The blessing of early spring

The last snow block under the eaves edge of our house disappeared yesterday. And I found a sprout of the butterbur in our garden. The yellow-green bud reminds me of the arrival of spring in our mountain country. It is good for tempura with bitter taste.

Spring Ephemerals

The season seems to change from winter to spring. I visited a hill near Lake Suwa. The snow has melted and cold wind were blowing there. Many yellow adonis were started to bloom.

Merry Christmas!!

Dear friends,

How have you been? I hope you are having a merry Christmas! We have had snow on higher places than our house. The temperature here has been under 0 degree in the morning. But I love the cold weather since we are able to make fire in our wood stove and to relax in front of the orange fire. I sometimes go out in the snow field to take pictures of my favorite mountains covered with white snow. Attached is the picture of the mountains near our house.Our family members have been fine and doing well. I hope you are well and have a happy new year!

Masao Higuchi

Merry Christmas

I hope you have a peaceful and happy Christmas with your family. Recently we have rather warm days though winter has come. But I hope we have white Christmas on December 24 and 25 since snow is appropriate tassel for our Christmas. We can see Mt. Amida with white snow and black rock from the hill behind our house.

Alpine Foliage

With each passing day also lowered temperatures, it has been a season of alpine foliage. I go out to Shirakoma Pond on a sunny day. Lakeside azaleas are in the red. While walking the lakeside trail, I enjoyed the fall foliage. When viewed from the opposite bank, it is like a scarlet border.

Season of Colored Leaves

The season proceeds to early autumn. I visited local craftsmen’s market in Komagane with my wife this week-end. Komagane is a small town surrounded by Japan Alps and the air was cool and comfortable. Leaves of maple trees were changing to vivid red in the wood. We also enjoyed looking at and shopping potteries, metal objet, wooden carvings and hand-made clothes.

The Season of Alpine Plants

It becomes warmer and warmer. The alpine flowers of Mt. Yatsugatake start to bloom. This is a dicentra which is called the queen of alpine flowers here. The curly red petals are cute.