Pinkish White Plum Blossoms 淡いピンクの梅

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

This plum tree should produce pink blossoms, so I've been looking forward to them since last month as I did last year, but so far I've seen only white blossoms. 

Scientifically, white flowering plum trees produce white blossoms while pink flowering plum trees, like this one, produce pink and white blossoms depending on whether they have sufficient anthocyanins to make the flowers red (or pink). Apparently, the tree doesn't have enough anthocyanins.

Because of the mechanism, pink flowering plum trees sometimes produce half and half colored blossoms. (Read this post!). 

Pinkish white plum blossoms　淡いピンクの梅

Chinese Quince (Chaenomeles Speciosa) 木瓜（ボケ）

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

Chinese quince (Chaenomeles speciosa) has started to bloom in my neighborhood. The red is so bright that I mistook them for Christmas berries at first. Chinese quince flowers are pretty and the fruits can be used to make jam, but sadly in Japan, plum is more popular as a flower and an ingredient of jam.  

Chinese quince　木瓜

Homemade Candied Pomelo Peel 2023 パール柑の砂糖漬け作りました

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

I've just made candied pomelo peel for the first time this season. Because I didn't use fruit, which I ate last night😋, the peel is brownish (which I don't like😂) but sweeter than the hassaku orange marmalade I made last year. The peel goes perfectly well with a cup of coffee!! (I'm a coffee lover!☕)

Homemade candied pomelo peel 2023 パール柑の砂糖漬け

Nick Jagger in Japan ニックジャガーだよ～

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

This is Nick Jagger in Japan. What? Do you see only a dish of potatoes and carrots? (Or you think I made a slip of tongue?) 

This is really Nick Jagger or nikujaga, that is, a Japanese dish of meat (which is niku in Japanese), potatoes (which is jaga imo) and onion stewed in generally sweetened soy sauce and mirin, sometimes with other vegetables, like carrots and green beans, to make it more colorful and nutritious!

I hate daddy jokes, but the joke has been in my head since it occurred to me while I was taking an early morning walk today. I cooked this dish and am writing this post to get rid of this earworm-like joke!!

Nick Jagger or Japanese dish called "nikujaga"　我が家の肉じゃが

Sweet Autumn Clematis and the Winter Moon 仙人草と冬の月

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

Clematis terniflora or sweet autumn clematis are still in bloom. Clematis generally flowers from July to September and I saw the achenes surrounded by feather like white long tails in early November (after which its Japanese name is given). So, maybe I was lucky to be able to see the flowers and the winter Moon at the same time!

Clematis terniflora (sweet autumn clematis) 仙人草

Silene Gallica (Common Catchfly) 白花マンテマ

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

They're Silene gallica or more commonly known as common catchfly, small-flowered catchfly, or windmill pink. I saw the flowers last year, but not this time of the year but in April. I saw henbit yesterday and sweet autumn clematis in November, both of which had flowers also out of season. 

Silene gallica　白花マンテマ

Common catchfly　白花マンテマ

Hassaku Marmalade 八朔マーマレード

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

This is the marmalade I made from the hassaku oranges I wrote about yesterday. I like marmalade for not only its sour, bitter, and sweet taste but also the color!! 

Hassaku orange marmalade 八朔ジャム

Don't Throw Away the Hassaku Oranges! 八朔捨てないで！

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

These're hassaku oranges harvested this year. And there's a story about them. 

In my neighborhood, there are two places where the land owners grow the oranges. They grow the oranges not for sale, which means no pesticides on them. As it's almost impossible to get fruits with no pesticides applied these days, I called one of the places, a hospital, to ask if I could get several of them. Their answer was no. They said they would make jam for their patients. So, I contacted the other place, i.e., an office building. The staff of the property manager were surprised but said "Okay!" That was about a month ago. 

Then, today, knowing it was time to harvest, I went there and got nine hassaku oranges and have already started making jam from five of them. (That's why the pictures are of only four oranges.)  

Sadly, however, one of the staff said that this was only this year and that they won't be able to do the same next year. He said that the oranges weren't theirs but the property owner's and the owner or a real estate investment trust didn't like the idea of giving the oranges to anyone. I see that the company wants to take no risk and has chosen to let the fruits fall from the tree and rot on the ground. But it's just mottainai, isn't it? 

I've been thinking of calling next year the property owner to negotiate with them to make jam again😝!! For the definition and usage of "mottainai," read this post. 

Hassaku oranges 八朔

Baby Achenes of Clematis Terniflora (Sweet Autumn Clematis) 仙人草（センニンソウ）の赤ちゃん痩果

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

Do you know what they are? If not, see the third photo😀. 

These are achenes of Clematis terniflora or sweet autumn clematis. I saw the achenes surrounded by feather like white long tails in early November (after which its Japanese name is given), but these baby achenes are so cute! Its Japanese name is "sennin so (meaning hermit plant)," given after a hermit's beard-like long white tails. If you're interested in such beard-like long white tails, read this post. 

The third photo was taken on the same day. Clematis are supposed to flower from July to September, but these clematis have flowers and achenes both at the same time.   

Achenes of Clematis terniflora 仙人草の痩果

Fall Foliage with Still Green Leaves 緑と赤の秋

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

This is a Japanese maple tree at Hibiya Park, Tokyo. Tree leaves have turned red and yellow everywhere but the combination of red and still green leaves is unusual. The temperature has dropped across Japan, however. The Japanese autumn leaves season will soon be over.   

A Japanese maple tree　紅葉

White Camellia Sasanqua (Japanese Camellia) 白い山茶花

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

These are Camellia sasanqua or more commonly known as Japanese camellia at Atago Jinja shrine. Japanese camellias are in bloom in many places in Tokyo, including these white ones, and the bright pink and white and pink marble ones in my neighborhood.

Red Camellia sasanqua flowers mean "modesty" and "you're the most beautiful." The pink ones represent "eternal love" and the white ones are a symbol of "charming" and "you reject my love."

White Camellia sasanqua 白い山茶花

White Japanese camellia 白いサザンカ