{"id":1904,"date":"2015-05-25T23:56:22","date_gmt":"2015-05-25T14:56:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/?p=1904"},"modified":"2015-05-26T09:00:41","modified_gmt":"2015-05-26T00:00:41","slug":"sunlight-and-the-leaves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/2015\/05\/25\/sunlight-and-the-leaves\/","title":{"rendered":"Sunlight and the leaves"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"150517_new_leaves_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

May 17th. In town, it’s the season for local farmers to plow up and flood rice fields. The ducks are happy.<\/p>\n

It’s still spring, but with the rice planting, you can feel the rainy season and the sultry days not so far off. So what to do?<\/p>\n

\"150525_duck1_450\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Why not drive to Umegashima and climb Yanbushi? Re-live those sunlight-on-new-leaves early, early spring days. You know, that\u00a0new burst\u00a0of warmth that’s a change from the cold—a warmth that’s both warm and<\/em> cool.<\/p>\n

Everything is bright and light—light<\/em> as in “not heavy or hazy.”<\/p>\n

\"150517_fresh_leaves1_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Light<\/em>. That’s the way you feel as you walk along the river, up toward the Yomogi Pass.\u00a0The light that flickers through the leaves makes<\/em> you feel light.<\/p>\n

Man, that new\u00a0green—that blue sky.<\/p>\n

\"150517_green_with_blue_sky_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I read the other day about cedapods being able to recognize color through their skin. Makes perfect sense to me. Close your eyes and feel these fresh\u00a0mountain colors on your<\/em> skin.<\/p>\n

Okay. The bare bones. Drive to Umegashima. Turn\u00a0left at Shinden (\u65b0\u7530\uff09. Follow the river for a couple of km, the last one along the bumpy gravelly road. Park. Then walk. Up. First\u00a0up the river, until it ends, and then, from the Yomogi Pass,\u00a0along the trail with the big views.<\/p>\n

For us: Trailhead (9:05), Big Rock (9:45). You will not miss Big Rock. Notice the sticks along its base. They average about three feet in length. That’ll give you some idea as to the scale of the rock. But when you see\u00a0Big Rock for yourself,\u00a0you’ll know<\/em> how big it is, sticks or no sticks.<\/p>\n

\"150517_big_rock_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

But what are<\/em> those sticks doing down there, leaning up against Big Rock as they are? Are those walking sticks that you’re free to take? No, they are not. They are supporting sticks. They are holding up the rock. They are keeping it from crashing down on your head.<\/p>\n

\"150517_stick_support_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Skeptical?<\/p>\n

I don’t recommend skepticism on a day like this. But if you really can’t help it, well, at least be aware that quite<\/em>\u00a0a few people seem convinced that\u00a0propping\u00a0a stick against the rock is\u00a0a good idea. We are, too. So humor us. Doesn’t matter how big the stick you prop up against the rock is. Could be a mere five or six centimeters—if you feel lifting a bigger one is too big a burden. Actually, I’ve heard some people say that the smaller <\/em> the stick you lean up against the rock, the deeper your appreciation\u00a0for the joint effort is.<\/p>\n

Found your stick? Propped it? Okay, on we go.<\/p>\n

\"150517_green_forest_450\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Up, up, up, through light and light green and lightness, all the way to the pass.<\/p>\n

Yomogi Pass: 10:35. Leave Yomogi Pass: 10:45.<\/p>\n

Last summer, when I climbed Yanbushi, it was all misty, and there was not much to see\u00a0but a zillion different mushrooms growing all around the edges of the trail. This day a mushroom was nowhere in sight.<\/p>\n

This day was a day to enjoy all the dainty flowers\u00a0lightheartedly frolicking among\u00a0the light and leaves and light air.<\/p>\n

\"150517_bell_azaela5_450\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Playing like kids in a park.<\/p>\n

\"150517_mountain_azaela_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Oblivious to the years that have been and the years to come.<\/p>\n

\"150517_white_flower_tree-b_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Or sometimes, like friends a bit older,\u00a0out for a mid-morning bask and a chat.<\/p>\n

I heard one white petal ask, “So what are we doing up here? Why have we come out today?”<\/p>\n

And heard another reply, . . . “What a question! A\u00a0day like today is so\u00a0refreshing! This clean, clear air is just the greatest thing there is.\u00a0Out here like this, I just get to feeling so relaxed and comfortable that\u00a0I feel like I can talk with you and everyone else about everything. And being out and about and face to face with the sun, well, it’s really good for the old metabolism!”<\/p>\n

She was speaking the language of flower petals, of course, but I think I’ve managed to translate fairly accurately.<\/p>\n

\"150517_green_with_blue_sky2_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Then on up you go.<\/p>\n

\"150517_vista_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Up, up, up.<\/p>\n

And then . . .<\/p>\n

\"150517_yanbushi_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

. . . there you are.<\/p>\n

The peak of Yanbushi: 12:20.<\/p>\n

Yes, yes. The clouds are rolling in. The view down is going to be different.<\/p>\n

It always is.<\/p>\n

\"150517_southern_alps_600\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

May 17th. In town, it’s the season for local farmers to plow up and flood rice fields. The ducks are happy. It’s still spring, but with the rice planting, you can feel the rainy season and the sultry days not so far off. So what to do? Why not drive to Umegashima and climb Yanbushi? … Continue reading Sunlight and the leaves<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1904"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1927,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1904\/revisions\/1927"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}