

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連休以来ずっと良い天気が続いているし、タイガの獣臭が気になり始めていたので、午後にシャンプーしました。ドライヤーをかけるまえに、高温・乾燥のなかを自然乾燥の散歩です。

The weather has been good since the Golden Week, while Taiga was beginning to smell like a wild animal.  So, I gave her a shampoo in the afternoon.  Before using the dryer, we went out to take advantage of the warm and dry weather.

歩いているうちに抜け毛が浮き上がってきます。触ろうものなら塊で抜けてくるので引っ張りたい気持ちを抑えて歩く。

As Taiga walked in the hot sun, her loose hair started to rise to the surface.  I had to resist the temptation to pull it out (it would be bad manners to litter the pavement).

公園に着くまえに近くのコンビニで、シャンプーのご褒美のアイスクリームを買いました。

Just before we reached the park, I got an ice cream from the shop nearby - a treat for Taiga to associate shampoo with an ice cream.

「マイスプーン」　以前はステンレスのスプーンを使っていましたが、それだと滑りが良いのでタイガが一気にアイスを飲み込んでいました。この百均のプラスチック製のだと、スプーンに縁取りのようなものがあってアイスが引っ掛かるので、タイガが舐めても用意にアイスが取れてこず長持ちします。

As usual, 'My Spoon'.  I used to use a stainless steel spoon, but it was too smooth and Taiga managed to get the ice cream in one lick.  With this cheap plastic one, there is a lip around the spoon, which prevents the ice cream to be licked off in an instant.  This means that the ice cream lasts much longer.

顔の向きを変えながら舐めても、ちびりチビリと減っていきます。

Taiga may change the direction of her face to get at the whole lump, but the ice cream disappears bit by bit.

最後の一番美味しいところも、ゆっくり無くなるよう私がしっかり掴んでいます。

Now the tastiest part.  So as to make it last, I held it tight.