The changing seasons

Soap bubbles in light and shadow.  Thank you, little ones, for assisting me to photograph.

The ephemeral iridescence of soap bubbles capture the essence of childlike wonder.

In changing seasons, summer things don’t pop out like bubbles

but gradually disappear from sight and memory.

Till mid-September, some summer flowers and insects were hanging in there.

Longhorn Beetle

As autumn draws in, there are some changes under way in the natural world

like falling temperatures, berries, seeds, yellowish grasses, autumn flowers, etc.

Red Berries of Cornus officinalis, or Japanese cornel

Hagi, or Japanese Bush Clover

Having good appetite would be one of the signs of autumn, too.
Would you like to have Chinese course dishes?

Or, how about French cuisine at a little homey restaurant?

Duckling aiguillette on potatoes, Spanish mackerel and vegetables,

petite pieces of sweets, chestnut icecream on chestnut pancake, etc.

In the cool and crisp air, cosmoses have come to bloom one after another.

Hannya-ji Temple

The fresh air is for sports.

F enjoyed her first Field Day (Undo-kai in Japanese) at the elementary school.

Pupils are divided to two teams, Red and White, 
to compete in relays, ball-toss game, the mock cavalry battle, to name a few.

They also perform dances or coordinated group gymnastics.

Daytime is getting shorter.

The golden sphere sinks into the burnt-orange clouds over the Ikoma mountains.

The contrast of light and darkness is moving,

which somehow reminded me of Halloween about one month later.

Wish you peace and happiness!

Linked to Mosaic Monday
Our World Tuesday

Goodbye Summertime, 2017

It feels that time passes faster as I age.

Summer is the time for me to slow down.

Do you like summer?

To be honest, summer isn't really my favorite season.

When temperature is high with oppressive humidity, my spirit is low.
This summer was especially so.

In the scorching sun, many sunflowers look tired
with their heads bending low.

In the stillness, only cicadas sing vigorously.

Their untiring singing pierces the sultry air and seeps into the pond.

Daibutsu-ike Pond, 4 p.m.

As a child, however, I would like summer.

I recall the free, comfortable, and carefree days with nostalgia.

On July 23 every year, Jizo-bon Festival is held at Y’s kindergarten.

Jizo (we call Ojizo-sama) is a guardian for children.
I think this is one of the good opportunities for the little ones
to learn about their roots.

In the morning, kindergartners gather wearing traditional summer kimono yukata or jinbe

and dedicate a concert to Ojizo-sama.

The evening session includes, games, hands-on experiences, foods and snacks, and Bon-Odori dance.

Not only kindergarteners but also those who left enjoys the festival 

on the first day of their summer holiday,

wishing for healthy and fun summer break to Ojizo-sama.

Center: 3-year-old, 4-year-old, and 5-year-old classes from the top

Mid-August is the time to think about peace.

The 15^th of August is the memorial day of the end of WWII.

The people who experienced the war have taught us 
how miserable and devastating a war can be.

Have the people of my generation sown the seeds of peace to the future generation
so that they can harvest it? 

Sagi-ike Pond, 5:30 p.m.

The end of WWII falls on the last day of Obon, the period 
when the soul of ancestors are supposed to come back home.
The whole country comes into somber but peaceful mood
thinking about the late loved ones and ancestors
thanking for why we are here now.
At the Tokae Candle Lighting Festival in Nara Park, candles are lit 
one by one to pray for the repose of the soul.

Sagi-ike Pond, 8:00 p.m.

 After Obon, usually mornings and evenings get cooler day by day
but heat wave was more powerful this year.
Being outside, I felt like that I was in sauna.

Now that the air has become cooler and crisp,
I think it's time for me to face the blog world again.
Hope you had a wonderful summer or winter.

Linked to Weekend Reflections
Mosaic Monday

At Shin-Nishinomiya Yacht Harbor

"Sail away from safe harbor. Catch the winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Numerous yachts are docked at the Shin-Nishinomiya Yacht Harbor 

located between Kobe and Osaka along the Osaka Bay. 

I’ve never being sailing on a yacht. 

I imagine what it would be like in the interaction of fair wind and water under the blue sky. 

Sailing would be healing, exhilarating, and frightening, too.

I feel nostalgia for the sea. 

There would be more to it than the fact that I was born and raised in a harbor city Kobe.  

Whether it is to sail, to swim, or to watch the sea,  we are going back to the place from where we came.

In a sense, we are all salty boy or girl.  

The percentage of salt in human body fluids is said to provide evidence that life first started in the sea.  

(In human body fluids, salt percentage is 0.9 percent, while in the present sea 3.1-3.9 percent

which became thicker in the course of the history.)

When the setting sun started painting the sky rose, I thought about this summer.
My days had been revolving around my three little grandchildren
who kept me not only entertained with their innocent behaviors but also busy.
During the Obon holiday, I could catch my breath and got a second wind to sail onward.

Remember 

your life sailing consists of further exploring, dreaming, and discovering.

"Shin Nishinomiya Yacht Harbor is one of the largest yacht harbors in western Japan. For visitors with yachts, the harbor holds some visitor shipping spaces. There are rental yachts for visitors missing their yacht lifestyle, and yachting classes for beginners." I like to stop by for walking the boardwalk and/or resting at a cafe with a relaxing view of the harbor when I visit my son living in Nishinomiya City. 

Visit Through My Lens

Thank you, Mersad, for hosting.

Evening winter-scape in Nara Park

Weeping-willows at the edge of Ara-ike Pond

Hello, Friends! How have you been enjoying or surviving your winter or summer?

It has been much colder than usual in my part of the world, but I won't be huddled up with the cold.

When I walked around Nara Park toward the sunset time,

 it was the time for deer to graze heavily for supper at the Kasugano Park.

In the meantime the sky would have gotten noisy with the calling of crows heading for one direction.

At the Sagi-ike Pond, the eastern sky was still bright
with the last rays of the sun shining on the trees on the bank.

On the west side, the contrast of light and darkness was sharp.

Rosy clouds and dark trees were floating in the blue pond.

How cute!  Between Sagi-ike Pond and Ara-ike Pond, I saw these deer.

At the Araike-Pond, bare trees of gigantic weeping-willows were silhouetted against the setting sun.

This is one of my favorite winter evening tree-scapes in Nara Park.

This post is linked to Skywatch Friday
and
Weekend Reflections.