植物の色彩は変化し、社会は動き出す。

　庭の植物たちは日に日に新たな変化を見せてます。写真後方の枝垂れ梅はすでに花が散り、代わって新緑になりつつあります。これから本格的な光合成の季節に入り、新鮮な酸素を胸いっぱい吸える私は有難いです。樹木が大きいので今後はたくさんの梅の実を実らせます。収穫は６月で、私一人ではどうにも対処できないので、収穫した梅は昨年から梅ジュース用に喫茶にプレゼントしてます。

　写真中央はこの地に引っ越して来た前々回の東京オリンピックの１９６４年に、亡父が植えた木蓮のその子供です。一般的に花木の中で紫の花は少なく貴重です。このため、今後大きく育てます。おそらく、父もどこかでこのモクレンの色彩に感銘し、ぜひ庭に植えようとしたのでしょう。父はおよそ半世紀半前に他界しましたが、父の植えた植物は今でもあり、それらは金木犀、ツツジ、コデマリ、椿、合歓木、ユキヤナギ、そして、この木蓮など数種が今でも花を咲かせてます。

　ところで、地元倉賀野小も明日から新学期が始まり、地区役員による朝の交通指導が数日間、行なわれます。私も仲間と共に未来ある子供の安全と成長を期して、挨拶などの声掛け運動を中心に、新一年生や一人ぼっちで登校する児童を特に見守るつもりです。

　　

　このように書くと、一見「世のため人のため」と思われがちですが、実は、この仕事が私自身の「認知症を遅らせる」ために有効な手段と考えてます。今日も一日、身体をよく動かし、一つでも物を覚え、新たな発見を探します。

Dear my friends who began the new fiscal year.

　The plants in my garden are showing new changes day by day. The weeping plum tree in the background of the photo has already finished its blossoms and is now covered in fresh green leaves. Now that the season of photosynthesis is upon us, I'm grateful to be able to breathe in plenty of fresh oxygen in the garden. Because the tree is large, it will bear many plums in the coming months. The harvest will be in June, and since I can't handle it all by myself, I've been donating the harvested plums to a coffee shop for plum juice since last year.

　The tree in the center of the photo is a descendant of the magnolia tree which my late father planted in 1964, the year of the Tokyo Olympics, when we moved to this area. Purple flowers are generally rare among flowering trees, so that this tree is precious. Therefore, I plan to raise it large. Perhaps my father was also impressed by the color of this magnolia and wanted to plant it in the garden. My father passed away about half a century ago, but the plants he planted are still there, and several species, including fragrant olive, azaleas, spirea, camellias, silk tree, kodemari spirea, and this magnolia, are still in bloom.

　Not change the subject, but the new school term will begon tomorrow at Kuragano Elementary School, and for several days, district officers will be conducting morning traffic guidance. Together with my colleagues, I intend to focus on ensuring the safety and growth of these promising children, primarily through greetings and verbal encouragement, and paying special attention to the new first-graders and those walking to school alone.

While this might seem like "doing for the good of society and others," I actually consider that this work is an effective way to "delay the onset of senile dementia" in my own life. Today, I will move my body well as usual, try to memorize English new words at least several words, and look for new discoveries.