Hi, friends. Let me say a belated happy new year. It falls on the new year's day of Japanese lunar almanac today (February 1st on the Gregorian calendar this year). I'm grateful of all of you for your support and warm heart in the past year. I hope you are doing well and have peaceful days.
I had two happy things since this year's start. First, a pheasant visited in my garden. On the new year's day, as I went out to hang the laundry to dry, there was a colorful pheasant perching on a tree in front of me. It was so beautiful. From a few years ago, pheasants often come in our garden every year from this time to around June. I sometimes find one of them sitting beside me across the window as I have a tea in my room. When it stays, the scene outside of the window is fantastic.
The second happy thing is that I saw an endangered species of bird. In mid-January, on my way to a library, when I passed by a pond, I found an unfamiliar tall bird. It was larger than herons I often see. It had a long bill. Its legs are red and long. It was white overall but it had black feathers around the tail. It looked like a stork. I had seen a photo of similar birds with it on an article about storks coming back thanks to environmental efforts by organic farmers. After going back home, I looked it up in a field guide to birds. Apparently, it was a stork. I felt profoundly happy to think that the natural environment around here might be improving enough for the endangered bird to come back.
I bought a dairy called "Wareki hibi kore koujitstu"(Japanese lunar almanac for the harmonic life) this year, too. I have used this diary every year. To write down my schedule, I use another small diary with the Gregorian calendar. To keep a daily log like "this year's first frog appeared", or "cherry blossoms got full in bloom", I use this lunar almanac diary. It has informative columns about nature such as bees, plants, and stars under writing spaces. With writing down what happens on the day, these columns come in my sight. It is full of inspirations from nature.
I hope this new year will be a wonderful year with lots of happiness for you and me. Thanks for reading this. See you next time. Bye :)
