As soggy and moldy June is, it is essential to the Japanese way of life because it is when the rice is planted. After biking past fallow fields since the harvest in late October, it was nice to see little green shoots sticking out of the ground again. But they did not stay little for long! I experienced a strange sense of pride at their growth; strange because I had absolutely nothing to do with the planting.
When the rice is young, you can see the muddy paddy and standing water between the plants. The fields become tiny eco-systems, full of snails and frogs, and of course the long-legged birds that like to feed on them. At night, the frogs are audible from my apartment.
When it is sunny, the water reflects the blue sky and clouds.
When the rice is young, you can see the muddy paddy and standing water between the plants. The fields become tiny eco-systems, full of snails and frogs, and of course the long-legged birds that like to feed on them. At night, the frogs are audible from my apartment.
When it is sunny, the water reflects the blue sky and clouds.
Sunsets are twice as nice, mirrored in the standing water.
[Note: Before heading home at the beginning of August, there was still some space between the plants. Upon returning however, the paddies closest to my apartment are solid green, and the rice is about 6 inches higher than I remember it being last year!]
[Note: Before heading home at the beginning of August, there was still some space between the plants. Upon returning however, the paddies closest to my apartment are solid green, and the rice is about 6 inches higher than I remember it being last year!]
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