公園で At the park

 今日の最高気温は32℃だったようです。昨日は肌寒いほどで、午後の散歩で温度計が吊るされている道路工事現場の横を通ったとき、気温は20℃を若干下回っていました。10℃以上の変化。

高温を利用して、最近 獣臭を放っていたタイガのシャンプーをしました。タオルで拭いたらすぐに公園へ、自然乾燥の旅です。

The maximum temperature today reached 32℃.  In contrast, it was rather cool yesterday and when we passed in front of the thermometer near the road construction site, it indicated just below 20℃.  Such a big change.

By taking advantage of the heat, I shampooed Taiga who was beginning to smell like a wild animal recently.  After drying her with towels, we set out for the park for natural drying.

公園の時計は午後1:20分前。暑すぎて人影もなし。

When we arrived at the park, it was just before 1:20 p.m.  Not a soul in sight due to the heat.

でも、何とも良い香りが.....    入口の広場にはシナノキ（科の木）が数本植わっていて、芳香が漂ってきました。個人的に、この時期の3大芳香はシナノキ、スイカズラ、ナツメの花の香りです。さらに、写真の右端に写り込んでいるハゼの木からも甘い香りがしてきました。

However, a beautiful scent welcomed me.  In this square, there are several Japanese linden trees, and they are in full bloom now.  Linden flower is one of my favourite scents this time of the year, along with those of wild honey suckles and jujubes.  The tree on the extreme right in the photo below is the Japanese wax tree whose flowers also produce a sweet fragrance.

これがそのハゼの木の全容。

This is the wax tree in full view.

花が満開で、ミツバチなどの昆虫が集まっています。上に挙げた私の３大芳香の共通点は石鹸っぽい匂いなのに対し、ハゼの花はもっと濃い印象です。

The tree is in full bloom now, and there were countless insects such as honeybees.  Whereas my favourite 3 scents mentioned above are similar to a soap scent, the sweet smell of this tree is thick and heavy.

とにかく暑いので、涼しい林を通って公園上のほうを目指します。

To avoid the heat, we walked through the woodland and headed for the field above where there was more breeze.

上のほうの、ノムラモミジがある草地に着きました。

This is the field with lots of shades, and where the red Japanese maple tree is.

日向は暑いけど、

Avoiding the sunny spot, 

木陰にいる限り涼しくて心地よいです。敷物を持参していたら爆睡してしまいそうなくらいです。

we remained cool and comfortable in the wooded area.  If I had brought a tarp, I would have fallen asleep without waking up for hours.

タイガの体がだいぶ乾いてきたので、さっきの林を通って帰ることにしました。

Taiga was getting dry, so we started to head home, walking through the woodland we had passed earlier.

林から出る前にオヤツ。

Before leaving the woods, Taiga gets her treat.

その後、日陰伝いに帰るために桜の木がある草地を通りました。一旦 ベンチで足を止めるとタイガが草地に長居したくて移動を拒否。

After that, we entered another field so that we could pick our way home by walking from one shade to another.  However, once we stopped at a table and bench, Taiga refused to move since she knew that this was the end of the park area.

気持ちは分かるけど、シャンプー後のタオルや獣臭のついた敷物の洗濯など、私はいろいろやることがあるので連れ帰りました。高温のおかげで、３回分の洗濯物は夕方までには全て乾きました。

I fully understood how she felt, but I had a lot of washing to do at home - the towels, her smelly blanket etc.  So, we got up and came home.  Thanks to the heat, all the washing got dry by evening.

皇帝ナツメ Emperor Jujube

 去年の5月25日に届いた皇帝ナツメは、当初から立派な苗でした。今から思うと、あの時点で２年生の苗だったと思います。セールでこんな完璧な苗が売られていたと思うと、お店に感謝です。

The Emperor jujube plant arrived on 25th May last year.  It was a well-developed plant from the start.  I think the tree was probably 2 years old at that time.  I still cannot believe that such a good plant was on sale - I am so grateful to the shop even now.

これが現在の状態。この春に成長した枝を放置していたら、伸び伸びの樹姿になってしまいました。３本の枝のうち最も長いのは最近 摘心しました。他の２本も勢いよく伸びてきているので、いずれ３本の長さを揃える予定です。今年の成長期はまだまだ残っているので、そのうち沢山の脇枝が出ることを期待しています。

This is how the tree looks now.  The 3 branches from last year continued to grow this spring and now the whole tree looks a little lanky.  Of the 3 branches, I have already pinched the tallest one, with the intention that all the 3 branches will reach the same height eventually.  I am optimistic about their future growth, since we have many more months of growth left this year.

バルコニーのこの一角は、もとはパッションフルーツのツルを絡ませるために組み立てたキウイ棚がそのままになっています。南向き、かつ北風以外の風通し良好です。

This corner of the balcony was used for growing passion fruits until 2 years ago, with the vines being supported by the kiwi scaffold.  Here, the plant enjoys full sun, and it is shielded from north wind, otherwise, it gets breeze in any direction.

花が咲き始めていますが気にしない。ナツメは7-8月の猛暑の開花で本格的に着果するので、今の涼しい気候でこの幼い苗に幼果が着いてもほぼ全部落ちるでしょう。これからどんどん枝が増えて、それらの花が真夏に咲けば十分です。

Some flowers are opening, but I do not expect anything yet.  Jujube flowers opening during the hottest months (July-August) are most likely to produce fruits that grow to maturity.  Fruit setting in the current cool weather can be misleading - with a young tree like this, most of them will fall off.

最も地面に近い枝にも沢山の蕾が出ています。去年は最終的に10個の実を生らせましたが、今年はもう少し多くしてもよさそうです。

Even the limbs closest to the ground have a lot of flowers.  Last year, I let 10 fruits grow to maturity.  Since the tree is much larger now, I might go for more this year.

公園で At the park

 四中横の草地に設置されている棚にはサルナシのツルが絡まっていて、今が満開です。写真の左側の柱の脇には雌木、右の柱脇には雄木が植わっています。

The trellis standing in the field near the Johoku Central Park holds two vines of Kiwi berries (Actinidia arguta) - the female plant growing next to the pillar on the left, and the male plant growing next to the right pillar.

ツルが密なので、春から秋にかけて日陰を提供してくれます。

The vines are dense enough to provide a good shelter from the strong sun from spring to autumn.

これは雌花。子房があるので簡単に見分けがつきます。

These are female flowers with ovary - easy to distinguish them from male flowers.

この房の花はどれも受粉済みのようです。

These flowers all seem to have been pollinated.

こちらは雄花。

These are male flowers.

子房が無くて、オシベだらけ。サルナシの花の構造は、キウイのそれと同じ。

Without ovary, the flower is full of stamen.  The structures of male and female flowers are the same as those of Kiwi flowers.

タイガが勝手にあたりをウロウロしないよう、サルナシのツルに係留しておいたら、根元の浮き上がった樹皮を剥がして退屈しのぎしていました。

I had tied Taiga to a vine nearby, so that she would not wander away.  When I came back to her, out of boredom she was peeling the bark that was already starting to come off.

道を挟んで向こうの草地にあるヤマボウシの木は、開花期間が長いのでまだ咲いています。

We crossed the road to enter another field, where there was a Japanese dogwood (Cornus kousa) tree that had been in bloom for weeks.

この木には毎年ピンクがかった花（厳密にはガク）も混じって咲きます。

Some of the flowers on this tree are pink - it happens every year.

これもそのひとつ。「サトミ」という品種名で売られているピンクのヤマボウシの花に近いものがあります。また、うちの近所には門を挟んで白花と、「スカーレットファイヤー」に近いような赤い花のが、紅白で咲く家がありますが、剪定が原因でここ２年間は花が無し。

Now, there is a pink flower variety called 'Miss Satomi'.  I suspect that they developed it through repeated selection out of naturally occurring pink flowers, like this tree.  Otherwise, flowers of the Japanese dogwood are basically white.  Also, my neighbour has a red-flower Japanese dogwood tree with flowers almost as red as the US developed variety called 'Scarlet Fire', but hers is another naturally occurring one and not a cross breed.

赤花西洋トチノキのある築山で一休みします。

We moved to the mound where the European horse chestnut tree was, to have a rest.

今日は曇りで直射日光の暑さはないけど、湿気が高いです。
It was cloudy today and we were spared of the burning sun, although quite humid and tiring.

タイガがおやつを期待してカメラ目線になってくれました。

Taiga posed for the camera, since she expected a treat to follow.

道を渡って城北中央公園の草地に入ると、枇杷の実がもう色づいていました。

We entered the Johoku Central Park, where there was a loquat tree with its fruits ripening.

つい最近まではもっと沢山の実がありましたが、たぶん、野鳥がごちそうになっているのでしょう。

There used to be a lot more fruits until recently - wild birds have been busy feasting on them?

帰り道、桜の木が沢山植わっている草地を通りました。ソメイヨシノに交じって、サクランボが生る正体不明の木が１本だけあります。

On our way home, we passed the field with cherry trees.  Among the usual Somei Yoshino trees, there is one tree that does not belong here.

今はまだ幼果の段階で赤いですが、もう少し肥大して真っ黒になると完熟。野鳥に大人気の木です。

The tree actually produces cherries.  They are still young and red but, when they are larger and black, the fruits are quite tasty.  Then, this tree becomes popular among wild birds.

私がサクランボに見とれていたら、タイガが冷たい草の上でスリゴロを楽しんでいました。

As I was looking at the cherry tree, Taiga was enjoying the cool grass.

また雨 Rain again

 朝からずっと雨。朝散歩で着た雨合羽が乾かないうちにもう午後の散歩の時間が迫っていました。私が廊下を通るたびに玄関に居座ったタイガが圧をかけてきます。

We woke up to another rainy day.  When it was the time for an afternoon walk, the raincoat was still wet from the morning walk.  Every time I passed the corridor, I felt a pressure coming from Taiga who had planted herself by the front door.

近寄ると、わざと視線をはずすのも圧の一環。

When I approached her, she cast her glance down, which is yet another form of putting pressure on me.

「さんぽ？」というと顔を上げました。

On hearing the word 'walk?', she raised her head.

雨はまだ上がっていないので、短いトイレ散歩で近所を歩きました。あまり見かけないジャスミンの仲間が花壇に咲いていました。小ぢんまりした草姿で、花の香りは微香程度ですがジャスミンの香り。

As it was still drizzling, we had a brief walk in the neighbourhood.  I noticed a small bush with jasmine-like flowers in a flower bed.  It had a faint but a jasmine scent.

半つる性のボルネオソケイ（スタージャスミン）ではないと思います。帰宅してネットで調べたら、「木立性星咲ジャスミン」として載っていました。

At first, it looked like Jasminum multiflorum or 'star jasmine', but this plant is a bush, standing upright.  After getting home, I looked it up on the internet and found the same flowers, called Jasminum multipartium, which has some cold hardiness.

その先の家の花壇は、毎年この時期にいろんな花が咲きます。

Nearby, there was a house with a flower bed full of plants in bloom.

これは小輪の花が咲く「バレリーナ」。

This is a rose variety named 'Ballerina' with tiny flowers.

日本のノイバラも好きですが、こちらのほうがハデなので個人的に惹かれます。

I love the multiflora Japanese wild rose, but this rosa Ballerina is more interesting to look at since the individual flowers come in many different shades of pink.

これはシャクヤク。雨水をたっぷり含んで、本来の美しさが出ていないのが残念。

This is a grass-type peony plant, instead of the wood type.  Heavy with the rain, the flowers are not as beautiful as they should be.

その隣にある大輪のバラ。

Next to the peony, there was a large rose flower.

小さめのキャベツのように大輪です。雨にぬれていても、ほんのり良い香りがしました。

The flower is so large that it looks like a small cabbage.  Even with the rain, there was a delicate, beautiful scent.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

１月上旬にこの↓状態だったラズベリーのルビービューティー。雨の降らない東京の冬に何度も掘り起こされて、株はカリカリになっていました。ほぼ現行犯でタイガの仕業であったことを突き止めるまでは、ハクビシンなど野良の生き物のせいだと思い込んでいました。

The Ruby Beauty raspberry was found in this state in early January this year.  The plant was almost dead, having been dug up many times in the extra dry winter in Tokyo.  Until I caught Taiga almost red-handed, I had been silently blaming wild creatures who come out at night.

タイガが入り込まないような隅っこに植え替えしておいたら、有難くも回復してきました。

I replanted it in a corner where Taiga cannot reach, and it has recovered to my great relief.

ちらほら花も咲いています。
The plant even has a few flowers.

上の写真で右端に出ているのは、タイガに食いちぎられて枯れ枝のようになっていたのをダメ元で土に挿しておいた茎。何とか生き返ったようです。
This↓ corresponds to the tiny piece on the right in the photo above (three up).  At the time in January, there was a tiny stem that Taiga had bitten off, and I put it in the soil just in case.  It seems to have rooted.