St. John's Wort is Hairy, Too! ビヨウヤナギ（未央柳）も毛深いです！

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This bright yellow and the medial long stamens caught my eye. This is common St. John's wort.   

 Common St. John's wort 未央柳

As hairy as love-in-a-mist? 
ニゲラぐらい毛深い？

Many common St. John's wort flowers
未央柳がいっぱい！

Common St. John's wort is tricky because it so looks like "goldencup St. John's wort." I actually had mistaken these "common" ones for "goldencup" ones until realizing the difference that the common one is "hairy," i.e., it has numerous long stamens while the "goldencup" not.  

Common St. John's wort is called "Weiyang willow" in Japan, named after The Weiyang Palace, the main imperial palace complex of the Han and other Chinese dynasties in the city of Chang'an (modern-day Xi'an), built in 200 BC. The palace had willows and their leaves resemble the flower's leaves, although common St. John's wort isn't in the willow family.

If you found this hairy yellow flower beautiful, read another post about nigella or live-in-a-mist, which is also hairy!

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立札に「美容柳（ビヨウヤナギ）」とありました。でもそれは間違いで本当は「未央柳」だそうです。そして柳でもないそうです｡｡｡ えっ！ いい加減すぎるでしょ😡。でもそんな怒りを帳消しにするほどの未央柳の色と形です。

名前の由来は、この花が未央宮の柳に似た葉を持つからとのこと（出典：Wikipedia）。

毛深いお花がお気に召した方は、これまた毛深いニゲラについてもどうぞ！ちなみにこの毛（ではなくて正しくは雄しべ）がなければ危うくキンシバイと間違えるところでした😁

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Japanese Honeysuckle スイカズラ（吸い葛、忍冬）

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Japanese honeysuckle changes its color from white to yellow as Japanese weigela from white to pale pink, then to reddish purple.

Japanese honeysuckle 吸い葛

Japanese honeysuckle 忍冬

This is an interesting flower whose English name means almost the same as what its Japanese name does. Japanese honeysuckle flowers are edible to humans and appreciated for their sweet-tasting nectar.

While Japanese weigera represents "fickleness" because of its changing colors, the honeysuckle means "bonds of love" and "devotion" in the Japanese language of flowers. This is so unfair!

The honeysuckle is the symbol of love in Western countries. 

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スイカズラ（吸い葛）です。箱根空木が白から淡いピンク、そして濃い紫に色を変えますが、スイカズラは白から黄色に変わります。

花の色が変わるので箱根空木の花言葉は移り気、でもスイカズラは「愛の絆」と「献身的な愛」。なんか不公平ね｡｡｡

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Does Fish Mint Accumulate or Block Poison? ドクダミは魚ミント

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I've been seeing these pretty white flowers everywhere recently, so I googled and was surprised because they are fish mint flowers. Fish mint is called "poison accumulation"!! Is my neighborhood contaminated by such beautiful but toxic plants?? 

Fish mint flowers ドクダミの花

"Poison accumulation" in Japanese 
ドクダミは英語では「魚ミント」

No worries! Although they are called "poison accumulation" in Japanese, they don't contain any toxic substances. Besides, they have another name, "poison blocking" because its Japanese name "doku dami" can be interpreted as "poison accumulation" and "poison blocking" both!! So confusing, isn't it?

Baby Longheaded Locust on Red Zinnia 赤ちゃんバッタと百日草

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This bright garnet red stopped me, and then a tiny green thing caught my eye!!

Baby Oriental longheaded locust on zinnia
赤ちゃんショウリョウバッタ、一休み

Are you gonna jump? 飛ぶ？

Red zinnia is so red! 真っ赤な百日草

It was a baby Oriental longheaded locust (I think!) and the flower red zinnia. The baby is so tiny, sitting still on a zinnia petal, looking like being poised to leap...

Babies are all cute, a bug, human, cat or dog, and this tiny baby locust reminded me of a white Frenchie puppy I saw several days earlier. The Frenchie puppy, taking a sniff of pink flowers on the roadside, was so adorable until he/she started peeing on those flowers. Having never had a pet, I couldn't understand why he or she had done that, so I told my husband about it. He said, "Frenchies are just stupid, but that's what makes them so cute. I love them!"

WHAT???? Are you saying I am stupid or you don't love me? But I, too, think Frenchies are stupid but love them. Don't ask why..... 

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「真っ赤だな」と見ていたらちっちゃいの発見！ショウリョウバッタの赤ちゃん（多分）です。飛ぶかと思ってしばらく眺めていましたが全然動かない。でも赤ちゃんは可愛いです。

赤ちゃんと言えば先日見かけた赤ちゃんフレブル。ピンクの花をクンクンしていて愛らしい！と思ったら急におしっこタイム！しかもついさっきまでクンクンしていたその花に！

お～い、どうしてだ？！（ペット飼ったことがありません🙇）家で主人に話したら、「フレブルはバカだからかわいいんだよ、だから好きなんだ」

お～い、どういうことだ？ 私はバカ？ それとも私のこと好きじゃない？ いずれにせよ私もフレブル大好きです。

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Marble, White, Red, and Pink Roses!! 赤白ピンク、絞りのバラ

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I've seen roses of various colors these days.

Red and white marble 赤白の絞り模様

White 白

Pale pink 薄いピンク

Deep red 深紅

Pink ピンク

Another pink もう一つピンク

A rose and skyscrapers 東京のバラ

I wondered why I saw many roses, so googled, learning that roses flower from May to June. I also recently found that honey bouquet roses, which are cream yellow, are as beautiful as red roses.

Speaking of roses, in my college days, two boys gave me a bouquet of red roses for my birthday. We watched some film and had dinner together. I don't recall what we watched or ate, and I don't understand why the two boys, who were friends, asked me out together. And this happened again with, that time, a different pair of boys...

Was I so difficult to be with one on one? It still remains as a question.....

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バラです。なぜ「こんなにたくさんバラが？」と思ってググったら、バラって５月から６月に咲くんですね。知りませんでした。ハニーブーケローズを見て黄色のバラの美しさを知ったのも最近です。

それで思い出したのですが、大学生の頃、誕生日に男の子二人に誘われ、三人で映画を見てご飯を食べました。真っ赤なバラのブーケももらいました。そして似たようなことがもう一度｡｡｡ 別の男の子たちからでした。１対１で誘うのそんなに怖かったのかな｡｡｡ 今となっては懐かしい思い出です｡ 

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Snapdragons Are Talkative! キンギョソウはおしゃべり！

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Snapdragons are everywhere in my neighborhood!!

Yellow snapdragon キンギョソウ

Look like goldfish 白ピンク金魚？

White snapdragon 白いキンギョソウ

Deep pink 鮮やかピンクです

A bit withered pink snapdragon
少し疲れたピンクのキンギョソウ

Snapdragon is called "goldfish plant" in Japanese. I like it! The name well describes the pretty shape and color of the flower, doesn't it?

I've seen snapdragons recently for a while, but didn't or couldn't write about them for a reason. They remind me of Yamatokoriyama city, which is known for the cultivation of goldfish, in Nara prefecture, a place which I've visited twice a year for almost ten years and want to move to after retirement, but I haven't been able to go to this year because of Covid-19! I tried to forget about snapdragons and a trip to the prefecture scheduled for this May which I cancelled, but in vain. These goldfish flowers are so pretty that I couldn't ignore them!

A snapdragon is a symbol of both "deception" and "graciousness" in Western countries while in Japan, "talkative," "meddler," and "busybody" because goldfish always opens their mouth in the water. This is a very unfair description of such pretty fish (or flowers)!

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キンギョソウです。あちこちで咲いていたので書こう、書こうと思っていたのですが書けませんでした。というのも、

キンギョソウ→金魚→大和郡山→奈良！

そうです。奈良です。ここ１０年近く年に２回は訪れ、ゆくゆくは移住したい、でも今年はコロナで泣く泣くキャンセルした奈良です。

でも、キンギョソウはあまりに可愛く、無視できませんでした。コロナ禍が終わったら、奈良、行きます😉

キンギョソウの西洋の花言葉は「ごまかし」と「優雅さ」。

日本の花言葉は「おしゃべり」、「でしゃばり」、「おせっかい」。

キンギョソウの名は、花の形が金魚のようで、それが口をパクパクさせているように見えるからだそうです。ひどい話です😭

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Love-In-A-Mist is A Bit Hairy.... 毛深くってごめんなさい🙇 ニゲラより

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Have they forgotten to shave body hair or do they think they don't have to because they're staying at home?

Love-in-a-mist ニゲラは天使？

Will they become devil-in-the-bush in autumn?
クロタネソウは悪魔？

Many many nigellas! ニゲラがいっぱい！

They are nigellas or love-in-a mist. They grow in my neighborhood, so I've passed by these pale blue flowers many times, always intrigued by something threadlike which looks like "hair."

As usual, I googled and learned that it's not hair😁but finely divided leaves. The color blue is so pure and graceful, matching the name "love-in-a-mist."

The name “love-in-a-mist” is given because the flowers are surrounded by a ruff of similar leaves, giving the appearance of the flowers being surrounded by a mist. (Source: AtoZFlowers)

What made me puzzled, however, is it has another name "devil-in-the-bush." For this, The Hutchinson News gave me an answer. "The plant, when green and flowering, is called Love-in-a-Mist, but when the horned seed pods dry in the autumn it changes, like Jekyll and Hyde, to the name of Devil-in-the-Bush." This has made me decide to visit the place again in autumn to see their Jekyll-to-Hyde change, while getting me to think what we will be like at the time....

According to Organic Gardener, a love-in-the-mist flower means "perplexity," "you puzzle me" "openness to love," and "kiss me." In Japan, the flower is symbol of "perplexity" and "secret pleasure."

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近所のニゲラです。最初、色に目が行ったのですが、近づいたら結構毛だらけ｡｡｡ あらあら、ステイホームでもムダ毛の処理はちゃんとしないとね｡｡｡ （個人的にはそれほど興味はありませんが😁）冗談はさておき、色といい「毛じゃなくて細い葉」といい、とても可憐で、一目で好きになってしまいました。

困ったのが英語名。「love-in-a-mist」と「devil-in-the-bush」と二つあります。愛と悪魔？ どっちなんだ！？この英語サイトが教えてくれました。「花が咲いているときは『love-in-a-mist』だけど、秋に種ができるとジキルとハイドのように『devil-in-the-bush』になる」｡｡｡ よし、秋に悪魔を見に行くぞ！

ニゲラの西洋の花言葉は「当惑」、「愛に開放的（？）」、「キスして」、
日本の花言葉は「当惑」、「ひそかな喜び」です。

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Japanese Weigela Is Fickle! 箱根空木は移り気？

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

A single tree with flowers of three colors amazed me. It's Japanese weigela.

Japanese weigela 箱根空木

Japanese weigela after rain
雨上がりの箱根空木

Change from white to pink, then to reddish purple
白からピンク、濃い紫へ

Japanese weigela flower changes its color from white to pale pink, then to reddish purple. It's understandable that the flower means "fickleness" in the Japanese floriography.

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箱根空木です。一つの木に三色の花。驚きました。白から淡いピンク、そして濃い紫に変わるそうです。花言葉が「移り気」なのも納得です。

箱根空木は英語では「Japanese weigela」、以前書いた通常の空木（deutzia crenata）とは違う仲間だそうです。

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Mophead Hydrangea 丸い紫陽花は「もじゃもじゃヘア」

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Hydrangea is a symbol of the rainy season in Japan, which usually starts in June. These hydrangeas are mophead hydrangeas I've found recently in a nearby park.

Blue mophead hydrangea 青の紫陽花

Looks like a "mophead"
モップ頭の紫陽花

Pink mophead hydrangea ピンクの紫陽花

Hydrangeas are grown across Japan including temples, some of which even called "hydrangea temples" attracting many tourists during the rainy season. (If you have a chance to come to Japan after Covid-19, visit "Hydrangea Temple" or Meigetsuin in Kamakura, Kanagawa prefecture, which is known for 2,500 blue hydrangeas.)

According to FTD's website, hydrangea has seven types, of which I have seen three so far, i.e., a mophead hydrangea (in the above photos), a lacecap hydrangea, whose head is, unlike mophead hydrangea, not round but flat with frilly edges, and a smooth hydrangea, which is white or lime green. 

The rainy season will be followed by infamous Japanese hot summer, so until then, I will enjoy these lovely and graceful flowers!!

If you want to see lacecap hydrangeas, read this.
If you are interested in smooth hydrangeas, click here!

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近所の公園の紫陽花です。色はまだ薄いですがとっても綺麗です。

ある英語サイトによると、紫陽花には大きく７種類あるそうで、私はその内、「mophead hydrangea（写真のモップみたいな丸い紫陽花）」、「lacecap hydrangea（ガクアジサイ）」、３週間前に見かけた「smooth hydrangea（白とライムグリーンの紫陽花）」の３種を見たことになります。

紫陽花と言えば梅雨。それとも日本人だけの刷り込みでしょうか｡｡｡

ガクアジサイにご興味ある方はこちら、白とライムグリーンの紫陽花に興味がある方はこちらもどうぞ！

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Honey Bouquet Rose ハニーブーケローズ

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

These are honey bouquet roses I found a week ago in my neighborhood. It'd been awhile since I had last seen roses.

Honey bouquet ハニーブーケ

Pale yellow is so sweet! 淡い黄色が素敵です！

I love roses (who doesn't?) and I often say so, but it was until I saw them that I realized when I said I loved roses, I meant "red" roses. How foolish was I! These cream yellow roses changed my perception of roses by showing me how pretty and elegant they are!!

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ハニーローズというバラです。バラというと赤いバラというイメージが強かったのですが、ふんわりしたこういうバラも素敵ですね。バラのイメージが変わりました😃

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Lacecap Hydrangea ガクアジサイ

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Hydrangea is a symbol of the rainy season in Japan, which usually starts in June. The flower is grown across the nation including temples, some of which even called "hydrangea temples" attracting many tourists during the rainy season.

Hydrangeas with round flower heads (i,e., mophead hydrangeas), which we often see, are of course beautiful, but not round but flat ones with frilly edges, i.e., lacecap hydrangeas, are also getting popular in Japan. They are simple and unique. And a few days ago, I luckily found pink and blue mixed lacecap hydrangeas in my neighborhood.

Lacecap hydrangea ガクアジサイ

Baby lacecap hydrangea?
赤ちゃん額紫陽花？

Is it gonna be blue? 青かな？

I have seen hydrangeas many times, but it was the first time for me to enjoy looking at such various types of hydrangeas, i.e., mophead, lacecap and smooth, of various colors ranging from pink and blue to white and lime green.

Mophead and lacecap hydrangeas both belong to the "bigleaf hydrangea" type, different from the "smooth hydrangea" type, which is white or lime green.

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ガクアジサイです。紫陽花（こっちの表記のほうが好き）って種類が多いですね。ある英語サイトでは７種類に区分されていて、よく見る丸いアジサイは「mophead hydrangea」、ガクアジサイは「lacecap hydrangea」ということが分かりました。

ちなみに以前ご紹介した白とライムグリーンの紫陽花は「smooth hydrangea」という種類だそうです。

丸い紫陽花は額紫陽花とは趣が違いますね。丸いのももちろん美しいですが、額紫陽花のユニークな形に最近ハマっています😃

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Honeywort Is "Cugly"? セリンセマヨール（黄花瑠璃草）はキモカワ？

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Dadada dadada dadadada dadada♬ Dadada dadada dadadada dadada♬ Guess what song I'm singing? Godzilla's theme!! These purple flowers look like Godzilla monsters or ammonite fossils, don't they?

Deep purple ammonite fossils?
濃い紫のアンモナイト化石？

Honeywort or Cerinthe major
セリンセマヨール（黄花瑠璃草）

They are Cerinthe majors or honeyworts, and these ammonite fossil like parts are their flowers and bracts. I said monstrous, but when looked closely, they are "kimokawa" or cugly! The color is so deep and beautiful, and the shape unique.

I didn't know that English had the word "cugly," meaning cute and ugly, the same as "kimokawa" in Japanese. This is the second time that I have seen cugly plants after big quaking grass, a plant looking like a bug.

Cerinthe major is also called "blue shrimp plant" and "pride of Gibraltar," suggesting that its flower shape and color inspire people to think what name best describes such a unique plant.

It has a Japanese name, too, "yellow flower lapis lazuli plant," which does describe the color, but not the shape, so personally I prefer "blue shrimp plant."

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セリンセマヨールです。アンモナイトの化石に見えませんか！ キモカワです。ちなみにキモカワは英語で「cugly」と言うそうです。「cute」と「ugly」の合体です。ちなみにキモカワ植物といえば小判草（big quaking grass）もそうでした。

セリンセマヨールは色がとっても素敵ですね。ただ一つ問題が。名前が多すぎるんです｡｡｡

honeywort　ハニーワート
blue shrimp plant　青エビ草（ナルジマ訳）

pride of Gibraltar　プライド・オブ・ジブラルタル

黄花瑠璃草

とも呼ばれます。個人的には「blue shrimp plant（青エビ草）」が一番好きかな。色も形もちゃんと表しています😜

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Bottlebrush ブラシノキ（金宝樹）

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

It's too early for Christmas decorations!

Red and gold! 赤と金！

It's like a "bottlebrush"!
ブラシみたい！

Bottlebrush tree ブラシの木

The red of these bottlebrush flowers so stood out and is so distinctively beautiful that something happened within me. The next moment, I was climbing a wall surrounding the tree like I did when I was a child to take their close-up photos. I was reckless, but couldn't resist.

Luckily, I wasn't hurt, no bones broken, but for that I should thank god. And I also should thank these beautiful flowers 🙏 for giving me such happiness and making me feel like a kid!!

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ブラシノキです。金宝樹、花槙ともいうそうです。こんなクリスマスツリーみたいな木があるんだ！と最初驚きました。塀をよじ登って近くで見てもやっぱりすごい！こんな木が近所にあったことにも驚きでした。そして塀を上った自分にも茫然😲！

まさにブラシ。英語名も「bottlebrush（瓶を洗うブラシ）」。形も色もとっても個性的です！

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From Bud To Bloom of Chinese Chive Flower ニラの花 つぼみから開花

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I first saw this bud next to an orange tulip in full bloom. The tulip and the bud were both 30 cm tall and their stems were both straight. Naturally I thought of it as a tulip bud, so finding it two weeks later developing into a full blown flower like in the second photo really surprised me😲.

Mistook it for a tulip bud
チューリップのつぼみかと｡｡｡

Two weeks later ２週間後😲

Standing by itself....
ぽつんと一人、じゃなくて一花

What surprised me further is that this is a Chinese chive flower. It's amazing and beautiful that garlic chive has a cluster of such pretty small white flowers....!

If I had known that, I would definitely have taken a sniff of it to make sure that it was really a Chinese chive flower...

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チューリップのつぼみと思いこんでました（１枚目）。だってオレンジのチューリップの横で茎がそっくりだったんです。そしたら２週間後びっくり。ちっちゃい花がいっぱい。しかもニラ😲？！ ニラがこんなに可憐な花を｡｡｡  知ってたら嗅いでました😜

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Look Up To The Sky! 見上げてごらん！

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

I saw these cirrocumulus clouds a few days ago. In Japan, they are called "sardine clouds," "fish scale clouds," "mackerel clouds," or something similar and are a symbol of autumn.

Sardine? 鰯？

Mackerel? 鯖？

Or fish scale? それとも鱗？

Between high-rise buildings....
ビルの谷間

These days I often look down while walking to look for flowers for this blog. But that day, I got up at 5 a.m. and it was a beautiful morning, so naturally and unknowingly I looked up at the sky....

Clouds are special to me. Every time changing schools in my childhood, I always looked up to find clouds, thinking that my old friends might also be seeing the sky and the same clouds. The sky and clouds were and still are friends of mine.

If you are interested in the Japanese saying, "Women's fickleness and autumn clouds," read this post, too!

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先日見かけました。鰯？ 鯖？ 鱗？ 名前はともかく、とてもきれいで心が洗われました。子供のころ、引っ越すたびに空を見上げていました。空と雲、昔も今も友達です｡｡｡

鰯雲についてご興味がある方はこちらもどうぞ😊

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Don't Complain! Vote In Next Election! SNSより選挙に行こう！

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Criticism is mounting in Japan over the Abe administration's terrible handling of Covid-19 situation, for example:

- Coronavirus testing is still insufficient.
- Covid-19 data are not disclosed, making peer review impossible.
- Abe can't answer any questions properly without scripts.
- Abe and government officials blame the public for insufficient tests.
- The LDP is now trying to revise prosecutor law in favor of them.

I can't agree more. Their Covid-19 handling has been terrible and their debate over prosecutor law revisions now, which can and should wait, is also stupid. But these are not their faults but people's because it's Japanese public who have chosen such incompetent leaders. The current situation is the results of the choices they have made over at least the last several years.

Lily of the Incas, Foxgloves, and Osaka Auntie! アルストロメリアとジギタリスはヒョウ柄だ！

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

Flowers with leopard spots attracted my attention, making me stop and stare at them.

A flower with leopard spots ヒョウ柄のツツジ？

Lilies of the Incas 百合水仙

I first thought that they were azaleas, but something was different, so at home I googled and learned that they are lilies of the Incas. Then a few days later, I found flowers which also have leopard spots on their petals.

Leopard spots on petals ヒョウ柄

Foxglove ジギタリス

These two tall flowers are foxgloves. Lilies of the Incas and foxgloves are both conspicuous for their leopard spots, and such spots reminded me of lovely women called Osaka Auntie!

Osaka Auntie is a literal translation of "Osaka no obachan," meaning middle-aged women in Osaka, the second largest city after Tokyo in Japan.

Osaka is different from Tokyo in many ways. As the city called the "kitchen of Japan," Osaka is known for a variety of delicious food where people prefer dashi to soy sauce. Also, Osaka people are more talkative and open, and less reluctant to bargain over prices. And middle-aged women there, Osaka Aunties, are famous (or notorious!) for being too chatty, obliging and a little pushy😁, and loving leopard print clothing!!

I'm not interested in leopard print clothing, but I admire Osaka Aunties for their straightforward and caring nature....

In Japanese, lily of the Incas is "lily daffodil" while foxglove just "foxglove," a translation of the English name. 

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１枚目は「ツツジかな｡｡｡」と思いながら「いや違う」の繰り返しが続いていた花です。ふとしたことがきっかけで、アルストロメリア（またはインカの百合）だということが分かりました。２枚目と３枚目はジギタリスです。

目を奪われたのはその紋様、ヒョウ柄です！いつか京都に住みたいと思っていますが、気持ちは「大阪のおばちゃん」のように元気で明るく、物おじしない女性になりたい！（ヒョウ柄は着ませんが｡｡｡）。いや既にそうなのかもしれません🙇

アルストロメリアの和名は「百合水仙」、ジギタリスは「狐の手袋」です。

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