today's flower

I go to my daughter's house twice a day---
in the morning and in the afternoon.

There are several ways to go to my daughter's house.

I usually walk along a wide road.
It takes about 10 minutes to walk there.

Today I walked along Tamagawa-josui
and went to my daughter’s.

I was happy to see ノカンゾウ in the bushes.

I like ノカンゾウ's bright orange.

ノカンゾウ's flower language is 「いつも一緒」.

How nice!

What a small world!

What do you think this is?



When I found this in my daughter’s kitchen,
I was surprised to see how strong this sweet potato is.

It may not be good for us to eat
but life is going on.

What a small world!
How strong these young stems look!
They are very dear to me.

Have I caught a cold?

I've been out of shape these days.

I have a fever today.

My appetite is getting worse again.

I don't feel like cooking my meals.

I feel very lonely when I am alone in the apartment.

But I don't want to go out.

My daughter and my granddaughter came to see me today.

I was very happy to see them.

My granddaughter told me to come and stay with them.

I hope I'll soon be all right.

By the way, I found a five-leaved dokudami last week.

to Higashi-murayama (2)

I shared a bench in the shade with a stranger.

She was alone and we were soon talking frankly
to each other looking over at 菖蒲 in the park.

We had onigiri-lunch together.

The lady was 7 years younger than I.

She and her husband had lived apart for 12 years
and were legally divorced when her only daughter
was 18 years old, she said.

Her only daughter is now 40 years old.

The lady is an artist.

She lives with her only daughter's family
but she feels very lonely.

Her daughter's husband is kind to her
but her daughter is always terrible to her, she says.

We are all lonely, aren't we?

I enjoyed a chance encounter 一期一会.

I walked 13397 steps in a day.

to Higashi-murayama (1)

Yesterday I happened to know 東村山菖蒲まつり
was going on and I decided at once to go to 北山公園
in Higashi-murayama City.

I went to Kokubunji Station by bus and then took a train
on the Seibu Line for Higashi-murayama.

I left my apartment at 9:00 and I arrived at Higashi-murayama
before 10:00 o'clock.

Yes, Higashi-murayama City is not far from here.

At the station, I saw about ten people handing out
folded leaflets about 東村山菖蒲まつり.

I asked one of them which way 北山公園　was.

Then, to my surprise, he proposed to guide me to 北山公園!

He was a voluntary guide for visitors to Higashi-murayama City.

He took me to 停車場の碑～前川～弁天橋～大善院～正福寺地蔵堂
before getting to 北山公園.

At each place he read his handbook in a loud voice for me alone.

I listened to him eagerly.

（前川）


（正福寺）








Here we are at 北山公園！



I thanked him heartily and told him I would have a break
before enjoying 菖蒲　there in 北山公園.

We said good-bye.