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Friday, August 31, 2012

鷺池 Sagi-ike Pond in the early morning



Now at the end of August, temperature still soars up to around 35 degrees C in the afternoon, while mornings and evenings are getting cooler and air is different from that of mid-summer.  Early morning walk is so refreshing. 





In the early morning,  sunlight is already dazzling but air is still cool.   At Sagi-ike Pond in Nara Park, both tourists and local people enjoy early morning walk in the shower of cicadas singing.

Branches are swaying in the morning breeze.



The sound of the morning changed.  In the early August,  Hyalessa maculaticollis (ミンミンゼミ)  were vigorously singing all day long, but now they are gone and different species Tanna japonensis (ヒグラシ) sing in the early morning or evening.  Before long, Mermen opalifera (つくつく法師) will start chirping.



Ukimi-do is a hexagonal gazebo situated at the center of the pond. 





These flat pods containing seeds inside are fruits of Nemunoki, Albizia Julibrissin, or silk trees, which were blooming in July.   From the photo, we can understand Nemunoki is a species of legume. The flowers bloom from June to July in dense inflorescence as you see in Lullaby of 合歓木 Silk Tree.


As I showed in the past posts, Sagi-ike Pond is beautiful and refreshing with various flowers in season, autumn foliage, or dusting of the snow.  If you'd like to see more about Sagi-ike Pond, this link contains all the posts about the pond including this post.  


Japanese Crape Myrtles have been vibrant all through the summer.   September still feels like mid-summer in Japan, and when Crape Myrtles cease to bloom, I feel summer at last wanes.



This post is linked to Weekend Reflections

44 comments:

  1. A fine series of photographs which make me think about going out for a morning walk myself. So I'm going, goodbye!

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  2. Hello Yoko:
    As always, such very beautiful photographs which are such a pleasure to look at. The lake, or pond as you call it, looks so very calm and peaceful and positively shimmers in the light.

    Strangely the temperatures in Budapest at present are very similar to your own.

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  3. Wauw, Yoko, it is SO beautiful. I love those myrtles. And the gazebo is splendid - I would love to take a walk there in the morning - and at all other times of the day. Your photographs are brilliant - always.
    Thanks for sharing.
    Have a nice week-end !
    Grethe `)

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  4. Spacer był cudowny, było na co patrzeć i oddychać rześkim powietrzem. Zdjęcia są wspaniałe. Pozdrawiam.
    The walk was wonderful, it was something to look at and breathe the crisp air. The photos are great. Yours.

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  5. I love haiku and your pictures look like them - breathtaking! Thank you, Yoko!

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  6. ツクツクボウシはもうよく聞こえています。夜はコオロギの大合唱が聞こえます。奈良市内と生駒市では微妙に温度が違うんでしょうか、こちらの方が若干山の手?になるからでしょうか?
    まめさやがぶら下がっていて、これもマメ科だったのかと思う花木が結構ありますね。ハリエンジュ(贋アカシア)、エニシダ、ハナズオウなど驚いたことがあります。合歓の木もそうだったんですね。
    しっとりとした美しい写真の数々にまた見とれています。

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  7. Hi, Yoko! Thanx 4 your comment. My blog is bilingual - in English and Russian, depending on the 1st phrase formed in my mind. )) Actually,I regularly publish posts with haiku in these languages. It might be fun for you, I'll be delighted to see yor comments! Thanx again.
    Irina

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  8. Higurashi have started singing in Tokyo, too, but it's not cooling down at night at all! This week we've had 熱帯夜 every single night. I suspect it's been our hottest week yet, but ... no worries ... because just looking at your beautiful photos makes me feel cooler! ^^

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  9. Your photos of the lovely scenes of Nara, in any season, are always refreshing and beautiful, Yoko.

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  10. こんばんは。 もしかしたら stardust 様と切れ切れの極細の糸でつながれているかも知れないですね。
     私は今、サギソウの事をブログに書いたばかりです。
     こちらのブログは、鷺池でした。
     いつもいつも綺麗な写真に感動しています。

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  11. Gracias, gracias, gracias! por este precioso paseo en el Parque de Nara. Lo he disfrutado, mucho!

    saludos,
    karumina

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  12. The end of August always seems like a gradual closing down to the start of the autumn. However, summer looks to be still alive and well in Japan.
    I love the photo of the pods backlit to show the seeds maturing inside.

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  13. 朝早く行かれたのですね。観光客も少なく落ち着いた光景ですね。
    ねむの木の実がさや入りだったとは、しらなかったです。そういえば、バニラもそうだったかな。
    ツクツクボウシないてるのですが涼しくなりませんね。

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  14. Your lovely photos always make me want to visit Nara again! I remember I had a very nice walk around the pond several years ago! My sister and I visited the Nara National Museum to see the Shosoin Exhibition. It was not so crowded but there was an awful traffic jam because of Prince Akishino. Some roads were closed!!

    PS

    霧ヶ峰の記事、拝見しました! ああ、涼しくなりましたよ! あそこ、スキーに行きました。stardustさんもいらっしゃいませんでした? 学生時代。

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  15. Thanks for a wonderful walk through the lake, Yoko! Your pictures are breathtakingly beautiful as always, and remind me of the days we walked together.

    The pond area looks peaceful and calm and I can almost feel the branches sway and the birds chirp and sing. Summers last longer than the rains in Japan, I guess. In India, we are still in the midst of the rainy season and temperatures hover around 25-30 deg. cel through the day.

    Wish you a wonderful weekend ahead! :)

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  16. such a beautiful place with beautiful color and reflections.

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  17. What a beautiful place Yoko! And your photos are awesome!

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  18. 秋の気配が感じられるすがすがしいお写真ですね。浮見堂が好きで鷺池は私のお気に入りの場所だったのですが、橋が新しくなってから足が遠のいてしまいました。
    yokoさんのお写真を見て、また行ってみたくなりましたよ!
    keiko

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  19. Dear Yoko,
    I would love to take a walk early in the morning around such a beautiful pond!
    Thanks for sharing pictures and impressions of your country with us!
    Cheers,
    Márcia

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  20. 最近の夏はクマゼミの鳴き声でミンミンゼミの声がかき消されています。ここ10年くらいの現象のようですが、ミンミンゼミという名には懐かしさを感じます。子共のころは蝉取りといえばミンミンでしたものね。

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  21. I enjoyed seeing these beautiful photos!

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  22. Sapphire - 丁寧に過去のポストも見ていただき、ありがとうございます。 霧ヶ峰にはスキーに行ったことはありません。車山はいいゲレンデでしょうね。学生時代も行きましたが、スキーにはまったのは就職してからで、有給休暇は全てスキーに。野沢温泉、志賀高原、栂池、岩岳、それから蔵王まで行きましたよ。

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  23. Such a beautiful place and you've captured the beauty so perfectly!! Wonderful reflections for the day and thank you for a great tour and for sharing such breathtaking beauty. I hope you have a lovely weekend!

    Sylvia

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  24. I love the reflective nature of this garden....and the bridge is a really nice focal point. The Crepe Myrtle in our gardens are blooming right now as well and it's really quite lovely.....one of them has white purple and pink blossoms. Enjoy the rest of your weekend. All my best. Chris

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  25. Beautiful pictures with informative write up Yoko...

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  26. What a beautiful post and the weather sounds similar to ours, every time I visit here, I understand more and more why our daughter says Japan is a beautiful country that we should visit given the opportunity. :)

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  27. The morning light looks so magical, stardust, as life stirs around the cool and quiet pond. A pretty gazebo, bridges and blooms all come together to make this a wonderland where all are free to relax and meditate. :)

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  28. The place is so absolutely still. I'll bet you can hear a frog croak! The water is like glass. It is all so pristine, so colorful, so inviting, so calming...and the reflections are to die for.

    Superb post!

    Isn't it wonderful when summer begins to fade into fall?

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  29. That is a nice walk you offer us in that beautiful park... Thanks for this inspiring sharing !

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  30. The main impression I get from all your photos is always a great sense of peace and tranquility. I come here expecting nothing less.

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  31. I opened all the links you provided, read all your words, indulged in the photographs - and had a wonderful time in doing so! Thank you Yoko for another meaningful post! :-)
    Have a lovely Sun-Day!

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  32. Each photo is a study in poetry. So beautifully meditative.

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  33. Beautiful photos!!!!!
    Besos, desde España, Marcela♥

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  34. Wow. looks so beautiful and exotic!
    Nice series!
    Have a nice weekend
    Yvonne & Raphael

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  35. Yoko,your pictures are amazing,you have become Master of Reflections!! They are so beautiful but it takes an observant eye to see them.Well worth going out early to experience this I think.Lovely to see the crape myrtle still in bloom.

    Enjoy your week!
    Ruby

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  36. Such spectacular reflections. What a peaceful place to walk.

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  37. Absolutely stunning reflections. The flowers are gorgeous and the Japanese style roof on the gazebo is heavenly. I know this is one gorgeous spot to visit. genie

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  38. Hi Yoko!
    Morning is a beautiful time of the day. It's easier for me to stay awake till morning than wake up so early though. Your photos are as fresh as mornings should be.

    I saw a legume tree some time ago as well, 'golden chain' is its name. I posted its photo in this post. I didn't know there were legume trees before, I'm so used to normal beans and peas :)

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  39. Dear Yoko,
    keeping your photos of the Japanese Crape Myrtles in good memory, I started my way to find this tree with the wonderful blossoms during my sojourn at Tokyo last week. And I found (and photographed) some of the pink-coloured blossoms at several different destinations within Tokyo area. One of the most beautiful crape myrtle trees I found on the site of the Senso-ji temple at Asakusa. When I will have reworked some of my photos of this place, I hopefully can display my own crape myrtle images to you and your blog fellows as well... :-)
    Uwe.

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  40. Your pictures are wonderful, this is a beautiful and magical place. I love the shot of the pods hanging down and the crape myrtles. Thanks for sharing, :)

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  41. such fantastic reflections, dear Yoko, and how soft&golden the morning light is on your pics...you are really happy to have these summary temperatures, in Holland we have max 25degrees (at lunch with sunshine);wish you very happy rest of the week!

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  42. 彡♡` Olá, amigo!

    Lindo dia!
    Bom fim de semana!
    Beijinhos.
    Brasil ♡彡.
    ¸.•°`♥✿⊱╮

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  43. Thank you for taking us on a tour of Sagi-ike Pond. It is a most beautiful area! I can feel the serenity of the pond through your exceptional images. As always, your brilliant photographs capture the loveliness of the destination. The foliage is exquisite. It is always a pleasure to visit your wonderful blog. I know I will view beauty at its finest in your posts.

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