On Monday when I went off to school with the silkworms in tow, they were in their second resting stage.
The schedule is, they eat, eat. eat, then they take a break, shed their old skin, and start eating again ... bigger bodies and bigger bites.
Now it is Friday and they are on their third resting break. From tonight the leaves will be going faster. Luckily, on last weekend's campout, I picked lots of mulberry leaves and brought them home, washed them and laid them out between layers of paper towels. Then the pile of damp towels and leaves went into a large zipper bag and into the vegetable drawer of the fridge. I am still picking leaves on morning walks and keeping those larger leaves for future meals. The two big trees in Harapa-park were cut down last fall. The big tree on the way to the station was cut down this spring, and the big one at the end of the street, during the winter. The one medium tree that grew between the wall and my neighbor's house was also removed, and another next to the weed lot was chopped off just a few weeks ago. I am now relying on stuff growing from the roots of several cut trees, so glad I have some saved in the drawer.
Norie lives in a place with natural woods and lots of trees and she will bring a few more leaves when we next meet.
The camp turned out fine. The predicted rain fell on Friday night before most of the scout families arrived and so the weather was cool and nice. The events were fun and the crafts went well, as I arrived Friday afternoon and had time to arrange the space and set out the leatherworking tools.
Being a congregation of people from all over the world, we were asked to come in native costume. Oh, what a grand display ... and the bible reading was made in 25 different languages during the second service, (21 at the first) and there was a display in the lobby of Bibles in many different languages.
It was an opportunity for me to dress in my native American regalia.
The most interesting thing I noted was a comparison between now and years ago. In those days, over 50 years ago, when I walked down the street, people I passed were pointing at me and exclaiming "foreigner" or "American" in Japanese.
Sunday, I went all the way to church, dressed like this, and no one even stared in my direction, let alone commented.
The quilt is still moving through the hoop. Progress is being made and I am looking forward to finishing up the center so I can play with the border.
The leak in the roof has been halted.
The hole in the floor remains, but that is the only way I have of checking for leaks.
When the heat of summer hits the roof, I do not know if the putty will dry out and crack again. I think the best solution might be a new roof that slants toward the gutter to be built over the current metal one. how or when or the cost is still to be planned out.
These little pink stars are sitting on a carpet square beside the hole in the floor.
Maybe they are happy to be there. ... but I am wishing their old table could come back to that corner and my other plants might return.
Well, like my days, everything moves slowly step by step ... though I might swear some of that time is running right past without even saying, "Boo".
I did bring home two little mulberry trees pulled up by the roots at camp, and planted them in pots. If they make it through the summer, I may have some trees in a few years.
You look so elegant in your Native American dress. Whenever I put on my Swedish folk costume I get a lot of comments or stares, or TEARS - a little boy could not sit next to me on the train without crying loudly.
ReplyDeleteI hope your mulberry pot plants will grow tall.
My train is so crowded no one can see what anyone is wearing anyway. The potted plants look a bit wilted but that is expected. One of them had been cut earlier by a weed-whacker so I think it may be strong enough to recover. The critters are eating faster, having shed for the third time. Luckily as they get bigger they can eat more developed tougher leaves.
DeleteLeaves saved, and your beautiful dress and boots? I haven't seen you in this before, it is lovely, and to see all the others in their own country regalia must have been a colourful time.
ReplyDeleteWe had some beautiful African costumes and those from Asia are lovely too. Those from Korea changed back to regular clothing for travel but those from many African countries tend to wear native garb every week. My beaded headband got hidden in my unruly hair.
DeleteYou look beautiful Julie, the congregation would have been a wonderful sight with everyone in native costumes.
ReplyDeleteThe church was begum in the foreigner's section of old Tokyo, made up of different denominations. After the war, the majority of members were rich ex-pats working on Tokyo. Over the last four decades the rich ex-pats have decreased but the foreign population has become more diverse. We see lots of native dress among members ... men's shirts and women's dresses ... on a weekly basis. I have never seen anyone else in Native American dress though.
DeleteThat is a lot of work collecting and preparing all those leaves .. but I am sure it is worth it xx Hope the roof situation is not too expensive to fix .. fingers crossed x
ReplyDeleteMy daughter will visit on Tuesday with a new supply of mulberry leaves. Meanwhile, I think I have enough to last until then. I have to make the rounds with Nikko every day anyway, so it gives me a chance to check for new growth. The "rainy season" is expected to arrive soon and at least the roof is holding out for now with tape and putty.
DeleteI love your outfit! You do look wonderful... sort of like an angel!
ReplyDeleteIt’s true that there are so many foreigners around these days that no one looks or points anymore. Of course I have walked through grocery stores dressed as a witch (not even Halloween though near Halloween) and no one even glances at me. People are good at choosing to not notice.
At first everyone was pointing and I had been taught it was not polite to point so I was surprised, as the Japanese are basically polite. The pointing began to taper off in about 20 years, but still was common when going out of the city into smaller villages.
DeleteNow no one pays any attention ... of course they don't even see old people standing on the train either and crash into you while texting on a moving bicycle.
Hope your silk worms are doing well! Love your costume and you are brave to wear it all the way. It can be done only in Tokyo not any countryside or Ireland yet!
ReplyDeleteDaughter Norie visited yesterday with a big bag of mulberry leaves. Though the leaves from her area are a lot more lacy than what they have been getting here, they are much bigger and can munch anything. O think my regalia is not as pretty as a kimono, but a lot easier to put on and more comfortable to wear.
DeleteSo much to do. What a shame it is getting so difficult to collect the leaves. You may have to rethink plans in future years. They really do sound like a munching hoarde as they work through your supplies.
ReplyDeleteLove seeing your special outfit. You look stunning. What a lovely way to celebrate.
A new supply came in yesterday with a visit from my daughter. She is surrounded, where she lives, by a forested area where trees are not chopped down, birds gather with plenty to eat, and no one is thinking of putting a 25-story apartment on the spot. I do remember when rice fields, cabbage and dikon were where all those big apartments are growing now. I hope by picking new leaves, the sprouting stumps will be less attractive to the guys with the chain saws.
Delete