今こそ剪定の時季、昨日、白梅枝垂れによじ登る

【画像をクリックし、拡大すると臨場感が出ます。】

　写真は今年３月に撮りました。まるで倉賀野梅林と言えるほどです。左は紅梅枝垂れ、右は白梅枝垂れ、中央は紅白に咲き分ける品種「思いのまま」です。それにしてもよい名前です。冬季は太陽高度が３３°となり、荒涼とした光景ですが、太陽高度が３７°に上がる立春頃から、梅は地球の動きの変化を察知し、次第に蕾が膨らみ、２月中旬～３月中旬に満開になります。今から３ヶ月後には再度このような光景になるので、ぜひ、鑑賞にいらして下さい。お茶を楽しみつつ、人生を語りましょう。

　ところで、右の白梅枝垂れは３０年前に当時の愛車「いすゞ１１７クーペ」のトランクに根を入れ幹は外に出し、埼玉県花園町から運びました。それが今では考えられないほどの成長です。直射日光を嫌う「シャクナゲ類」には半日陰を提供することから好都合です。しかし、余りにも枝が伸び過ぎ、昨日、私は梯子をかけて高い位置までよじ登り、大胆に剪定しました。下で梯子を支えてくれる人はいないので【涙】、自らが落下する危険に注意しつつです。

　昔から「桜切るバカ、梅切らぬバカ」の教えを思い出し、花が良く咲き、美味しい梅の収穫を期しての作業です。「何事もしっかり目的を持つと、人間の身体は自然とよく動く」と感じます。作業後、落下した枝の数は思いのほか多く重く、その片づけも一仕事です。

　

　ところが、一日の作業を思い出しつつの昨日の夕食は、結果的に、食前酒が余りにも美味しく充実しました。一緒に一日を振り返ってくれる人がいない寂しさはあります。しかし、必ずや、梅が「開花とたくさんの実」で応えてくれるでしょう。

Dear my friends who are crazy about human's joy and great music.

　The simultaneous interpretation into English for our mutual understanding will be done after my breakfast in Japan time.

........................................................

　It isn't exaggerated that this scenery truly resembles Kuragano Plum Grove. This photo was taken in March of this year. On the left is a weeping red plum as you saw before, on the right is a weeping white plum, and in the center is the "Omoi no mama" variety, which blooms in both red and white. And what a splendid name it is. In winter, the sun's altitude reaches 33° here in Gumma prefecture, Japan, creating a bleak scene. However, around the beginning of spring, when the sun's altitude rises to 37°, the plum trees sense the Earth's changing movements, so that their buds gradually swell, then reaching full bloom between mid-February and mid-March. It will be a scene like this again in three months, so please come and appreciate it. Let's enjoy tea and talk about life from now on.

　By the way, the weeping white plum on the right was transported from Hanazono-Town, Saitama Prefecture, 30 years ago, with its roots placed in the trunk of my beloved "Isuzu 117 Coupe" and the trunk outside. It's hard to believe how much it has grown since then. It provides partial shade for rhododendrons, which dislike direct sunlight. However, the branches had grown too long, so yesterday I put up a ladder, climbed up high, and boldly pruned them. There was no lady to hold the ladder from below [tears], so I had to be careful not to fall.

　As you know, remembering the old adage, "A fool cuts down cherry, a fool doesn't cut down plum," I worked in the hopes of ensuring plentiful blooms and a delicious harvest of plums. I feel that "when we humans have a clear purpose in everything, we human body naturally moves well." After working, the number of fallen branches was unexpectedly large and heavy, and clearing them away was quite a task.

　However, as I reminisced about the day's work at dinner last night, the aperitif ended up being incredibly delicious and fulfilling. It was a bit lonely without lady to reflect on the day with me. But I'm sure the plums will respond with "flowers and lots of fruit."

[Click on the image to enlarge for a more realistic look.]