ended summer / 夏の終わり

I cannot believe it's almost October and how quickly cold it got. I'm feeling chilly working at the desk this week, and drinking hot tea to warm up!!

もう既に１０月。どうりで涼しいわけで、寒がりの私は仕事部屋で、膝掛けと暑いお茶が手放せません。今年は特に時間が経つのが早過ぎて、頭がついて行けない…　結局夏物の服全て出し切ってなかったので、そのまま来年の夏まで押し入れで待機かも。苦笑

バルコニーで発見、第１日目はアリさんが数匹群がってました。写真はこのとき撮ったもの。
The day one: I noticed the dead cicada on the balcony and decided to take photo of it. I saw a few ants on it.

第２日目。アリの軍隊が文字通り、お食事中。
DAY 2: An army of ants were going crazy at it.

第３日目には、ほどんど蝉自体が空っぽで、「から」と化した。
DAY 3: The cicada was almost empty and gutted out already!

第４日目には「から」さえ消えいていた…　おそるべし。
DAY 4: Even the empty shell of the cicada was missing from the balcony. I wonder if ants even ate it? Where did it go.

アリによって跡形もなくきれいに片付けられてしまった蝉。改めて何となく、感心…
I was pretty impressed by this incident how hard ants work...



今夏元気に育ってくれたバジルですが、寒くなって来たので、そろそろ終わりかな？嬉しい事に、すくすく育って、花が咲いて、いっぱいタネが出来てた。去年枯らしちゃったので、ここまでちゃんと育ってくれてなんか嬉しい☆　来年はタネから育ててみようかなあ。

My basil plant will probably will die soon since it's getting too cold for it :(
But this year, I did such a good job taking care of it, comparing to the previous year, the plant produced some seeds. I might try to grow basil from seeds next year??

rain rain rain ♪

雨降りだった一週間。窓から空模様をみる度に、日本の梅雨を連想させられる。来週は晴れるのかな〜。

It was a rainy week which reminded me of the monsoon season in Japan. I think I'm ready for sunny days next week...

うちに新しい仲間が増えました。羊さんです。友達がプレゼントしてくれたんだけど、ビンの中の羊さんの世界は、のぞいていると和やかな気分になっちゃうから不思議。癒してもらっています。

I got a new friend, and he is a sheep who lives in this moss green field. My friend gave it to us as our birthday present. Looking into his world inside of the glass jar gives me a sense of tranquility. I wish I have a way to escape into his world sometimes.

良い週末を〜　have a nice weekend, everyone!

findings in Seattle

シアトルで見つけたもの、色々。大都市ばかりの旅行先では、よく歩く。普段がドア・ツー・ドアの車生活なので、歩いて街の探索をするのは新鮮ですき。スローダウンすると道ばたにある色んな妙なモノのが、やたらと目につく。大抵の人は気にも留めないタグやストリートアートなど、発見したモノの写真を撮るのが楽しい。宝探しや「ウォーリーをさがせ」感覚で楽しんでます☆

These are things found in Seattle. Exploring cities on foot is more fun and it's a nice change of pace since I usually have to drive to get to places in Louisville. Also walking let you slowdown enough to notice things otherwise you'd never pay attention, such as street arts, tags and signage. This reminds me of Where is Waldo? which I got hooked on when I was kid, or almost a treasure hunt!

too pretty / 目がクラクラ

マーケットで写真を撮るのは楽しい。赤、黄色、オレンジ、緑と色とりどりの新鮮な果物や野菜、花だらけ。鮮やか過ぎて、いろいろあって目がクラクラ。マーケットと画材屋さんは、一歩足を踏み入れただけで、自然とハッピーな気分なる不思議な場所。旅行先だったため、結局なにも買えなく残念〜　シアトルのパイクマーケットにて。

Taking photos at farmers markets are so much fun. These places are full of vibrant colors, fresh vegetables, delicious fruits, and beautiful flowers. Usually stepping into a market or an art store makes me instantly happy. I wonder if the colorfulness of these places has some kind of power to change my mood?? I loved the Pike Market in Seattle but I was also sad that I couldn't buy anything to cook.

Mammoth Cave National Park / マンモスケーブ国立公園

テネシーとの州境近くにマンモスケーブという世界で一番長い洞窟があるんだけど、８月頭に遊びに来た両親と行って来た時の写真。外はお日様ぎらぎらの猛暑だというのに、洞窟の入り口付近についたとたん気温が１２度ほどイキナリ下がったのには、おどろき。当初あまり興味がなかったのにも関わらず、スケールの凄さにただ感動。ここの洞窟、予約制のハイキングツアーもあって、休日の月曜日に行ってきまーす。たった４マイル（約6.3キロ）のコースなのに、４時間半もかかるらしい。楽しみ〜♥

The photos are from the day I went to visit the Mammoth Cave National Park with my parents who were visiting. It's the world's longest cave system and the park is located in Kentucky. It was quite shocking when the temperature dropped significantly near the entrance of the cave. It was such a hot day with the temperature going up to 90's, but it felt like it was about 60 degrees or so at the entrance. It was crazy and it was so chilly that I had to borrow my mom's jacket! The scale of the cave was just fascinating, and it was very interesting to think that I was standing at where it used to be the bottom of the underground river.

They also offer tours to hike the cave system. We are going back there for it this Labor day to hike 4 mile-course which supposed to take about 4.5 hours to complete. It should be fun!

/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

ランキング参加中★クリックお願いします↓↓↓
Vote for me on blog ranking by clicking here-->>