Struggle with weeds

The weeds in the yard/farm should be ecologically diverse. They used to be at least before this summer. However, this year, they have been only two kinds growing in our lot. Their growth rate and amount are beyond my experience in the past.

One is Himeshiba, that is, Digitaria Ciliaris in academic term. The other is Tsuyukusa, that is, Commelinales or Dayflower. 

The former is a kind of Poaceae. Its growth is so fast that it overgrows most vegetables. They bud in non homogenous way. If they are cut or pulled away, some of them tend to grow later. Growing one after another, they seem to ridicule us pulling them. They prolierate like nuts.

The latter are clusering in wet area on the land. They bear "self pollinating flowers" in the soil. They turn to be seeds beneath the ground. It is not enough for us to cut or pull them. But we should carefully dig out those seeds in the soil. Very troublesome. The plant itself is an annual grass but the seeds are told to survive for years or even for decades. The plant could grow roots even after being pulled out. When I find a cluster of this weed, I am almost withered before they are. 

I just wonder what has brought extuberance of these particular weeds. I am afraid it might be related with the global warming. Warming might be beneficial to those weeds which used to come from tropical area. If this guess is correct, this phenomenon may be carried on.

A friend of mine, a farmer, told me to use heribicides. He is spraying a glyphosate related herbicide in the garden. Or, as he told me, it is impossible to control those weeds. Some weeds are becoming resistent to glyphosate, as he said. I am not willing to use herbicides especially, glyhosate for the next generation, even though I am not sure who would take over this land.

It could be a problem for the next generation how to do with the proliferating weeds. 

I would go out with a sickle and struggle with the weeds. I have already planted potatoes in the weeds flourishing land.

　

How to spend free time

When I decided to quit ham radio, I had no clear plan as for how to spend free time instead for the future. Not necessarily voluntarily, I have been kept busy caring for this property. Of course, now, I am not able to go out with own physical issues and family duties as I used to years ago. No complaints about it. Even though this anticipated situation came a bit earlier than I expected.

I thought I would have much more free time without ham radio. It was not the reality but I have been quite busy at housework. Concentrated on pulling the weeds growing like jungle for hours, I am not bored with it. Often forgetting how fast time lapses away. I often recall my aunt and my parents who have established and maintainted the small tuberculosis sanatorium at the very same place we are living in around WWII. I have mentioned about that in previous posts. This property belonged to my maternal ancestors before that. Even though not conscious awareness, my devotion to this land might be related with almost subconscious responsibility for those who lived in this property. In my aunt's bio, there are descriptions of a number of patients having spent their very last days in life here, together with a few personnel caring for them in poverty, including my parents. That sanatorium has never been remembered by othes but is almost totally forgotten. So far as I am allowed to live here, I would take care of this land by myself. 

I am trying to catch up with the vast repertoire in classical music I have never listened to. Lately, I focus on the keyboard music. It is the genre I have not been so enthusiastic for. Bach's famous works or Beethoven's sonata, not only the last few.  

A transcription of an organ work by Cesar Franck has attracted me. I have listened whole of or even played a part of his Piano Trio OP1-1 and Piano Quintet in f minor. I love both so much. Otherwise, the famous violin sonate in A major has been one of my favorites since school days. Franck was a non prolific composer even though his works are all masterpieces. Classy as well as emotional in modern sense. 

That transcription is here;

Mesmerizing. The will and emotion of modern times are stayed ahead in the form Bach used to establish.

So, being conscious of the time limited for me, I would go on working in the lot and listening to music. Weeds are waiting for me now.

Jack W8KR resigned FOC

 Jack W8KR gave me an e mail to let me know he would resign FOC several days ago. Having had his wife's and his own health issues, possibly with his inactivity on the air, the club transferred him to the associate member, which turned out to be temporary for only 6 months. At the time of my resignation, it was permanent. The club might intend to activate metabolism in membership in a sense. New and young members are not always making credit to the club more than old timers like Jack, if I am allowed to tell my view. 

I have never heard such a bug user like him sending perfectly beautiful code from the old fashioned key. In 2010s when we used to meet often on 20m, he was a real great ragchewer. Whenever he called me with that bug key, I was always felt enchanted by his beautifully flowing CW. He was talkative and had a lot of topics to talk about. It was a real pleasure for me to talk to him in our morning hours. Since I quit radio already, I won't have a chance to see him in that way any longer. I hope he would overcome the hand issue which has prevented him from operating CW in the way it used to be. I am sure his keying itself would be a great advocate of this art of communication to the beginners.  

It was very courteous for him to let his sponsors, including myself, know of his resignation. I felt it was just like him. Kind, loyal and courteous.

I wonder if I have done the same thing when I got out of the club. Maybe, no. I was occupied with own problem so much that I have not imagined of those who had kindly made sponsorship in 1988 would feel to hear about my resignation. By hat time, there were only few sponsors in the club, mostly SK. Rod K5BGB has sent me a mail expressing his embarrassment at the news. I was sorry for him.

I also told him, besides ham radio, he has a lot of things to do and to enjoy. If he won't be active on the air any longer, he could spend the time he used to do with ham radio for the other purposes. In my resignation from the club and quitting ham radio as well, I have experienced the 2nd retirement myself.

Good health and much happiness to him and his wife Eileen!

Again regarding the Art of Fugue and the meaning of polyphony

I have been concerned why a style of music, the fugue, attracts us so deeply. At least, it is one of my most favorite music styles. It is told to have been thoroughly completed by JS Bach. His unfinished work of "Die Kunst der Fuge" is regarded his real achievement in that composition mode. 

It is a question why the fugue or, in broader sense, the polyphony fascinates our mind. No definite answer yet. As I told in a previous post, the polyphony is identical to or, at least, comparable to the mechanism our consciousness works. Different ideas or thoughts are coming up in mind repeatedly. In case of polyphony, with different tune/tonality. They are compiled in a mass. The flow of compilated thoughts must be an aspect of our consciousness.

It's enough to soapbox on the relationship between our concsiousness and polyphony.

The performance of this work extends to various instruments/ensemble. I have been listening mainly to string quartet version. The performance by Juliard String Quartet has been the best choice for me. Very excellent combination of modern and authentic performance. For the past few days, however. I listen to a rendition by two harpsichords. The players are Ton Koopman and Tini Mathot.  

What I liked it is, in short, that they are keeping constant tempo among contrapuncti. Even in each contrapunctus. As a characteristic of harpsichord rendition, it is dynamically fairly flat, far from romanticism. These characteristics may keep our mind absorbed in the essence of the music. Not emotionally excited. It is another point which attracted me is that Bach might have composed this with a keyboard as well.

Whenever I listen to this piece, it inspires me a lot that the last contrapunctus in a 3 voice fugue ends abruptly with the motif of BACH. They say it was not intended but only a result of accidental abandonment. Bach was going to finish it later. Still this ending is symbolic from our perspective of life. Our life could be forcefully ended regardless what we may wish for the rest of our life. We should learn that from this ending.

The 1st contrapunctus of this renditon. You may listen to further with different videos uploaded by the same person.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gKr89xxnMM8&list=PLWX0mJtyf2ceho-yYTx7K6dVyaWJk53TQ

Debt reduction by inflation

The US has the historical large amount of the debt now. Now, with the fault of invasion to Iran, the petrodollar recycling is going to shrink. The adminitration seems to cover the expenditure by causing more inflation. Of course, without testifying that.

It is even much worse in our country. The government debt is over 210$ of GDP. In addition to the consumption tax cut as well as more expenditure for the military expansion, the administration plans 370 trillion JPY investments by 2040. I could not help judging they are nullng the debt by hyperinflation.

 

Opposing to the sanctions on the ICC head et al by the Trump administration

The Trump administration has imposed sanctions on the head and another lawyer of International Criminal Court, ICC. They have previously done the same sanctions on other 11 personnel.

ICC has been established in 2002 pursuant to the ICC Rome Statute. It is to research and punish any serious war crimes in the international community. Now 125 countries have ratified the Rome statute with the USA, Russia and China excluded. The aim of ICC is to uphold the rule of law in the world. Its function is limited to the areas/countries in its jurisdiction. It is not intended to violate the sovereignty of the nations not ratifying the Rome statute. 

As told above, sanctions by the Trump administration is not justified. Since the beginning of this year, it is rather the US which has impinged the sovereignty of Venezuela and of Iran. Those countries have been attacked in preemptive manner and their political leaders have been kidnapped or even killed. These behaviours are definitely against the rule of law in the international community. 

The Trump administration is trying to defund and to dismantle ICC. What they insist seems to be ostensible reasoning. They must fear their military actions would be punished by any international organizations like ICC in the future. I could not help imagining this is their real reason.

I hate living in the world where military and economical power rules even if it is not accomplished at present. ICC is an important organization to go toward the goal. I absolutely approve ICC and the personnel working there in order to maintain and improve the rule of law in the world.    

 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2026/08/19/world/politics/icc-us-sanctions-multilateralism/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_type=image&fbclid=iwy2xjawt2frdwzg9mawv4dg4dywvtajewagjyawqrmxz3s3fqzulqwggzoejevmpzcnrjbmfwcf9pzbaymjiwmzkxnzg4mjawodkyaaeek9ks1e1ym0j-wol_bv8npiavl4gncisog_jds8gnd64rybj2c7jmlgpwlm8_aem_ebq_1wghf68gulako4x2wa#Echobox=1787121649-1

Cherishing every moment

It is mid summer here. Pretty hot in the mid day but not so much in the morning/evening. I am still working hard at the garden/farm while it remains not very hot. Staying on a small chair pulling and cutting weeds. It passes 3 or even 4 hours without being conscious of that. 

Not so often as before, I still cook some dishes. Boiled chicken breast meat with yuzu pepper dressing. Too hot for my wife but pretty good for me insensitive to pepper.

Tomatoes are pretty successful this year. It is always difficult for me to grow large size tomatoes. They could rupture with much rain fall. I have chosen a strain which is resistent to such a problem this year and they have bored quite some fruits. Harvesting a large one with 4 inches in diameter, I have made a salad with it. Pretty sweet and juicy.

 

Peaceful and uneventful days are going on. Still feeling it won't last forever. I try to cherish every day or even every moment.