今年は、ロッジの庭のキタコブシの蕾がたくさんありました。キタコブシがよく咲く年は、豊作だと言いますが、どうでしょうか？ キタコブシは好きな木で、木の立ってる姿、茎の皮を剥いたときの香り。そして、キタコブシの花の可憐さは、チヤホヤされるサクラにはない清楚感があります。
This year, the Kita-kobushi trees in the lodge garden had many flower buds. People say that when the Kita-kobushi blooms heavily, it will be a year of abundance — I wonder if that is true.
Kita-kobushi is one of my favorite trees. I love the way it stands in the landscape, the fragrance when the bark is peeled from its branches, and the delicate beauty of its flowers. There is a quiet elegance in the blossoms of the Kita-kobushi that cherry blossoms, so often celebrated and admired, do not quite have.
雪がとけて、土が見えてくると、土を触りたくなります。土の香りや小さな緑がまた次の季節へと動き始める。そして、いろいろと出てくるメンテナンスや掃除や片付け、、、。4月はいろいろ出てくるので、仕事は暇になりますが、やることに追われるべく、次々と計画も立てずに目の前の仕事を片付ける。
そんなことをしていると、次のやりたいことが出てきて、初めてしまうと、また自分の首を絞めるのをわかっているのに初めてしまう。今年は、庭をニワトリが歩く景色を眺めたいと。小屋作り、、、、
As the snow melts and the earth begins to appear again, I feel the urge to touch the soil. The scent of the earth and the tiny green shoots begin moving toward the next season once more.
And then come all the things that need attention — maintenance, cleaning, repairs, and tidying up. April always brings countless tasks. Work itself becomes quieter, yet I end up constantly busy, simply dealing with whatever is in front of me without even making a proper plan.
And while doing that, I always discover something new I want to start. Even though I know it will only make life busier and tighten the noose around my own neck, I begin anyway.
This year, I decided I wanted to see chickens walking around the garden.
So now… I’m building a chicken coop.
ニワトリとの付き合いは、長いもので小学校3年生のころから。小学校の飼育委員会で学校で飼っているニワトリやチャボ。卵を家に持って帰ってきて、電気で孵化させようと試みたのが9歳でした。もちろん失敗して、腐った卵を爆発させ強烈な臭さが鮮明です。なんとかしてニワトリの卵の孵化させたい私の熱を宥めるべく、上野動物園の飼育員の部屋まで私を連れてってくれた母もまた、特別でした。
ニワトリは、私の目的は、いろいろあって。一つは卵ですが、肥料の提供、残り野菜や残飯のコンポストの役、そして、楽しみになのが、焼き鳥。ではなく、マテリアル。ドライフライに使うマテリアルと生きた雄のニワトリから、適宜適量、いただけるのもニワトリライフの楽しみです。ですが、朝３時からコケコッコーと鳴きますが、泊まりに来るお客さんはノークレームでお願いします。笑
My relationship with chickens goes back a long way — to when I was in the third grade of elementary school. As part of the school animal committee, I helped care for the chickens and bantams kept at school. When I was nine years old, I even brought eggs home and tried to hatch them myself using electric heat. Of course, it failed, and I still vividly remember the terrible smell when the rotten eggs exploded.
My mother, trying somehow to calm my obsession with hatching chicken eggs, even took me to the keeper’s room at Ueno Zoo. Looking back, she was pretty special too.
There are many reasons why I keep chickens. One is, of course, for eggs. They also provide fertilizer and help compost leftover vegetables and kitchen scraps. And one of the things I especially
look forward to is… yakitori.
Well, not really.
What I actually enjoy is the materials. For dry-fly tying, having live roosters means I can occasionally and respectfully collect exactly the feathers I need, in just the right amount. That is also part of the joy of chicken life.
That said, the roosters start crowing at three in the morning. So to any guests staying here — please, no complaints. Haha.
アローカナの雑種ということですが、ハックルの色が楽しみです。孵卵器も同時に借りれたので、水を入れて5日後には、卵のなかで ニワトリが育っている様子が観察できます。昔は、釣り用のクーラーボックスに湯たんぽを入れて、1日3回卵を回転（転卵）させて、ヒヨコを誕生さたことがありますが、こんな便利な孵卵器が今では簡単に手に入るのもすごいです。
そんなことをしているうちに、キタコブシが満開。熱気球が飛んでいきました。庭で育つルバーブのジャム作り、ギョウジャニンニクを刻んで醤油につけて。来るべく季節に向けて、ボートのチェックと修理。その間に少しお客さんを川に案内して、4月もあっという間でした。
They are said to be mixed-breed Araucanas, so I’m excited to see what colors the hackles will have.
I was also able to borrow an incubator, and after adding water, within five days you can already observe the chicks developing inside the eggs. Years ago, I once managed to hatch chicks using a fishing cooler box with hot-water bottles inside, carefully turning the eggs by hand three times a day. It’s amazing that nowadays such convenient incubators are so easily available.
And while I was busy with all of this, the Kita-kobushi trees came into full bloom, and hot-air balloons drifted across the sky.
I made jam from the rhubarb growing in the garden, chopped wild gyōja garlic and preserved it in soy sauce, and checked and repaired the boats in preparation for the coming season. In between all that, I guided a few guests on the river, and before I knew it, April was already over.
新しい季節がはじまって、その進みが早いこと。やっぱり冬の静かさと静寂は特別。そして、これから7月までの勢いの季節も特別。ひとつひとつモレもミスもないように、コツコツとやりましょう。
A new season has begun, and everything moves forward so quickly. The quietness and stillness of winter truly are something special. And so is this energetic season that carries us through to July.
One step at a time, carefully and steadily — making sure nothing is overlooked and no mistakes are made.