Civic duty

Folks here are pretty good about doing what they are told to do - you know, the mandantory volunteering stuff. But to think on their own and come up with an idea and just do it, that's a whole different mindset. The other side of the road in front of our house is bordered by a pretty canal that carries irrigation water from the river. It has steep sloped and a rock border, so it is much more natural than the concrete canals in most of the area. However, nature tends to fill it with weeds and vines. Before I left for my 4 year break, which I am regretting every day, I kept the canal slopes tended and even planted some wild flowers and bulbs so that it was a pleasant little park-like setting. Nobody asked me to do it but it was always appreciated because the village is required to "weed the slopes" and "clean the canal" once a year, usually on Mother's Day. It made everyone's work much easier! My husband told me not to waste gas using the cutter or waste my time since it isn't our duty to clean the slopes but I figure, it is in front of "my" house and I don't want weeds creeping all over the road, so I'll just do it. The weeds don't abide by that schedule, so when I was gone, it returned to nature.. I tackled it this afternoon - but it was more like it tackled me. The vines caught me, wrapped around the rotary blade of the cutter, were tangled around everything. It looks a mess but at least I got a layer cut so I guess I can return and trim it up a bit later. My bulbs are still there, their leaves buried under the jungle vines! There are good wild plants and nasty ones and I just want to encourage the nicer ones to survive. (For more on good vs bad plants, go to http://weedguidejapapn.mysite.com)

Pass the persimmon: The lady down the road, who is a busybody and kind of a pest, was roaming around and she gave my mother-in-law one kaki persimmon from her tree. They are perfect and very large, just like commercial ones, it was nice of her to share. Then she came over to me and gave me six for the family and two more for my extra work! When I ran into my mother-in-law, she saw that I had a whole bag of kaki and got jealous and said I needed to give her some because that lady was so rude. So we played a game of pass-the-persimmon. You get one, I get six plus two, you get three, I have five. It's all good.

I finished pruning the trees so they are Christmas ready and burned the branches on the area of the yard where the bad grasses have overtaken my lawn to try and make it easier to dig up. Just as I was ready to turn in for the day, obachan handed me a container full of worm eaten giant beans. I forget what these are - I used to tell the kids they were magic beans because it just seemed to improbable that anyone would want to eat them. They are huge! She wanted me to plant them on the edge of the big field although she's not sure they will grow. I had nothing better to do...let's see if they really are magic beans.