May 14th. Up to Umegashima, up the Mt. Hakkorei trail, we went, to see what the yashio were doing. They usually bloom around the end of May, but it was a cold spring, so we weren’t sure how far along they had come. The forecast was for blue skies, and we had dreams of taking some great pictures.

The skies, though, didn’t turn blue. They remained grey—and except for the bottom end of the trail, most of the yashio leaves were not yet out.  But at the bottom, up against the grey sky, the leaves that were out were lovely.

In some places the leaves were so thick, you could hardly see the grey sky at all.

Yashio trees belong to the azaela family. They grow, more or less, along mountain ridges (out in the wind and the partial-day sun), at altitudes between about 1500 and 2000 meters.

Unlike some of the other azaelas in the neighborhood, the yashio trees have rough bark—and they’re quite skillful at twisting their limbs out and around and all about, in search of sunlight. The wind, of course, also affects the way they curve all about.

The good thing about the trees not yet blooming—and many of the leaves not yet out is . . . we can go up and look again. We will. For sure.

Anyway, it was a misty grey day, and on such days, we often, suddenly, find ourselves remembering those lyrics by Unknown Shizuoka Duo . . .

When your eyes are on the ground/There really is so much to be found

Walk the misty woods and see/At tiny flowers fall to your knees.

So that’s what we did. Look for tiny flowers.

Like the little guy below. He was all by himself—and had our eyes been absorbed in a blue sky, we likely would not have spotted him.

The kibanahananekonome （Yellow-Blossom Cat’s Eye) were growing more profusely and were easier to spot.

It was also the season for the iwazakura (Rock Cherry) to bloom. We knew that. We’d seen them last year. But we didn’t think to think of them this time, until a fellow hiker, passing the other way, reminded us of them.

The iwazakura grow, more or less, out from the face of rocks—and you can see . . .

. . . that if you don’t have them in mind, you may not spot them.

The same flower closer up.

Charming they are.

Also this time of year, you’ll surely see this green swirling guy, with hundreds of his friends, growing along the Hakkorei trail. His name is baikeiso, and some folks mistake him for an edible green. Don’t you. He’s deadly poisonous.

Hopefully, we’ll have more photos to share in a week or two, of, with a little luck, yashio leaves and blooms against a blue-sky backdrop.

But even if we don’t get blue skies on a day we can go, there will be no great loss. The grey is lovely too, and we’re going to go again next year.