公園で At the Park

 早朝散歩の城北中央公園で、初めて見る子に合いました。トイプードルの1歳５か月の女の子で、名前は「うらら」ちゃん。タイガをみつけて、後ろ脚の二足歩行で近づいてきました。来ている服が青色だったので、最初は男の子かと思っていました。一緒に歩いているうちに、うららちゃんは、タイガと私が散歩でよく行く早宮地区から来ていることが分かりました。早宮と我らが桜台は、石神井川を挟んでそれぞれ丘の上に広がる近隣地区です。

飼い主たちが話に夢中になっているうちに、うららちゃんは前方にワンコの姿を見つけて、またしても後ろ脚立ちになって近づいて行きました。お医者さんからは、二足歩行は脚を痛めるので止められているそうですが、本人はお構いなし。

During our early morning walk in the Johoku Central Park, we met a new face: a female Toy Poodle, 1 year and 5 months old, named Urara.  When she saw Taiga, she approached us walking on her hind legs.  At first, I thought it was a boy, since she was wearing a blue coloured top.  As we walked together, I found out that they were from Hayamiya, the district Taiga and I often go for our walks.  In fact, Hayamiya and our Sakuradai face each other from their respective hills, with the Shakujii River in the middle.

While we were busy chatting about our interests in gardening etc, Urara spotted a pooch ahead and started to walk on her hind legs again.  Her mom has been advised by the doctor to discourage Urara from walking like this, since it was harmful to her joints.

お目当ての子は同じくトイプードルのソラちゃん、２か月後には17歳になるそうです。

The object of Urara's interest was another female Toy Poodle, named Sora.  Sora will be 17 years old in 2 months.

タイガもソラちゃんと挨拶。ソラちゃんの目が非常に大きいです。

Taiga also greeting Sora.  Sora has such large eyes.

そこへ、柴犬のリンゴちゃんが到着。リンゴちゃんとタイガは知り合いですが、それ以外の子たちは皆初対面。

There came Ringo, a female Shiba Inu.  Ringo and Taiga have known each other since Ringo was a 4 months old puppy.  Otherwise, everyone else is a new face.

リンゴちゃんは未だ３歳になっていない元気炸裂の女の子なので、タイガとはエネルギーレベルが違います。

Ringo is a young girl, not yet 3 years old.  She is full of energy, which is on another level from that of Taiga.

スンとした態度のタイガ。リンゴちゃん、こんなに可愛いのに。

Taiga remains aloof.  How can she resist a cute creature like Ringo?

またしても初対面の子が到着。柴犬の女の子でトラちゃん、10歳だそうです。タイガの名前と近いので、みんな大笑いしました。

Another new face arrives.  A 10 years old female Shiba Inu, named Tora.  We found it amusing to have two 'tigers' in one place.

トラちゃん対タイガ。

Tora v.s. Taiga

しっかりタイガの臭い嗅ぎ。タイガは、相手の年齢やサイズに関係なくどんな子に臭い嗅ぎされても怒りません。

Tora started sniffing Taiga.  Taiga never gets upset when another dog takes a sniff at her, regardless of the other dog's age or size.

うららちゃんが隙をみてトラちゃんの臭い嗅ぎ。

Urara took the opportunity to take a sniff at Tora.

リンゴちゃん（左）対トラちゃん（右）。

Ringo (left) v.s. Tora (right).

ワンコどうしの自己紹介がひととおり終わったあとは、人間たちがおしゃべりしている間、皆まったりしていました。

After the dogs' introduction to each other, humans enjoyed chatting while the dogs remained calm and patient.

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.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

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.

雨のあと After the Rain

今朝の11時頃から雨が降り出したかと思うと、急速に雨脚が強まりました。久しぶりの雨で、しかも涼しい一日。今日の練馬区の最高気温は28℃だったそうです。

夕方散歩の時間までには雨が上がっていたので、水分をたっぷり吸い込んだ庭木をチェック。

We had rain for the first time in weeks, if not months.  It started with droplets at around 11 a.m. but soon it came pouring down.  Thanks to the rain, we had the first cool day probably since early June.  The maximum temperature in our Nerima Ward was 28℃ - who could complain about that?

The rain had stopped by evening.  I checked the state of my plants before going out for our evening walk.  They looked happy after getting plenty of water.

公園の色づき始めたアルプス乙女を見たあと、うちのリンゴの袋を外しておきました。今日の雨にあたって元気そうです。樹上の果物の不思議：間近で見るより少し離れたところから見るほうが大きく見える。

Having seen the apples in the park getting red, I removed the bags from my apples a few days ago.  They look happy after the rain.  Something that always amazes me is that fruits on trees look larger than they actually are, when viewed from a distance.

これはグラニースミス。

These are Granny Smith.

こちらは紅の夢。

These are Kurenai-no-Yume.

グラニースミス   Granny Smith

紅の夢   Kurenai-no-Yume

紅玉   Kogyoku

今年の６月に、道路側に植わっているリスボンレモンと玄関横の種無しスダチに、タヒチライムの枝を一箇所ずつ接いでおきました。これ↓はリスボンレモンへの高接ぎ。

In June this year, I grafted Tahiti lime onto the Lisbon lemon and Seedless Sudachi.  This is the Tahiti lime scion on Lisbon lemon.

最近になって葉っぱが出てきたので、ひと安心です。

Leaves started to come out recently, which makes me feel relieved.

これは種無しスダチの全体像。

This is Seedless Sudachi growing by the side of the porch.

こちらに接いだライム枝にはまだ動きがありませんが、この夏の猛暑を枯れずに耐え抜いたので、そのうち芽が出るだろうと楽観しています。

This Tahiti lime scion has not started budding.  However, it has survived the heat wave of this summer, so I am optimistic that it will start growing soon.

＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝

今日の夕方散歩でタイガは隣の地区の方角を選びました。隣の６丁目を歩いていると、民家の門の上にネコがうずくまっていて、通りすがりのタイガのほうをジッと見ていました。

Taiga chose the residential area for the evening walk today, instead of the park.  As we were walking through our neighbouring 6-chome district, there was a cat crouched on a fence, staring at Taiga as we were passing by.

野良猫は気が強くてタイガのかなう相手ではないので、遠くから見て通り過ぎました。

Taiga is no match for a stray cat, so we passed by looking at him from a distance and avoided his wrath.

その後は丘の上の住宅街を散策。

We then went up the hill to walk through the quiet residential area.

南向きの丘の斜面をうまく利用して建てられた低層の集合住宅は、別荘地のような雰囲気があります。各棟が丘の上から斜面を這うように下に伸びています。

This development comprises several rows of apartment buildings, built on the hillside that faces the south.  Each of these low-rise buildings stretches down the hillside and has an air of relaxing holiday bungalows.

このあたりは近くに商業施設がない閑静な住宅地。買い物には不便なはずですが、交通量がなくてとても静かです。

There are no commercial facilities in this area.  It may be inconvenient for daily shopping, but the neighbourhood is very quiet with hardly any traffic.

輸入苗３本の幼果 Young fruits of 3 imported plants

今日は午後3時頃に雷雨がくるという予報だったので、お昼過ぎにバルコニーの掃除をしました（結局、降らずじまい）。

去年の12月に届いた３本の輸入苗のそれぞれに、1個+ の幼果が着いています。

これは早脆王。３品種のうち一早く成長が始まったのに、今の枝ぶりはスカスカ気味で頼りない樹姿です。

It was forecast that we would have a thunder and rainstorm at around 3 p.m., so I cleaned the balcony after lunch so that the drainage would not be blocked (as it turned out, no rain whatsoever).  

Each one of the imported 3 jujube varieties that arrived in December last year has at least one fruit growing currently.

This is Early Crisp King.  The tree started growing in early spring, ahead of two other varieties.  However, the current state is not robust with lanky branches and dainty leaves.

先日の写真では早脆王の幼果はまだ長さ1cm未満でしたが、今は２個とも少しふっくらして、私の人差し指の頭ほどになっています。ちなみに、国華園のカタログ写真は、たぶん冬棗の写真を転用していると思います。早脆王の実は楕円形がかった俵型のような形状です。

The last time I took photos of these two young fruits, they were less than 1 cm long.  Now, they look a little rounder and almost as large as the tip of my index finger.  The importer/seller of these plants has a photo of winter jujube as Early Crisp King, I think.  The fruits of this variety should be squarish oval, not a sphere.

こんな感じですね。

This is how they should look.

これは無核金絲棗。早脆王と同じ樹高ですが、枝ぶりはずっと充実していて葉っぱも大きいです。

This is Seedless Gold Thread.  This tree has caught up with Early Crisp King in height, but its branches are a lot more mature with healthy leaves.

先日の早脆王の幼果写真のときはまだ開花中だったものから、4個の実が育ってきました。カタログ写真によると無核金絲棗の実は細長いので、この最初の実はこれから細くなるでしょう。

When I took the photos of Early Crisp King's young fruits previously, this tree was still in bloom, but now it has 4 young fruits growing.  According to the catalogue photo, this variety's fruits are thin and oblong.  This one fruit should become elongated soon.

他の３個はすでに細長い形になっています。

The other 3 fruits are according to the standard.

これは３本注文したうちの本命、蟠棗です。

This is Panzao and the reason why I placed the purchase order.

最近 主幹の天辺から伸び出してきたこの恒常的な枝のおかげで、樹高が40cmほど追加されて現在1mほどです。その真っ直ぐ上に伸びた恒常的な枝から横方向に枝が分岐して、それらの枝に垂直な小枝が新たに出てきます。最終的に、矢印から上に出た枝の全ての葉っぱが拡大してくると、冬が来る前に相当充実した樹姿になるはずです。

Recently, a permanent branch (more like an extension of the tree trunk) came out of the top of the trunk then.  As a result, the tree is now some 40 cm taller and measures about 1 metre.  From the upright new branch, side branches have come out and on each one of these side branches, little twigs are starting to grow upright.  Ultimately, when all the branches above the red arrow have fully grown leaves, the whole tree will look mature before the arrival of winter.

今育っている１個の実。直径はまだ3cm弱程度です。

The only young fruit on this tree keeps growing and, currently, just under 3 cm in diameter.

最近数個の花が咲いて、1個だけ着果したかもしれません。

I had several flowers recently, and one of them might end in fruit setting.

これがその幼果。球体のようなまん丸な形で始まり、直径1cmくらいになると中央が窪み始めます。

This is the one.  The young fruit starts with a tiny sphere and, when it reaches about 1 cm in diameter, a dimple starts to appear in the centre.