Friday, May 18, 2012

May In Ichikawa

Recent weather has made me feel right at home.  The temperatures have turned distinctly warmer and a bright warm day can turn quickly in to a thundery rain storm and just as quickly back to sunshine. Recently there was a strong tornado in Tsukuba that appeared suddenly, some buildings were wrecked and there was one death.  For the next week or two everyone was on edge if there was any forecast of rain.  The weather services scrambled to find a way to warn people if the possibility of a tornado was present. This resulted in even more anxiety. For Japanese people the forces of nature are cruel, unpredictable and ruled by gods who don't necessarily care about what happens to people.

Trees are coming out in leaves of "fresh green" and the roses are starting to bloom. The hydrangea have buds. Natsumikan are the fruit of the season.  The name means summer tangerine.  They have thick skins, though and apparently are used for juice that can be made into drinks high in vitamin C.  I was given two by a friend and ate them by peeling them, then removing the thick membrane from each section and eating the insides. Having lived in Florida, I was not overly impressed by this fruit, but vitamin C is a good thing.

The sun is shining again, and the afternoon rain is dried up. Today's round of the May Sumo Tournament is on the television. It's great to have an afternoon off.

1 comment:

Julie Fukuda said...

Georgia, I miss seeing you! Today the quilters were at my messy house (only two)We had a crash-boom rain storm while they were here and now the sun is out. Now I am off for camp and the weather is very iffy.
I will have to return Saturday night as we sing first service Sunday.