Green-scented, wind-fragrant May

風薫る/Kaze kaoru is a seasonal term traditionally used in Waka and Haiku, Japanese poetry.

 It describes the refreshing breeze that blows through fresh greenery, carrying the scent of flowers and plants.

It signals the start of the pleasant early summer right before 梅雨 Apricot Rains, about a month and a half

 rainy season.

May is a season of "green scent"— fresh, crisp aroma arising from young, lush vegetation. 

Probably because of the high moisture content of the thriving new leaves,

I feel soaked in the dripping essence of  foliage when walking in the greenery.

Sparkling or dancing light  and reflection.

Bentobox-like small, rectangular, shallow basin sits nestled inside a larger, natural pond.

As the gentle, rhythmic ripples moves across its surface, the reflection of the surrounding

foliage start shimmering.

The window became a leafy veil, with the trees outside painted on the glass.

In Nara Park, deer are very active and transitioning from their winter to summer coats, 
often looking patchy as they shed.

The breeze in early May often carries these scents of Wisteria, Rhododendron, or Yellow Roses.

So free and comfortable in the balmy air of May!

Linked to Saturday's Critters

Mosaic Monday

Sky-dyed flowers and fresh greenery

The sky-dyed Nemophila always remind me of a poem by KANEKO Misuzu.

空色の花/Sora iro no hana/ Sky-Blue Flowers 

Listen close, you little flowers,

Color of the blue, blue sky.

Around here there used to be

A pretty black-eyed girl,

Always looking at the sky

Like I was just doing now.

Dawn to dusk the blue sky

Shining in her eyes,

They turned one day to little flowers

That even now watch the sky.

If what I say is right, why,

Flowers, you must know

More about the real true sky

Than wise professors do.

I’m always looking at the sky

And thinking lots and lots

But what’s real and true I don’t know.

I bet you see it all and do.

Wise flowers don’t say a thing,

Just keep looking at the sky.

Those blue eyes, sky-dyed,

Still aren’t tired of watching

(Translated by D.P.Dutcher)

Another post about Nemophila; The blue sea of Nemophila by the Sea of Osaka (2019)

With Sakura season behind us, new spring leaves have bursted into life.

Leaving the blue sea of Nemophila, I walked through the fresh greenery 

of Nagai Botanical Garden, Osaka City.

Green leaves are sparkling on the water.

Sakura Front has already moved to the northernmost Hokkaido.

There are only remnants of late-blooming multiple-petaled Yae-zakura in Kansai region.

We are in the middle of the "Golden Week", four national holidays and weekends

 from the end of April to the beginning of May. 

Today, May 4th, is Greenery Day and tomorrow is Children's Day.

It's so refreshing and calming to be basking in the shades of green and mild sunshine.

Linked to Mosaic Monday

At the pond surrounded by Ume Blossoms

A pond surrounded by 梅 Ume trees in the garden of Iraka is one of my favorite places 

at this time of year.

Shooting into the sun is good for a monochrome photo.

The pond is a flowered mirror in the sunlight.

In the breeze, reflected blossoms shift and change patterns like an ever-moving Kaleidoscope.

梅 Ume, or Japanese Apricot, is harbinger of spring in Japan,

a symbol of hope and renewal.

They are also associated with resilience and perseverance as they keep blooming

through the cold of winter to brighten up the wintry landscape little by little.

Winter Camellias are shining on the water surface with the sparkling light.

There is a sense of tranquility emanating from the place.

Linked to Mosaic Monday

Autumn splendor at 天授庵 Tenjyu-an and 南禅寺 Nanzen-ji

It’s that time of the year when Momiji, Japanese maples, shine blazing red.

This post is a report of 天授庵 Tenjyu-an and 南禅寺 Nanzen-ji Temples.

Don't you feel excited just looking at Tenjyu-an from the outside?

The inside is much more than your expectation.
You enter Pond Garden by way of Dry Landscape Garden.

Fascinating reflections can exist anywhere.

A garden with a pond spreads in front of the Shoin architecture.

Tranquil and serene.

Carp look swimming through the reflected leaves.

An image with reduced reflection

Tenjyu-an

Verdant garden of 天授庵 Tenjyuan shows what the garden is like in May.

Which garden do you like, in spring or in autumn?

 Tenjyu-an is close to the massive San-mon Gate of Nanzen-ji.

Trees are fiery red.

Among all the autumn leaves, Momiji is the last to paint the landscape shades of red.

They have touched Japanese people’s heart at its core from the ancient times.

The precinct is ablaze with the final burst of glory before the winter calm.

Nanzen-ji

Today is the coldest of this season; the heaviest snowfall in 10 years

is forecasted in the northern Japan.

Linked to Mosaic Monday