short report in Hawaii for wedding

It's already fortnight ago that my son's wedding ceremony was held at Aloha Ke Akua (Love of God) Chapel in Hawaii,and it gradually became my brilliant memory.  

I have found that some memory sometimes turns out in my mind with aroma and fragrance of the moments and scenes, and the case of this event is not unexceptional about that for me. 

In addition to them sound of waves became special back ground music this time.  

My youngest son's lonely journey after his divorce was fairy long. His unwilling experience did not let him allow to decide to go forward easily. 

New bride is his collage and almost ten years younger than he.

He made up his mind about remarriage after long time as

companionship with her.  

These lines are the last two in the song,"Hawaiian Wedding Song",

which was sung by an elegant woman at the church.

".....................

blue skies of Hawaii smile on this our wedding day

I do love you with all my heart."

The participants for the ceremony were just their parents and four invited friends. On the next day of it we drove around Oafu by a rental car. Before we went Kailua beach we enjoyed quite delicious pan cakes at Boots & Kimo's nearby the beach. 

 I thought of my grand daughter when I happened to see some little girls. I bought a small Hawaiian dress, Muu'muu, for her.

I also thought about my dog, Daisy, seeing some charming ones liking to do swimming or taking a walk along the sea shore.

ようやっと再婚決めし末の子は遅れて港を出でゆく船か　　haricot

He might be a vessel 

being delayed in departure,

He restarted his voyage 

with his new wife

at long last

for the first flying of avian creature

In May shoots on oak trees have enough grown as fresh leaves, and they look like little birds which learn how to flap and flutter.

Sweeping with a broom and weeding in my garden I recently noticed some tiny sound raising in a birdhouse hung on an oak branch more than a decade ago.
It made me surprise because I had thought the house was always vacant.

Later my husband told me that many sparrows and some tits started to chirp heavily around the garden and he saw a cat climbing onto the oak branch. 

Soon I came to know that it is a couple of tit that often pay a visit the old house and also observed that they bring some food which may be an insect or a worm.
Usually one of them seems to be a feeder and the other is watching over there.

They seem to have become more prudent and had quicker acts since I took these photos. To add to that they have to pay attention for bigger birds or cats especially at the moment of the first flight by full- fledged ones, so I made up my mind not to try to get the time for the click of the shutter any more.

Cooking some dishes for invited sons I thought of the tits and thought about a tanka poem by Noriko Tanaka, I found in the book "Music of the Heart" which I wrote about in the previous post.

羽の降る

音の谷間に

ある日きて

空はどこかと

　　　　　　　　　見上げていたのだ　田中　教子

coming one day 

to a valley filled

with the sound of falling wings,

I was gazing up

searching for the sky

translated by Amelia Fielden & Saeko Ogi 

The seeds of dandelion will fly away sooner

Adieu sakura( cherry blossoms) , Hello sakura

When I visited Nara park last weekend the peak of full blooming of cherry trees were almost over, and the vernal maple leaves were swinging in a breeze which looked like many tiny hands waving for sakura( cherry blossoms) to say " Adieu".

Sakura front is going up to some mountainous regions and to the north area such as Tohoku region where the big earthquake and Tunami  stroke three years ago. I've heard that some sakura in Tohoku are splendid to watch.

It is not clear but many petals are littered on the ground in the next photo.
Saying "Adieu" in my mind I left the park after I stayed there for a while.

Recently I'm awkward at blogging. There are a lot of tanka poems which I'd like to share with blog friends, while I'm afraid of spoiling them by my translation. In addition to that my unskillfulness on photos intimidates me to do.

Today when I found this sakura in my quarter. This dabble petaled species is late-blossoming, so I'll be able to enjoy sakura a little more.

When I came back home this afternoon I found an envelope with an unknown name on it in my letter box. A book with a title " Music of the Heart" came out of the envelope and there was such subtitle as " an anthology of tanka on musical themes written by 55 Australian poets and 77 Japanese poets" and it is also written ," edited and translated by Amelia Fielden & Ogi with the assistant of Noriko Tanaka". It was Ms. Tanaka, the assistant,
who sent me the book.

A little later I remembered that I submitted one of my tanka for the project on line and noticed that mine was selected as one of the 77 tanka.

My pleasure of the book was as much as that of the finding the late-blossoming sakura, and I was encouraged to write this post.

「待ち侘びて」のリフレイン胸に蘇る散りくるさくらの花を享けつつ　

　

While I'm catching

cherry blossoms as they fall,

the refrain

"I can hardly wait"

recurs in my heart

haricot

translated by Amelia Fielden $ Ogi

lighter than a gentle breeze

I thought that some buds start to come up as leaves fall. 

However, I found the other day an article that reads intangible buds have enough energy to push  autumnal leaves out from branches, quoting an author's words.

Maybe it is true.

It seems that on branches some buds are already prepared during it is leaved out.

In my yard many buds on a plum tree are observed distinctive growth recently, yet they are tightly closed.

on a snowy day

Here in Wakayama, a southern prefecture facing Pacific ocean, there is one of the broadest plum bush field in the country called Minabe with 7,000~8,000 plum trees planted so far in order to gather plums.

They seem to gather them efficiently with some nets. Can you see the blue ones being ready  to spread on the ground?

Plums in this region are sweet, soft and juicy.
The original tree of the species was found more than three hundred years ago, and then great deal of effort has been contributed to increase in number of the trees and to make plums better quality.

According to mild climate some of the trees reached full bloom in mid-Feb, though the wind was still cold when I visited there this week.

The white flowers looks like snowflakes behind the pinkish ones, but how bright the whitish small pieces are.

On the moments when the wind  turns to breeze and  sunlight becomes brighter I feel spring has already come.

It looks that definitely it does for the young couple.

Such landscape as we can see ocean over the field never be expected in Nara prefecture, my residence, where is surrounded by small mountains.

Seeing the view with plum trees partly covering the earth, I thought of people's effort and labor over many many years.

風よりも静かに過ぎてゆくものを指さすやうに歳月といふ　稲葉　京子（１９３３～） 

Just like pointing at

something 

lighter than a gentle breeze

passing by, 

they call it "months and years"

Kyoko Inaba

Rokka, an another Japanese name for snowflake

最近、私は、私は現代の短歌詩人によっていくつかの短歌を読んでいた雪を、意味の名前、六花（六花、六= 6花=花）を知ることが起こった。
形の雪の結晶 - このネーミングは六角形から来ているようだ。

辞書によると、我々はまた、手紙リッカを発音することができ、まだ六花は、雪に覆われた地域、北海道の有名菓子、六花亭（六花亭）、に私には慣れている。  

奈良では、最後の夜からの降雪があると私はかすかな明るさが雪のカバーに反射から来て今朝目が覚めた。
臼井（雨水）、古代中国で生まれた24季節の分裂の一つは、より近く来ているので、それはタイムリーな現象である可能性があります。
臼井は、文字通り雨の水を意味し、その雪のターニング少ない冷たい水になって温置象徴しています。
それは、日が2月19日を中心にあると言われています。

米国を含め大雪は今年、ラジオやテレビで発表されており、雪が、特にこのような地域に住んでいる私のようないくつかの住民のために別の世界にウィンドウを開く特別なものでありながら、私は、多くの人が苦しんでいる知っている場合、それは非常に寒さですが、雪はかなり稀である。

私は世界を見るためにしばらくの間、約散歩する勇気。

第二の月の神殿

六十を過ぎて知り得し言の葉の一つよ「六花」降りはじめたり

雪のもう一つの名前、六花

私が知って来た

60年代のこの段階で

私の人生の中で

次々に飛ぶようになった

インゲンマメ

我々は上に、これらの言葉で「チラホラ」、「KON KON」、または「シンシン」の機能を表現し、降雪を見て。

実際に、彼らは音を持っていませんが、彼らは、擬音語のように聞こえる。

だけでなく、英語でそのような表現はありますか？ 

Daijyoインで、次の奈良ホテルにガーデン

some flames outdoors and indoors in the beginning of winter

Blinding sunlight looks darker, and some colored leaves flame up abruptly in it.
Such transient shine of the leaves mingles with the sunshine soon.

Two deciduous trees between two cedars.
Leaves just before being defoliated become golden time to time as sunbeam changes.

Some reddish fallen leaves collected at a foot of a tree show their brightness before returning to the soil.

These white flames are of silver grasses.

When they sway in the breeze it let me imagine some people's hands waving again and again...

夢にだに出でこぬ人に振るごとくそよげるすすき朝の陽のなか

In the glare of the morning sun

silver grass waves its hand

for an invisible sweet

who never turns out

even in its sweet dream

haricot

**************************************

On the 5th of December my dead mother used to start preparing for New Year adopting one of olden Japanese behaviors.

Remembering her I started to clean rooms and arranged a small corner of our living room for coming Christmas.

This collage was from Jen ( Country Weekend) around this time last year.

This quilt was made by Annette (here).
These handmade items make our living room quite warm as if they are flames for winter time.

Thank you very much, friends and visitors!

I hope the new year will bring you good luck and happiness.

on an observation deck and high land searching for autumnal colours

From an observation deck on Shin-Hodaka of 2156 meters high, for looking over Japan Alps with 360-degree view, in Gifu prefecture. Thanks to a rapid aerial gondola which goes up along the steep way, climbers can reach here quite efficiency.

In the  different direction different features of mountains can be seen.

An active volcano,Mt. Yake, is observed at the depth of this photo. This mountain is located on the border of Gifu and Nagano prefecture.

 The opposite side of Mt.Yake. This area is called Kamikōchi which is a high land of 1400 meters above sea revel, in Nagano prefecture.
When Mt. Yake exploded its life again in 1915 ( in Taishō period) ,this big eruption made a dammed lake. The lake is called Taishō lake.

A view of Taishō lake.

Azusa river pours into the lake. Ascending stream of Azusa river, various view of river, trees and plants are pleasure for eyes.

Visitors can breath clean air not only having been provided by various plants but also prohibition the use of cars.
There is establishment in this area for those who are affected with asthma.

鳥に影樹樹に眠りのあることを風よ告ぐべし未生の者に　内藤　明（１９５４～）

Wind must go and tell

to the unborn beings

such truth as

birds have their shadows

and trees have their own slumber

Akira Naitō 

This is a view from Kappa bridge which is one of the most popular spots in Kamikōchi.

Kamikōchi became to be world widely known due to introduction by Walter Weston (1860~1940), and nowadays is well known and popular hiking area in central Japan.