It is a quiet and a bit hot day today. Still crisp and comfortable. I have spent all day at the garden. A few azaleas were damaged by powderpost beetle and have been cut in the garden. There are more area which we could plant some flowers and trees. Before doing that, I have been eagerly pulling out rhizomatous weeds. It is almost imossible to eradicate them since some rhizom is so deep underground that we could not access to it. Reducing the size and amount of such weeds is important to plant other kinds of plants. i don't feel bored with that garden work.
As already written in previous posts, while sitting on the garden and concentrating the work, I often recall my parents. They were often doing the same thing in this property. Living with my family with grandchildren and without any worry about living, they might be in the most peaceful days in their lives, I believe, even if I am not sure I have done best for them.
My parents have known each other during WWII at the sanatorium, that is, very same place as we live right now. I have reiterated about that story a few times in this blog. They have married after the war and built their family with 3 children. They got through the hardest time in their lives then. Threatened to death in the war and poverty beyond words for sometime after the war. However, they got it through.
Now we are getting into the hardship in life we have never experienced during our lives. Economically, our country hit the highest nominal GDP while the real GDP remains the same. And the long term national bond is charged with the highest interest rate. These mean our country will suffer from further inflation. Takaichi administration is heading to further military buildup changing the constitution to throw away its pacifism. The social security is being cut and more self pay is being introduced. The gas and food crisis due to the war in the Middle East messes it up further.
Spending elderly days in this situation is surely a challenge for us. Privately, we have own problems for our age as well. It is equivalent to WWII and the post war era for my parents. i won't complain of that but would live with hope for the future as my parents used to do.
My wife has prepard a gorgeous sushi dinner for my 77th birthday. A rewarding day.
My mother, maybe in her 70s, and my wife. A photo taken about 35 years ago. At a park nearby.

Happy birthday Shin. We just returned from Hirakawa south of Aomori, a small town not far from lovely walks in hills to the east. There are bear warnings so I didn't see any other walkers. The weather up there is cooler than where you are of course. 20 degrees and sunny.
ReplyDeleteTake care.
Hello John, I was wondering where you had been. Hirakawa sounded unfamiliar to me and I googled it. Pretty near to Aomori and a small city in fact. I am sure only very few inbound tourists are visiting such a place. Not a famous resort nor sighteseeing place. Pretty good for you to know some unique characteristics of the countryside in our country. It is getting unusually cool here. It will get down to 9 degrees tomorrow morning. I have taken the seedlings grown in pots into house now. Take care and safe trip back home. Shin
Delete