sunset this evening It was a very dynamic year for me this year. Various things happened. And many good and bad things happened in Japan and all over the world. May the year 2014 be a peace and happy year for everyone !

Japanese narcissus in my back yard Today is one of 24 seasonal datum points called winter solstice;to-u-ji in Japanese. The length of the day is the shortest in the year. We eat pumpkin and take a Yuzu citron bath this evening wishing for …

a kind of pumpkin called '甘龍南瓜（かんりゅうかぼちゃ）' Taking a walk yesterday evening, I was presented these long pumpkins by a woman who was going home from her vegetable field. It is about 50 centimeters long and the weight is 2 or 3…

Four men came to my house to prune off from trees in my yard the day before yesterday. They belong to senior manpower center. They visit my house every year about this time of the year. The form of pine tree becomes neat. Some kinds of tr…

What's this ? I'll try throwing. Oh, it's fun ! One, two, three, four - - - My grandchild becomes about ten months old now. Everything is new to him and looks at it with interest. He was paying attention to these persimmons and mandarin or…

red leaves at the yard of Nimi art museum. red leaves at Kusama area in Nimi red leaves near my house It's late autumn now and the temperature is very low, so the leaves of trees turned yellow or red beautifully. After these leaves fall to…

I went to a hospital yesterday afternoon. About 2 years have passed since my operation on my right eye. It is going well, but a little problem happened. I couldn't see well as before by secondary cataract, so my doctor used YAG laser to t…

Words of a bulletin board at a zen temple was renewed. It means " Things will become as it will be. Don't worry. " by Ikkyu zenji : a famous Zen priest called Ikkyu san. In a song ’Que sera sera’', they sing it as 'Whatever Will Be, Will …

It was a warm day today. Cold winter is around the corner and we will have very cold days, so I was glad to have an Indian summer. I was very comfortable today. I like autumn the best in a year, but the weather like today seem to be very …

Yesterday afternoon, I went to a hall that is at Mabi-town to attend a meeting held by the Soto sect in Okayama. First we had a chair meditation of Zen Buddhism for about twenty minutes to settle down our heart. The hall was very very qui…

Ke-ko-u-ji Yesterday afternoon, I attended a meeting at a zen temple named Ke-ko-u-ji that stands in the hill in Sojya city. After reciting Heart Sutra, I copied sutra named Ha-n-nya Shi-n-gyo for less than one hour. We offered Sutra-copyi…

I went to Denchu Art Museum in Ibara City to appreciate the sculpture of Koutato Takamura with my sister-in-law yesterday afternoon. The exhibition was being held from August 30 to October 20. Ibara city had the 60th anniversary of the Ib…

Japanese toad lily I restarted my loan to Kiva about after about ten months. She is the eighth person I loaned $25 through Kiva. She is 35-year-old woman living in Sierra Leone and have 6 children. She has been running her business since 2…

Wow ! I see many rice fields like this. Rice plants are damaged by noxious insect called 'UNKA' in Japanese. So some farmers had harvested earlier than usual. My husband's rice fields are also damaged. We should harvest them as early as p…

It's October 1 today. Comfortable autumn has come at last. It's cool early in the morning and at night though it's sometimes hot during the day. Scenery around us is the one of autumn. By the way, I like autumn better than any other season…

Words of a bulletin board at a zen temple was renewed. "If we want too much and become greedy, our way of life may change and we will not be able to live rightly." In Zen Words, "Sho-u yo-ku chi-so-ku or Ta-ru wo shi-ru." It means we shou…

My grandson who recently began to crawl found his grandparent. He is trying to go there. It's difficult for him to crawl smoothly yet. Well, here goes ! He managed to be here !

I've been taking care of this plant for a very long time. I wonder how long will it grow. Though the shape of this cactus is very strange, its flower is very cute.

My grandson 'Mitchi' is about 7 months old now and growing healthy. Her mother visits my house with him once a week. Every time I see him, he is changing and nowadays he tries to stand by catching something. And he began to sit and crawl.…

Green curtain of Balsam pear or Bitter melon It's autumn on a calendar in Japan. But it's very hot these days. Lots of people suffer from heatstroke and are taken to a hospital by an ambulance. I hear some died. This weather seems to cont…

Bon Festival is from August 13 to August 16. Souls of our ancestors come back from heaven to our house during this period. We set an altar to welcome the souls of them. I set it earlier than usual because this year's Bon Festival is the f…

June 7 May 23 I have been taking many pictures of my grandson since his birth. His mother visits my house about once a week. Every time I see him, he looks different. I edited his photographs by using Picasa like this.

Rice planting is over and the scenery around my house is the one of early summer. Planted rice plants are growing day by day and the rice fields will be beautiful green before long. Flowers of weeds looks pretty by the rice fields. Two du…

The season of rice planting began. Farmers are worrying about the shortage of water because of the weather. In spite of the rainy season, rain seldom fall and water in the ponds are very little. May 23 We scattered unhulled rice on May 23.…

Chi-ri a-ya-me Chi-ri a-ya-me bloomed this year too. This pretty flower bloomed for the first time last year. I presented the seed of this flower to some of my neighbors who love growing plants and flowers last year. They are looking forwa…

My grandchild who was born at the end of January is growing healthily. His appetite is large and drinks his mother's milk fully every day. I see him every week, and he is getting larger and larger. I feel the energy of a baby very much. W…

It had been cool till a few days ago, but it is very hot after that. The temperature changes quickly. It's middle of May and the hot summer is coming little by little. Jack in the pulpit ; Ma-mu-shi gu-sa We sometimes see this awful creat…

Words of a bulletin board at a zen temple was renewed a few days ago. "We should live our lives with modesty, decency or delicacy not with having the risk of our lives." I-no-chi-ga-ke and ko-ko-ro-ga-ke in Japanese are the words which ha…

Crimson peony bloomed in my yard gorgeously. I grow three kinds of this flower, red one and white one and pink one. White flower will bloom soon but white one don't have any buds this year. The life of this flower is also short like cherr…

White kerria:Shiro yamabuki Thirty five days have passed since Shizu-san passed away. We will have a Buddhist service for laying the ashes in the tomb tomorrow. So I visited our grave to clean the gravestone and the site in the afternoon. …