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Sunday, July 15, 2012

Fairies in the forest of Rokko Mountains




In this forest, there are fairies in pastel colors which lit up the forest during the season of gray skies.  I made my way to Hase-ike Pond admiring beautiful fairies along the paths.



The pond was covered with yellow “Kohone/河骨”, or Nuphar japonicum, and white or pink water lilies, “Suiren/睡蓮”, or Nymphaeales


Today's protagonist is these yellow fairies on the water.  コウホネ(河骨), yellow pond lilies, bloom from June to September one after another.

This photo is not mine but via here.
They have bright-yellow sepals which surround the same-colored numerous petals. Till late spring, their leaves are below the water surface, and then the broad, dark green, heart-shaped leaves come to float on the surface.  The floating leaves are connected by long stalks to large horizontal roots in the sediments which look like a spine.  That’s why they are called 河骨/Kohone in Japanese which literally means “brook-bone”.


They are beneficial to wildlife habitat and an important part of a pond/lake ecosystem.  Seeds are dispersed by water currents and eaten by the critters of the pond including birds. Roots are used in a poultice for cuts, swelling, and other ailments as crude drugs. (Source here in Japanese.)

Shall we walk around the pond together?





A small patch of blue appears from time to time.



Enclosed by green, the swamp is mysteriously shimmering.


How cute! This frog looks taking a nap on a hammock slightly rocking in the breeze. It is 森青蛙, Forest Tree Green Frog, or Rhacophorus arboreus, which is native to Japan. 
They spend their adult lives in trees of forests.


Frogs in general lay their eggs in the water like puddles, ponds or lakes, however, Forest Green Tree Frogs “lay their eggs within a batch of sponge-like foam which is suspended from a tree branch,usually hanging over a pond, marsh, or slow-flowing stream.”




Before leaving, I paid another look again at the world of yellow fairies....




..... and breathed in deeply the wet green air to remember.


My former visits:
 Mt. Rokko with fresh verdure
        Floral Galaxy of Japanese primrose

48 comments:

  1. What a beautiful image for the flowers … fairies floating on the water with petal wings. Lovely! I walked with you around the pond and felt the sense of enchantment that nature brings. The little green frog clinging to the leaf and all the bright reflections captured in your photos brought this forest to life across the miles. Thanks as always for sharing your world, stardust!

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  2. i really like the lily pads, but those scenes of green with reflections are gorgeous. :)

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  3. Oh my - what magic and beautiful fairy dust you have shown us.

    Your photos are absolutely stunning!

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  4. Your photos are very beautiful!!! Thank you for sharing your visit with the fairies. I enjoyed it very much.

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  5. Tam jest bajecznie. Widok tylu kwiatów wychodzących z wody zapiera dech w piersiach. U nas też te "piekności" na szczęście też są. Żabka jest urocza . Cudowne zdjęcia. Pozdrawiam serdecznie.
    There's fabulously. View of so many flowers coming out of the water is breathtaking. We also those "beauties" fortunately they are. Frog is cute. Wonderful pictures. Best regards.

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  6. Fantastic place conveys serenity, the photo of the frog like me to show them especially...thanks for Yoko.

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  7. What a magical journey you have take us on Yoko. Your images are delightful, and I am especially captivated by the acer branch with the yellow fairies in the background.

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  8. They are really beautiful as always. I saw the first of the flowers recently. The shape is unique and I don't forget the image.
    Have a great day.

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  9. what an adorable post! I really enjoyed our walk together...the cute green frog (on the green leaf) is simply my favourite! thanks for all the interesting info too:-)wishing you a lovely sunday+very good new week...

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  10. 河骨というのは初めて(多分)知りました。ちょっとドキッとする名前ですね。こんな美しいところがあるんですね!
    特に2枚目、それと最後の写真には何か昇華された清らかさを感じました。

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  11. An enchanted and enchanting pond, created solely for the use of fairies; the only human beings allowed are those like you, who appreciate the beauties of the world and tread very lightly.

    Beautiful.

    Are you safe? I read that there are floods in Japan.

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  12. Thank you for taking us for this wonderful walk :) I loved seing the photos from this beautiful and peaceful place. The waterlilies are stunning, and what a nice photo of the little frog!

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  13. You've captured some beautiful scenes with your camera, Yoko. The maple leaves with the yellow fairies in the background, the shimmering swamp, and the lacecap hydrangeas are wonderful photos.

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  14. Oh I didn't know that Kohone ponds could be so beautiful! The second photo is really fascinating!! Your post reminds me of Tatehara Michizo's poetry on forests and summer days.

    森に咲く野のアジサイ、本当に可憐ですね。うっとりする光景です。さわやかな記事をありがとうございます。

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  15. Thanks, Stardust, I enjoyed this walk around the pond very much!

    You've taught me about yet another flower: the kohone. I've never seen that in Tokyo.

    PS: The frog photo is the cutest and the lacy hydrangeas are the most beautiful to me. :)

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  16. This garden is really nice. Love the water plants.....but especially the frog. I've never seen one like that before....and great shot of the egg sack hanging by the water. Very very interesting. Learned something new right now:) Thanks for sharing. Love the intro shot:)

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  17. Picturea are as beautiful as always. Thank you very much! It's the cutiest frog I've ever seen!

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  18. Gorgeous photos...and lovely yellow fairies....
    Thanks for that, BShell

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  19. Dear Yoko... the fairies are very charming and angelic. I love the yellow ones, its very interesting to know how they are beneficial to the entire marine ecosystem in general. The frog is very adorable too. Superb stunning captures, and a wonderful tour to go along. I can smell the wet green air and appreciate it as I am closing my eyes here... Many thanks for sharing.

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  20. こんばんは。素敵な花のシリーズですね。コウホネというと、綺麗な水流の川にしか育たないと言われいます。
     河骨と言うと,童謡「春の小川」を思い出します。
     http://www.geocities.jp/seppa06/0405nozawa/5haruno.htm
     この川は昔コウホネが沢山生えていたそうで、下流に行くと、宇田川、渋谷川などと名前を変えて東京湾に注ぎます。
     多くの妖精に出会えて良かったですね。

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  21. 何と美しい池ですね。それになんとなく涼しそう。モリアオガエルも聞いてはいますが、まだこの目で見た事がありません。
    河骨、昔習ったお花の先生はこうぼねと呼んでいました。夏の花材として生けたのを懐かしく思い出します。

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  22. 緑に翠、碧とさまざまな呼び名があるように、これほどまでにさまざなな色を作りだすビオトープに感動しました。蛙くんも見事な黄緑ですね! コウホネ、水連の自分の場所を確保することに一生懸命な生命力に圧倒されます。

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  23. again, beautiful photos of the nature. really great!

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  24. Dear Yoko,
    How beautiful and restful seems this land of the yellow fairies! And how lucky we are for their unconditional generosity.
    I especially liked the effect of the hazy skies in your pictures which highlights even better the life abundance there. It makes this pond and its surroundings look very fecund and protective.
    I even imagined the delicate water lilies and the little green frogs turning themselves into ethereal fairies during night, playing and dancing together above the pond, guarding it with their magic powers.

    Thank you for such a good walk and for the fresh smell of the wet green air! It's one of my favorite, along with the smell of burned woods in late autumn, in the mountains...

    Have good days ahead and take good care of yourself!

    Roxana

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  25. Yoko San - I danced with those fairies a bit, it was magical and wondrous among all that beauty of water and blooms...
    :-)

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  26. A frog! I love frogs ^.^

    It is said that yellow water lilies only grow in pure water. But for some reason they appeared in Moscow-river a few years ago, even though the river is very polluted. Nature doesn't give up?

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  27. I am transported by your photos, Yoko - what a shimmering, magical walk! To see the frog's egg sac is very special. I love the greenery reflected in the swamp.

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  28. I love water lilly and lotus flowers - they are among my top favourites as object of desire when taking photos! Two days ago we bought our first water lilly for a little tub of water on our balcony. It has beautiful purple-blue blossoms and all in all six leaves until now. So lets wait and see when I'm going to post the first photos of my miniature water lilly pond! :-)
    Uwe.

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  29. More lushness that my mind can hold! Wow! Love that frog, too. We have green frogs here, but probably a different kind.

    Re your comment on the French blog: I'm glad you like it. The photos are not mine, though. They were taken by a friend, a surgeon who lives in Orlando. He does nice work and I offered to put together a blog to showcase his most recent photos of France. One of these days I'd love to travel to those places featured in the blog. Sounds like you have done so.

    Hope your week is filled with joy and peace!

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  30. Hello Yoko, what a wonderful world you live in, your photos are magical. The green tree frog is so sweet and it was interesting to see how the eggs look like. I love all those fairie flowers , so beautiful and the colours are gorgeous. I enjoyed the walk around the pond with you. Thank you so much for sharing your amazing world.
    Have a nice week ´)
    Grethe.

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  31. I love the shimmering swamp,your images of water are always so lovely, Yoko.The water plants are wonderful,I can almost smell their waxy perfume.
    Beautiful,beautiful.......thank you!

    Enjoy your day,
    Ruby

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  32. Beautiful pictures of the pond with its pink, white and yellow fairies. What a perfect place for a walk. Thank you for sharing the picture of the tree frog too.

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  33. Wonderful shots! So many water lilies!

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  34. What a beautiful pictures and place...

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  35. What a delightful series of photos.

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  36. What beautiful pictures you have shown us! I love the picture of the green frog, and her egg sac suspended from the foliage. This is a lovely place to go for a walk. Is it very far from your home?

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  37. What a beautiful idea - the flowers as fairies. Did you ever see the series of beautiful little books called Flower Fairies ? They are not the same but they are wonderful paintings, done about 100 years ago but reprinted many times since.
    Now to discuss your photographs, which are artistic and imaginative as usual. I am amazed at the number of blooms which show up in each picture.

    I know that in most photographs, flowers can seem inconspicuous, even if there were hundreds of them in the "real" scene. So (if you follow my reasoning) I think that the "real" scenes which you photographed, must be quite outstanding.

    I also like the beautiful reflections of tree branches. You have chosen reflections that make wonderful shapes.

    Thank you also for the pictures of the frog and the details of its life.

    I sometimes wish I had a large book of your photos so that I could look at them at odd moments of the day, instead of having to go and find your blog!

    Have a lovely weekend.

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  38. Thank you everyone for your nice and kind words. I’m sorry I don’t respond each of you here individually.

    Ekaterina – Without human efforts, the river which is once polluted doesn’t recover on its own and the ecosystem requires lots of time to be restored.

    Sammickite – It takes about three hours from my house to the pond area in the mountain by using train and bus. It is about an hour from my mother’s house in Kobe.

    Jenny – Thanks a lot! Your words and supports are the best compliment I think. Flower Fairies are so lovely and enchanting images. Each face of fairies is a sweet child. I think I’ll buy some post cards.

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  39. Hello! Seems like you're posting a post from Japan as well? I'm Little K., posting my blog from Japan, Kyoto. I introduce high fashion as well as fast fashion. I just wanted to introduce my blog since I stopped by and your blog seems very interesting:) Hope you stop by and follow my blog!! Thanks for taking your time to read;)

    Little K.
    http://lilkfashionista.blogspot.jp/

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  40. 写真がすごくきれいです!素敵な場所ですね!

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  41. 河骨の群生を初めてみました。きれいですね。又睡蓮と共生して、二枚目の写真ピンクと黄色の池は、見事ですね。
    モリアオガエルのお昼寝はなんともユーモラスです。

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  42. A very interesting post with lovely images. I love your frog and its bag of eggs. So strange and so wonderful is Nature's ways.

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  43. What lovely moments in nature you have captured for us! It feels like everything is from a fantastical world, where anyone would love to visit.

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  44. Hi Yoko!
    What a wonderful deal of sensibility you have!
    Fantastic pictures, thanks for sharing them!
    Best greetings from Brazil!
    Márcia

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  45. As always, a beautiful post. Lovely pictures with great color, reflections, and bokah. Hope all is well with you. It has been a busy summer and hard to get around to everyone's blog. Have a lovely week. Mickie :)

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  46. Very nice pictures and information. Have a great day :)

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  47. Photo number 11 is like a Monet Painting. You have a good eye for designs and color, my friend.
    David/:0)

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