There are many camellias in Yaegaki Shrine. Many "Omikuji" (fortune slip) were tied up to a camellia near the main shrine. In front of the Torii gate, the old big camellia, Renri-Tamatsubaki, is standing. It is said to be planted by the Goddess long, long time ago.
The weather was not so good today. But little children was playing under a cherry tree.
The row of cherry blossoms along the Hii River (at Kisuki town in Un-nan City) is one of the "100 best cherry blossoms in Japan".
Matsue Castle is famous for not only cherry blossoms but also camellias. There are many kinds of camellias in "Tsubaki-dani" (literally, camellia valley) area. A staff picked up some kinds of camellias in Tsubaki-dani to arrange at the entrance of the castle keep.
"Cherry Road"(at Shimane town in Matsue city) is a prefectural road along the Japan Sea coast. We can enjoy cherry blossoms against the Japan Sea.
The weeping cherry tree in Senjuin Temple is in full blossom. It is more than 200 years old.
"Hinamatsuri", Girls' Festival, is March 3rd. But in some area, it is held under the old calendar. Yasugi is one of the area where people celebrate "Hinamatsuri" in April. Various kinds of old and new "Hina" dolls are displayed in about 100 private houses and shops along the street. "Hina" dolls of this picture are about 70 years old.
There are many kinds of camellia in Mangan-ji Temple. This camellia, "Mangan-ji Tama-tsubaki", is about 450 years old. It is said that this camellia was planted by Motonari Mouri, one of the warlord in the Warring States period.
It is a year since I moved to Matsue. I'm surprised to find there are "Tsukushi" (fertile shoots of field-horsetail) all around my backyard. I pluck them to eat at dinner almost daily. But they comes out one after another.
I sometimes see a grey heron near the moat. Today it was standing still on the pipe bridge in the cold rain.
When I passed by a nearby shrine, I found this tree was in almost full blossom. It may be a kind of cherry tree but I don't know the correct name of it. (I'm sure that it isn't "Somei-Yoshino"). Anyway light pink blossoms were very beautiful.
It was very fine day today. There was no clouds in the sky. I thought I would be able to see the beautiful sunset. But when I went to Lake Shinji, the setting sun vanished in the haze. There was no afterlight at all. According to the news, today's weather phenomenon was not "Haru-gasumi" (spring haze) but "Enmu"(smoke haze).
I found something moving at the very edge of the rampart. It was a stray cat. If it loses its footing, it'll fall down into the moat. But it didn't seem to be afraid of the height. It went back and forth at its own pace.
According to the news, there was a snowfall of 20cm in Matsue yesterday. But the snow was melting much quicker than I had thought.
It was snowing almost all day. I found that a plum tree had begun to blossom along the moat of Matue Castle. Pale pink blossoms seemed to be frozen in the snow.
There was a snowfall of 13cm in Matsue this morning. I visited the house where Lafcadio Hearn once lived. Hearn's favorite garden seemed to be more beautiful than usual.
There is a raccoon dog's couple in front of the little church in the forest park. Both a bridegroom and a bride are made of "kimachi" stone. We can see many memorial trees, whicn were planted by human couples, around this church.
On the way to Otsu city, I stopped at Hiruzen Highland, one of the Service Area of Yonago Expressway. I was surprised to see the snow had piled up. I had to put on my boots to see Mt. Daisen from the observation platform.
