Welcome back to the 72 gardening seasons of Japan. Since we last congregated, there’s been quite some activity: The Earth and sky have begun to cool’ (28 August – 1 September); Rice has ripened (2-7 Sept); Dew has glistened white on the grass (8-12 Sept); Wagtails have started singing (13-17 Sept); Swallows have returned South (18-22 Sept); and we are currently in the throes of Thunder ceases (23-27 Sept). Just when you thought it had been one long, hot, dry summer only recently freshened by rain, 6 seasons have come and gone!
The Japanese are very interested in dew. Both Sakura (cherry blossom) and dew symbolise the transience of life. Dew, is an even more intense symbol of the importance of each moment. As some wise person said, “Life is not about the length, but the impact a life can make.”
During ‘Dew glistens white on grass’, I was in Berkeley, California. The East Bay (Berkeley, Oakland, the mainland) has different weather to San Francisco. There, it can be hot until the fog rolls in at 4pm and the temperature plummets. We were sitting in the Botanical Gardens in Golden Gate Bridge Park. My friends, who were all from East Bay, started putting on sweaters at that precise moment. “Just you wait”, they said and sure enough, right on time, the fog drifted through the trees and froze me half to death.
Back home the growing season, which seemed to peek so early this year, is winding down slowly. Tomatoes and raspberries are finishing. Apples are ready to pick. Leeks are bulking up and my squash, as you can see from the photo, are bounteous. The same cannot be said of the sweetcorn (notice I did not say my sweetcorn) which have been ravaged by animals unknown, nibbled and nobbled.
What is helping me in my quest to be more attentive to the detail of life is the wonderful book, Raising Hare, by Chloe Dalton. You only need a handful of seconds to focus on something. And when you do, something might happen in other parts of your brain, as you’ll discover if you read my piece on Street Wisdom in this newsletter.
We’ve reached the Autumn Equinox, transition time all round! Do you feel yourself moulting?
Take care,
Alastair