September 23, 2003
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9/24/2003 Signs of Fall
Here are some signs of fall taken around our Tokyo neighborhood. This red dragonfly was extremely cooperative and not at all camera shy.
A typhoon had just been through to blow the clouds away, and we got a hazy glimpse of Mt. Fuji, which by the way could erupt at any time according to the TV soothsayers. (2008 edit. A shopping center has been built in front of Mt. Fuji so that we are no longer able to see it. Ah, "progress!") Not a great picture, but here it is.
This this was not actually a sign of fall, but a sign of noodles taken during the fall. This is the plastic version of what is served inside a Noborito station neighborhood restaurant, and it was so succulent that even a picture of the plastic version is tickling my taste buds!
Here are some Higanbana. It is amazing that they manage to bloom almost exactly on September 23rd every year. An Internet check on English information turned up the following website, in which they are named as Red Spider Lilies. http://imaginatorium.org/sano/higanb.htm This web page was actually quite interesting, as I did not know of the poisonous properties of this particular floral specimen. A few days ago, I was actually able to find some of these plants bearing seeds, which I had never seen before. The butterfly is somewhat battered..
Here is another sign of fall - the baked potato truck! When the weather gets cool, these fellows drive around all of the Japanese neighborhoods in their trucks announcing their presence crooning , "Yaaaaakimoooooooooo, Ishsiyaaaaakiiiiiiiiimo, Yakkimo!" (Baked Pototoes) They have their own wood burning ovens and a supplies of kindling on the back of the truck with which they heat small stones in which the purple skinned sweet potatoes are roasted. They sure do make a nice snack on a chilly day!
Hey, I just had a thought that never occurred to me before. These guys are all driving around creation with a live fire smoldering over their gas tank, which is really gonna roast those potatoes and perhaps their customers and neighborhood as well. Maybe they could also sell popcorn on the side. I have never heard of any incidences of roasted potatoes being responsible for roasted neighborhoods on any news menus, so I am assuming (hoping!) there is some kind of really superior insulation under the oven. After you purchase your hot potato, perhaps jogging away from the vendor's vehicle at a rapid clip might be an advisable part of your "everyday healthy exercise life."
When the pampas grass (susuki) appears, we know that fall has arrived. It is growing all over the vacant lots of our boondocks, and may not be quite so prolific as the area develops.
We have a train maintenance are at our station, and here are some of the trains.
Comments (7)
(continues ooo from last blog post)
Ooo.
God bless,
~Scott
There are signs of fall all over the place here too. Your profile pic is soooooo cute and made me smile.
*sparkle
@Sparkling_Rainbow - glad to hear that you are smiling again!
What type of birds egg is in the top of that plate of food? It looked small so I got curious?
@bibleco - Ah, a good observation! It is a quail's egg. I have gotten out of the habit of using them myself because my son seems to be allergic to them. He is probably allergic to penacillin and if he eats too many eggs he gets a rash, especially with cheap eggs, so I always had to "grade up." One teeny quail egg would give him a rash. I could be wrong, but I suspect that it has something to do with hormones that the birds are probably given to make them lay more eggs. When he got really sensitized even chicken meat would give him a rash, but if he stayed away from chickens for awhile he was all right. Quail eggs used to be a common item in the supermarkets, but come to think of it, I don't remember seeing them lately. I do see them in cans. I will have to check out the egg section in the supermarket today. You called attention to something that I had forgotten about.
@usalapinhazzer - We have Quail eggs here. I have eaten them. I did not know that if i was allergick to penacillin not to eat them. I am allergic and so are my 4 kids. thank u. and God Bless
@bibleco - If you have eaten them without any problems then they are probably all right. I don't know why my son reacted badly to them, but he would get rashes if he ate them. Skin rashes are unpleasant, but rashes (swelling) inside the bronchial tubes are scary, so I just had him avoid quail eggs. I don't know what in the quail eggs was causing the problem. I don't know for absolute sure that my son is allergic to penacillin, but when he was in kindergarten he was taking it for about two weeks because he had scarletina (mild form of scarlet fever) and he began getting rashes that grew worse every time I gave him the penacillin. I took him back to the doctor and showed him the rash, and the stupid doctor just said that he had something else and to keep taking the penacillin. That was very scary advice and I took the kid to another doctor who said that he should not take penacillin anymore and that he should take an alternate antibiotic. Do your kids have any problems with regular eggs?
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