![\"080813_green_rice_house_1_400\"](\"http:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/080813_green_rice_house_1_400.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nShizuoka City. You know<\/i> it\u2019s going to be hot. In the morning, I keep the sliding glass door closed and the curtain pulled and the oscillating fan on medium, trying to preserve the night cool for as long as possible.<\/p>\n
I do a little watering. Last night, I picked and boiled up just about all the edamame<\/i>. Little green marbles of varying sizes now adorn my two kumquat trees\u2014in pots. The rose stem I stuck in the ground two months ago has finally pushed out a new set of leaves. I knew it would. I kept the ground wet\u2014and the old leaves never died.<\/p>\n
The grasshoppers are feasting on my gardenias.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t live on a farm, or in a house with a big yard, just in a small apartment in the middle of the city, one that happens to have a bit of garden space. Not so easy to find.<\/p>\n
Noon. Get the camera. Hop on the bike. Only a minute away.<\/p>\n
The rice fields are a joy year round, but as far as the color green goes, today\u2019s as good as it gets.*<\/sup><\/p>\n You can try to describe it. It\u2019s vibrant. There\u2019s still something of a young yellow green, but also a darker, purer green. It\u2019s a color that makes you believe you can see<\/i> the stalks growing. It\u2019s a color the sun wants to shine on. It\u2019s hazy all around, but\u00a0to shine on the rice, the\u00a0sun has burnt out a little ring of blue sky. And this seems to please the rice. I\u2019m pretty sure the rice likes it, too,\u00a0when a breezes comes through. I know I do. It\u2019s hot. Very hot.<\/p>\n When I really try to describe it, though, all I need is the one word. Green.<\/em> Because that\u2019s pretty much it. Throw in a little voice, a humph of emphasis, and you\u2019ve got all you need: Green, green, GREEN!<\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/i>*<\/sup>If you\u2019re interested in rice growing throughout the year, check out the slideshow I put together to introduce the natural setting of my novel, Along the Same Street<\/i>.<\/p>\n http:\/\/persimmon-dreams.com\/street_slide\/index.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Green, green, green! There\u2019s no other place to start. Shizuoka City. You know it\u2019s going to be hot. In the morning, I keep the sliding glass door closed and the curtain pulled and the oscillating fan on medium, trying to preserve the night cool for as long as possible. I do a little watering. Last … Continue reading Green, Green, GREEN!<\/span> <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n