long walks in the mountains

It was very hot yesterday. I got up early in the morning and went hiking with a friend of mine.
It was my second hiking after I had my ankle broken.

This time I walked from Hikage-sawa to Mt. Takao, then to Iccho-daira, Shroyama, Kobotoke-touge and to Kobotoke bus stop. We walked very slowly, because we hadn't walked for months.

Sweat was oozing from every pore. Sweat was pouring down my face. I drank two 500ml bottles of water while I was walking. The hiking was very hard for me but it made me refreshed in mind and body. How happy I was when I returned to Takao Station! Yes, I made it.

The recent rains had raised the water of the stream Hikage-sawa. Usually only a stream of water channels its way between the big stones.

seasonable vegetables 2

I love eggplants, too. What a beautiful purple color!

seasonable vegetables

We can buy cucumbers, tomatoes, or eggplants even in winter. But vegetables taste best when they are in season.

I love cucumbers in summer--raw cucumbers with miso, soybean paste or sliced cucumbers seasoned with vinegar, or pickled cucumbers.

Yellow flowers of cucumbers look proud in the strong sunlight of summer.

red dragonfly

One of my friends took me for a mountain highway drive. I was surprised to find a lot of red dragonflies in the place where we had a rest.

A thick fog lay all around. But I could see their red long thin bodies and transparent wings. They looked like newly born baby dragonflies.　　They were waiting for autumn to come.

adventure

It is a very silent morning. There are few cars running at high speed. Is it because schools here break up for the summer holidays today? Wow! What are students planning for their longest vacation?

Most of my grandson's friends, who are in the sixth grade, go to 'juku' every day to have special lessons for exams for private junior high schools. My grandson doesn't want to go to a private one. He wants to attend a public junior high school near by.

So he doesn't go to 'juku'. Tomorrow he is going to visit his grandparents in Kyushu alone. This will be his first traveling alone---traveling a long distance. Enjoy your adventure. Have a nice flight, grandson!

This is the picture of one of his handicrafts.