Higan-Bana (cluster amaryllis)

Before arrival of another typhoon my husband and I went to see cluster amaryllises which can be seen around a temple known as Buturyu-ji (佛隆寺）, which is located at south east from my residence.


I took my dog.It was about 90minutes drive, and then many cluster amaryllises loomed into view.
They seem to be countless.

 
 
Many hikers and photographers were climbing the staircases slowly, and the scarlet flowers were almost in full boom on both side of the staircase which consists of about 200 stairsteps.

The flowers have multiple names, Manjyu-shage or Manjyu-shaka(曼珠沙華）, and Higan-bana(彼岸花), and as English name, cluster amaryllis and spider lily, and its scientific name is Lycoris radiata.

Among the names I'm familiar with is the name, Higan-bana, not only because they bloom around Higan(equinox)  in autumn, but also they look like they are blooming on the border of this world and another world ; Higan means "another world ".

This seasonal flower reminds me of this tanka poem by Sumi Konnno.

夏ゆけばいつさい棄てよ忘れよといきなり花になる曼珠沙華　　今野　寿美（１９５２～）

They are fierce red Manjyu-shage

out of the blue

as if they say summer's gone

for setting aside and forgetting

without any restraint

However, I cannot figure out exactly what she suggests through this expression.

I understand well the fact that the flowers come out without leaves and it makes us feel abruptness, but she tells us that we should forget...what events in summer or any hot flavor, or love to pine after someone...?

To tell the truth I like this tanka without any specific reason.

On my way to go back I realised that  it's  in the middle of harvest season.
Autumn equinox waits just around the corner.

Small change to autumn

Some moderate change of the season around me gives small but remarkable findings sometimes.

Some small fruits of Callicarpa japonica, Murasaki shikibu in Japanese that was taken after the name of author of The Tale of Genji , are going to turn into white from green, and from white to purple.

In autumn we have rainfall including that of typhoon once in a while, and it tends to last a couple of days.

 In fact the last typhoon showered 2,400mm during four days regionally ( southern part of Nara prefecture and Wakayama prefecture).
I offer my condolences for the people who suffered damage.

 It was not a small change at all. On seasonal matters ,not so big change must be a lucky one.

 A tiny spider ,which is up side down , looks floating in air and aiming the watery sky instead of waiting for his prey, before the arrival of the typhoon.

It cleared up at last.


Textoria trifida , Kakure-mino in Japanese, blooms without any particular distinction,
though a little butterfly found it. We can see some sort of butterflies until late in autumn.

Before, I made this tanka when I saw a butterfly in cooler season.

石の上にとまりてをりし砂色の蝶飛び去りぬ　背中が寒い

A sandy little butterfly

on a stone flew away

and has gone,

I felt faint cold on my back

like the butterfly flew away

 

My neighbour's dogwood tree began to bear some red fruits, while some of them are still whitey.

The red ones are starlings' favourite and they will be gone sooner by the birds who were waiting for their riping.

 

 

 

My neighbour gave me some seeds of Cardiospermum halicacabum, Fūsen-kazura in Japanese, which has many orange coloured tiny paper balloon (fūsen)-like flowers during summer.

Each has a white heart mark on it.

I will check the suitable season for sowing the seeds.

Mother Leaf

The other day I noticed a pot for a plant with familiar leaves on my way to a temple where my deceased father and mother used to visit often.


I asked the owner to give me one of the leaves.

More than five years ago I found a leaf in a variety goods shop.

The shop keeper told me that the leaf came from Ogasawara Islands (Bonin Islands) that consists of main four islands called Iwo island ( it became known as the movie "Letters from Iwo jima"), Nishi-no-island, Father island, and Mother island, which are located southern area .

She told me the name as well. It was Mother leaf.



I bought it (100yen per a leaf), and put it on water in a small tray as the shop keeper told me.

About one week later it started to have some thin roots like this photo shows.

And about another week later some baby leaves turned out at the edge of the Mother leaf.

The baby leaves and the roots grow fast, and the mother leaf will start to decade soon.

Before, when I bought the leaf and raised a baby leaf to a plant with a stem,(actually the baby leaf came to have some mother leaves on the stem), I failed to keep it during cold season. The plant seemed to be a sort of tropical one.

This time I'd like to raise it again and maintain the plant carefully during this winter.





I happened to see the plant in a cafe, so I revisited there with a camera.



マザーリーフ繁らせて木々立つといふ父島、母島あを深からむ

They say there are many trees

with many Mother leaves

and it let me imagine the deep verdure

on Father island, on Mother island haricot