近未来が楽しみ・・・サクランボが収穫できるか

　昨日は一日中晴れ渡り、私は午前も午後もその大半を庭で作業に没頭しました。枯れ草や落葉し葉を集めると次第に庭がきれいになります。しかし、作業の中心は、半年前に前橋農協で手にした高さ１ｍほどのサクランボの苗木を今まで簡単な鉢に植えたままでした。このため、赤い実が生ったら家の中からその様子が見える位置に植える作業です。

　先ず、スコップで穴掘りですが、畑と違い土が硬いので作業が思うように進みません。それでも表面から２０cmほどの深さになったら多少柔らかくなりました。その後、近くのホームセンターで果樹用の土を購入してきて穴の中に入れ、将来広がる枝の方向を考え植え込みました。普段、肉体作業をしないことから、結構、疲れましたが、作業が済むと今後の成長と「赤いサクランボが生る日を想像」し、夢が広がります。実が生ったら食べにいらしてください。

　実は、サクランボを植える気になったのは山形県に住んでる甥がサクランボを贈ってくれたからです。それが余りにも美味しく、こんなに美味しいなら庭で育てみようと思いついたのです。調べてみたら、サクランボの名産地は山形県です。こんなことでも近未来に期待感が広がります。

　年を重ねてから大切な生き方は「日々、希望や期待感に満ち、次々やることがあること」でしょう。延いては、これが認知症対策に繋がり、本来は「高齢期こそ本当に楽しく暮らせる」と思います。ただ、一人暮らしの私に不足するのは話し相手です。自ら喫茶「さんぽ道」でピアノを弾いたり、高崎の小料理屋「バク」など、あちこちに出かけてみよう。

Dear my overseas friends who are interested in nature and great music

　Yesterday was a sunny day like an Indian summer, so I spent most of the morning and afternoon working in the garden. As I collected the dead grass and fallen leaves, the garden gradually became cleaner beyond description. However, the main task was to plant a cherry tree that bears red fruits about 1m tall that I got from the Maebashi Agricultural Cooperative six months ago in a simple pot. Therefore, I wanted to plant it in a position where I could see the red cherries from inside the room when it bears fruit.

　First, I dug a hole with a shovel, but unlike a field, the soil was hard, so the work did not go as smoothly as I had hoped. However, once it was about 20cm deep from the surface, it became a little soft. After that, I bought some soil for fruit trees at a nearby hardware store, put it in the hole, and planted it while considering the direction of the branches that spread in the future. I was quite tired because I don't usually do physical work, but after the work was done, I imagined the future growth and the day when red cherries would bear, so my dream spreads. Please come and eat some fruit when it bears.

　Actually, I decided to plant cherries because my nephew who lives in Yamagata Prefecture sent me some. They were so delicious that I thought I'd try to raise them in my garden. After investigation, I found out that Yamagata Prefecture is famous for producing cherries. Just this fact fills me with hope for the near future.

　As we get older, it's important to live our life "every day filled with hope and expectation, and we have some works to do after another." This will ultimately help prevent senile dementia, and I think that "it is in old age that we can truly enjoy life." However, actually as I live alone everyday, what I lack is someone to talk to. I'll go out and try various places, such as playing the piano at my favorite cafe "Sampo-michi" or visiting the small restaurant "Baku" in downtown of Takasaki-city.

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