Sunday, April 18, 2010

Sakuras a-blooming


Sakura blooms normally last about a week.
This year, due to the rather unusual cold and rainy weather, it was reported that blooms stayed on for up to 15 days.
The sakura tree in our compound normally begins to bloom a few days 'late'.
So we get the pleasure of seeing the flowers even after the other sakura trees shed their petals.
This last weekend, we took a walk in the woods on the east side of our house.
It was actually the first time for me to walk over there.
And the view of the sakura tree and our house from there was quite magnificent, I must say...
We paused for a while to enjoy a view of the hamlet...
Kites (top right) are very common here.
Was 'lucky' to see two of them copulating just meters away from my vegetable garden the other day.
It was over in perhaps 30 seconds. 
Meanwhile, planted black soy bean seeds, sweet corn seeds, and sponge gourd seeds. 
Some of the seeds I planted last week are already sprouting... wooh...

Monday, April 12, 2010

Vegetable seeds sowed

April 11, Sunday... cloudy, rain in late afternoon...
Sowed over 40 types of vegetable seeds today...


Komatsuna (a type of mustard green)
Taro yam
Kang kong (seeds from Malaysia)
Lemon basil (seeds from Bangkok)
Sweet basil


Moroheya
Japanese mountain yam (seeds collected from the mountains nearby)
Swede (seeds bought from Brisbane)
Kailan (seeds from Bangkok)
Parsnip (seeds from Brisbane)


Calendula
Coriander
Red okra
Green okra (seeds from Malaysia)
Red amaranth (seeds from Malaysia)


Bayam (seeds from Malaysia)
Carrot
Burdock
Radish
Flowering pakchoy


Jalapeno chili
Habanero chili
Big red chili
Takanotsume (eagle's claw' small red chili)
Bird eye chili (seeds from my village)


Marigold
Potatoes
Strawberry
Kiwi berry
Bitter gourd


Ceylon spinach
Sugar sweet pumpkin
Bocchan (mini) pumpkin
Sponge gourd (loofah)
Green bell pepper


Red tomato
Yellow tomato
Green beans
Long beans
Red long beans


Swiss red, orange, and white chard
Korean perilla (somewhat like a sesame plant)
Japanese mitsuba (collected from the mountains nearby)
Japanese beefsteak plant (nothing to do with stuff from Wendy's)
Garlic chives


Besides these, there is asparagus, saffron, tansy, borage, geranium, winter green beans, silk beans, fava beans still active from the previous autumn planting...  


Plus also, there are several others whose (English) names I still have look up....


Next weekend, it will be peanuts, corn, cucumber, among others... whooo... lovely...