A rant about leaf blowers. Just stop with them. Gas ones spew CO2 and particulates at an alarming rate, they’re the definition of noise pollution, and they disturb insect habitat under your hedges. But they’re also just not that good at getting leaves together. Here’s the thing that no blower guy will tell you, but every SE Asian grandma knows: the best way to get leaves off your hard surfaces is this tool right here. 1/4 #gardening#GardeningMastodon#insects#biodiversity#Autumn#FallColors
by the colacolored waves
whispering their swaying sounds
sun this sunday early lays
’pon its waterbed o’ clouds
blanketing these cooing gales
mintsweet firs to kill the chills
counting ships those reekcreep snails
sail its walls o’ frosty hills
days descend like paper sheets
yellowing synced with leaves whose trees
shiver black with tea & seas
The 7-5-3 festival (七五三) started in the Heian or Muromachi Period to pray for the survival of #children, and, like many practices, spread from the aristocracy eventually to all citizens.
Age three for #girls is especially adorable, and our 3/4 #Japanese granddaughter just went through that rite of passage, posing in a #festival kimono.
With deaths in both families this year, it was moved from a Shintō shrine to a #Buddhist temple, reflecting the division of labor served by the two #religions in Japan. We could thus do it up on a mountain in our city (between Ōsaka and Kyōto) and see changing leaves of #autumn early.
All major ceremonies are finally accompanied by a restaurant meal, and the Japanese-style food and service, by normal standards in Japan, were superb.
Our granddaughter, nearly three, also seemed to start realizing that my English and the usual Japanese were different languages (technically, nascent metalinguistic awareness and bilinguality).
Compost tip: grocery stores that have the self-squeeze orange juice machines (like Whole Foods) are happy to give you the trash rinds. They aren’t organic oranges but it is a trash can load of “greens” for your copious “browns” in the Fall. 🍂🍁