asazuke

“No time for trivia like this” you’re probably thinking and you’re right really, but these “farmlogs” are meant to be some kind of long-term record of what was happening in the countryside, as much for my own future reference as anything else, so please bear with me.

6th ~ 7th March

• Some “ume” (plum?) blossom out near Nagoya, but the buds on the trees in front of our country place are still hard.
• Called in at Kimble again. Quickly walked past a shelf-full of “hand shredders” next to the thai-speaking eggs, but came across a guitar: an Aria Pro 2 Magna for ¥7300 which didn’t seem too bad, and a possible improvement on the one I had, so took a chance and splashed out the cash. There was also a stack of cheap “third beer” type synthetic “happoshu” (look those up if you’re curious), so got a case for casual after-work drinks.
• At the supermarket we picked up a nice bottle of wine for dinner – a dry but fruity Sauvignon Semillon white from Chile. 500ml PET bottle for ¥298! Actually it wasn’t bad.
• Birds to welcome us. More than last time.
• Monday was cold.
• Min. temp. -5°C max. 11°C

20th ~ 21st March

• Missed last week for a Daihachi Ryodan gig.
• Sunday mild and wet; ume and peach blossom out around Nagoya.
• Listening on the car radio to the latest about the unfolding nuclear drama at Fukushima. It seems to be under some sort of control, but we don’t really know… The tragedy in Tohoku is far away from here but the effects are starting to be felt all over the country. Petrol prices have already gone up, for example.
• Hardly anything on sale at the hundred-yen stall. Are the animals getting it all? Are the people getting too old?
• Will this rain stop in time for the local festival tomorrow?
• Deer droppings are everywhere, along with bits of hair – Spring moulting?
• A wasabi plant by our back door has put out some new leaves. A few fuki shoots have come up here and there too. We used to have lots, but maybe picked too many – or have the deer eaten them?
• The festival on Monday was a bit subdued. Out of respect to the earthquake victims they kept the rituals down to a minimum.
• Min. temp. -5°C, max. 14°C.