苦土石灰を買いに近所のJAへ行きました。斑入りレモンのピンクレモネードに赤トンボが止まっています。
I went to the nearby JA to get magnesium lime. I saw a red dragon fly on a lemon tree - we associate red dragon flies with the arrival of autumn.
赤トンボは最近、公園の草地で夕方になると沢山飛んでいるのを見ますが、こんなに近くで見るのは初めて。
This time of the year, we see a lot of red dragon flies in the Johoku Park in late afternoon, but I have never seen them up so close.

温室を覗いてみたら、ネット上の写真でしか見たことない胡蝶蘭がありました。これは真っ青なタイプ。
I looked into the greenhouse and saw strange plants that I had seen only in photos on the internet - blue phalaenopsis orchids. This one is in deep blue.

「ブルーエレガンス」というのだそうです。染料を注入して作った青いランなので、来シーズン以降に咲く花は普通の白になるそうです。
It is called 'Blue Elegance'. Since the flowers are made blue by injecting blue dye, flowers from next season onwards will go back to white, without the same treatment.

こちらは紫。上の青い苗は花序の先まで開花していたけど、この苗の先端には蕾があります。その蕾が咲くと、どれだけ染料の効果が出るのでしょうか。
This one is deep purple. The flowers of the above plant are open including the ones on the tip, but this purple flower plant has a few flower buds yet to open. Will they be as purple as the rest of the flowers?

花柄が巨大なせいか、
With the huge flowers on this plant,
値段も立派です。
the price is also high, considering the colour lasts for one season only.
私が実際に買ったのは、これらのジミな商品。苦土石灰は、土の再利用のための下準備。キンセンカに関しては、Youtubeでマリゴールドの健康への効果に関する動画を見て、自分で育てようと思いました。花の使い道はいろいろあるようです。
As to my humble purchase, I got the lime, marigold seeds, as well as salad assortment seeds. The lime will be used to recycle used soil. I got the marigold seeds having seen videos on YouTube about the benefits of the flowers and wanted to grow them myself. The salad assortment will be welcome during winter months.
==============================夕方散歩でタイガは城北公園とは逆方向に、石神井川沿いの歩道を選びました。
歩いていると、かなり先から興奮して飼い主さんをこちらに引っ張ってくるチワワに出会いました。2歳半のレオ君。飼い主さんによると、かなり自己主張の強い子なので、「オレ」を逆に呼んでレオになったそうです。とても懐こい子で、タイガの大きさは全く気にしていません。
For the evening walk, Taiga chose the pedestrian path along the Shakujii River, in the opposite direction to the Johoku Park.
As we were walking, we saw a Chihuahua in the distance, pulling his mom in order to get close to Taiga. He is a 2 years old boy, named Leo. According to his mom, he is a 'me first' boy, so when she named him Leo, it was a reverse of a Japanese word meaning 'me'. He is super-friendly, and Taiga's size did not scare him.
高稲荷神社の向かいにある標識のようなボード。いつもはこの近くに腰かけてオヤツにしてから右折して丘を上る道を行きますが、今日のタイガはこのまま石神井川沿いを歩きたいようです。
We came to a spot where we normally take a break for Taiga's treat, before turning left and go up the hill. Today, Taiga wanted to continue the river root.
自宅から坂を下りて石神井川(ピンクの線)沿いを、黄色の星があるところまで来ました。このまま川沿いを歩き、スポーツグラウンド横のイチョウ並木の終わるところで橋を渡り、対岸を歩きます。赤い線は散歩の行き、青い線は帰りのコース。
The map shows where we came from, as well as the road ahead. Coming down the hill to the Shakujii River (shown in pink), we walked in the opposite direction to Johoku Park. We are now at the point shown by the yellow star. We will continue walking to the end of ginkgo avenue, where we will cross the river to walk on the other side. So, the red line shows the first half of our walk, and the blue line shows our way home.
途中、トイプードルと黒柴が挨拶しているところに出くわしました。お互い初対面のようなので、タイガも参加しました。トイプードルの子は5歳のモコちゃん。
As we continued walking, we came across two pooches greeting each other. Since they seemed to be introducing themselves for the first time, Taiga joined in. The Toy Poodle is a 5 years old girl, named Moko.
タイガのことも怖がらずに自分から近づいて来ました。
She showed no fear of Taiga and approached her willingly.
鼻と鼻がタッチする挨拶です。
A nose-to-nose greeting.黒柴の子は7歳の「チャ」ちゃん。本来はマメシバの子犬で迎えたのが、現在9kgもあるそうです。
This Black Shiba Inu girl is 7 years old, named Cha (which normally means 'tea'). When she came to the family, she was a miniature Shiba puppy, but now she weighs 9 kg, and she loves eating.柴の顔の表情筋は豊かです。
Shibas have facial muscles with rich expression.
何とも言えない可愛い子です。
She is incredibly kawaii.
更に歩いて、イチョウ並木。奥に見える橋に到達すると、対岸に渡って引き返します。
We have come to the ginkgo avenue. When we reach the bridge at the end of the avenue, we will cross the river and head home.
橋に到達して今来た道を振り返った風景。右はイチョウ並木、左は桜並木で、秋にも春にも見ごたえが有ります。
From the bridge, looking back the way we came. On the right are gingko trees, and on the left cherry trees. So, we can enjoy the yellow leaves of the ginkgo trees in autumn, and the cherry blossoms in spring.
橋を渡って対岸を歩いているうちにベンチを見つけたので、タイガはやっとオヤツにありつけます。
As we were walking on the other side of the river, we came to a bench. Taiga could at last get her well-earned treat.
嬉しそうな顔。
A happy face.
あと何年、これほどの距離を歩けるかと思うと、毎回大切にしています。
Taiga is 12 years old now and I do not know how many more years she has left to be able to walk this long distance. So, I treasure each walk.
帰りの空は夕焼けっぽくなりました。これは東の空。
On our way home, we had pink sky in the east.
西の空は逆光線になるので、あたりが暗く写ります。
In the west, since we were standing against the sunset, the scenery was dark in the photo.
まるで遠くで山火事でも起きているような空の色です。
The cloud looked like a wildfire in the distance.