梅雨のせいかな。
雨の中の作業は下着まで「じっく」
になる。だからという訳では
ないのだが…。

どうでもいいことと言えば
どうでも言いし、言ったからと
いって何が得になる訳でもない。
いやいや返って「フン」なんて
思われるかもね～。などと
逡巡するのもやはり腹ふくるる
ここちにつき。

その１
「スリッピー」はやめてくれ
松木さん。サッカーの試合で
地面が濡れて滑りやすいことを
いうらしいのだが。何で横文字
みたいな言い方をするのか？
英語ならslipperyでしょ。
TVの解説者ならもうちょっと
考えて欲しいと…。

その２
「王道」はどうですか
小池百合子さん。ラジオの
ニュースだったか、彼女の
演説で「わが自民党は王道を
堂々と行くんです」とか何とか。
さぞ威風堂々たる立派な方達が
行くような道の積もりか。
昔ユークリッドが
「幾何学に王道なし」と
言ったらしい。学問するのに
簡単な方法、近道なんかない
からみんなちゃんと勉強しようね
ということだと書いてあったような。
言葉は変遷するのだけれど…。

雨のせいでスリッパリーな畑で
足を踏ん張り行う作業の一秒
一秒の積み重ね。農業に
ショートカットは無いですね。

I wonder the rain makes me feel
like this. I tend to stick to
something.

It's none of my business and it
dose not make me feel better
even though I say something like below.
Or someone feel bad about this. But
all these minute thoughts also
bother me. So I have to say.

No.1
I don't want to hear a word
'slippy (?)', Mr. Matsuki.
You may use this word which sounds
like an English word to describe
a slippery rainy football field.
You can use a Japanese expression for
it. As you speak on the TV, please
care more about what you say.

No.2
Royal road (?)
Ms. Yuriko Koike, I heard you shout
on the radio news the other day,
''We, LDP will go on the Royal Road
as the ruling party...'' Do you mean
such a road as dignified people would
march. It should be a straight road
indeed. Once upon a time, Euclid
was said to tell that there was no
short cut to the geometry. So we,
as the student at that time, had
to work hard but never be lazy...
I know the meaning of word change
from time to time, though.

The vineyard was slippery and we had
to stand firm to continue each operation.
The continuous seconds of such operation
only can produce the result.There is no
short cut in agriculture.

友人が送ってきてくれた
写真。　北岳草という。
南アルプスの北岳にしか自生
していない珍しい植物。
世界でも校庭くらいの面積ほど
にしかないのだという。
北岳に登った際に撮ったとの事。

この北岳草、昔は白根草といわれた
とか。花の名前を聞かれた
人が「知らねえ草」と答えたから
だとか？

北岳は日本で2番目に標高の高い
山で、今も毎年少しずつ標高が
高くなっているらしい。
例の太平洋プレートと
大陸プレートの関係？

またまた別の知人が教えてくれたこと。
エルヴィスが私の好きな歌
「明日に架ける橋」を
歌っていると！　うそーと思ったが
本当だった。ＣＤに入っていた。
聴いてみた。聴かなくてもよかった。

One of my younger friends sent me
a photograph of Kiadakesou. It
is grown only in Kitadake Mountain
in South Apls in Japan. The total
area is limited to the size of
a school yard. He took that photo
when he climbed the mountain.

Kitadake-sou was once called as
Shirane-sou as somebody when asked
the name of the plant replied
'I don't know.' which sounds like
a name of a plant.

Did you know that the Kitadake Mountain
is the second highest mountain in Japan
after Mount Fuji. And even today the
mounatin grows higher by 5mm every year
due to the effect of Pacific Plate and
Eurasia Continet Plate.

The other friend taught me that
Elvis Presly sang my favorite song
Bridge Over Troubled Water!
She must be kidding! But it was
true. She rented me his CD.
Yes he sang the song which I should
not have listened to.

今日から巨峰の摘粒開始。
ようやくというところ。
といっても、肝心の作業は
お手伝いの方々に任せて
私は摘房。

房切り後1反分当たり2万房程度
できている葡萄の房を最大でも半分
にするのだが、私の場合ここで
3000程度にするので、1万7千房ほど
落とすことになる。
この時期いつも死屍累々という言葉
を思い出す。

摘房されて、地面に落ちた房が
そんな感じに見えるからなのだが
…。　どんな果物でもそうなのだが、
摘果され地面に帰る幼果の
使い道があればねえ。

I have all the way begun berry thinning
today. But I leave the operation to the
helpers and I have to finish bunch
thinning first of all.

After bunch forming in early June, there are
around 20,000 bunches per 0.1ha of standard
Kyoho vineyard. At bunch thinning the number
is reduced to at maximun 10,000. In my case,
I will reduce it to aroudn 3,000 per 0.1ha
which means I have to drop around 17,000
bunches. This operation always reminds me of
the word Sisi-ruirui which means piles
of dead bodies.

The removed bunches on the ground sometime
seem dead lives. Whenever I see the baby
fruit removal in fruit growing, I wonder
if there is any way to make use of such
removed baby fruit.

杏で有名な千曲市の
森と倉科地区で杏を
生産している北條さんが
自宅にジャム工場を建てて
造った自家栽培・手造りの
杏ジャム。

杏の品種は
「平和」というジャム向きの
品種で、ご自身で栽培した
果物だけに、完熟杏と砂糖だけしか
使わず果物そのものの食感と味が
楽しめます。

東京のデパートでも売っている
某有名ジャム工場も北條さんの
杏を仕入れて造ったジャムを
本人の写真入りで売っています。

また自宅近くにアカシアの
大木が何本もあり、そこで
取った蜂蜜の瓶詰め。

いずれも今年採れた杏と蜂蜜
から造られています。

北條さんとは去年地元の
ラフランスでジャムを作って
もらってからコラボしてます。
売り切れ御免の貴重品を
楠ヴィニヤーズから販売します。

杏ジャム　160ｇ　600円。
蜂蜜（アカシア）　160ｇ　700円。

休日の朝、ちょっと贅沢な
朝食にどうぞ。

Mr.Hojo who grows apricots in
Mori and Kurasina both of which
are famous for apricot flowers
in Spring and he built his own
jam factory at home and makes
jams.

He grows various variety of
apricots and the 'Heiwa (Peace)'
is used for jam making at the
moment. This variety is very much
suitable for jam. As he grows the
fruit, he only uses the ripe fruit
and sugar with no additives at all.
So you can enjoy the texture,
taste and flavor of the fruit.

A famous jam factory which sell their
jams at the famous department stores in
Tokyo also use his fruit and sell
with his photograph.

There are many big acacia trees around
his house and he makes honey from these
acacia flowers,too.

Both apricot and honey are picked
and collected this year.

I have been collaborating with Mr.Hojo
since last year when I asked him to make
La France pear jam of which fruit I got here
locally. La France pear jam was sold out
before I announced of the release.

These jam and honey are available from
Kusunoki Vineyards webshop. Only limited
numbers are released.

Apricot Jam 160g 600yen per container.
Honey (acacia) 160g 700yen per contaier.

For holiday branch, you can enjoy
your relaxing time with these produces.

横浜中華街で買い食いといえば
豚まん。1個350円。あそこで
売っているというだけでこの値段
が妥当なのかどうか？

大きい事は大きいけど。ヤマザキの
肉まんの方がうまいかな～？
中華街のはどこも冷凍で仕入れて
蒸かしているだけのようにも見えて…。
どの店のも同じような…。

皮が厚い。イーストを使ったおやきの
中身が肉の餡に変わっただけのように
しか見えない。黄金シャモのおやきの
方がうまくないか？
特段ジューシーでもないし。空腹で
食べた割には美味く感じなかったな～。

此方は東京駅大丸で売っていた
ナガノパープル。JA須高のタグがついて
いる。店で箱出しして、クッションをつけて
ビニールで包んで「長野産」のシールを貼った
のか、生産者がやったのか。
一房3,150円。隣の山梨産種無し巨峰
が1,800円くらいだった。
農家の手取りが3分の1だとして、
生産者はハッピーなんだろうか。
JA須高のタグがついているからには
市場向け出荷された物なのかな。
生産者名が確認できなかったのは
残念でした！

Isn't the pork bun famous in
Yokohama China Town, is it?
They sell at 350yen per piece.
Is this price justifiable only because
it is sold overthere?

It is big indeed but I remembered a
pork bun made by Yamazaki which might be
tastier than this. Those buns in China Town
seem all same that were bought frozen from
a few sources and steamed at each shop.

The skin was so thick. It reminds of an
Oyaki around here which was made with
yeast. I found the Oyaki with Shinshu
Golden Shamo(chiken) tasted better with
very charcteristic ingredients.
The bun was not so juicy and even was not
impressive to me even though I was hungry.

This is the Nagano Pruple grape at Daimaru
department store at Tokyo Station. It has the
tag of JA Sukho. The bunch was taken out from
the conatier box and must have been cushioned,
wrapped and tagged as Made in Nagano. The sale
price was 3,150yen per bunch. The seedles
kyoho grape from Yamanashi next to them was priced
as about 1,800yen per bunch. Was the JA tagged
Nagano Pruple grape shipped to the market in Tokyo?
The producer name was not identified. Only if
I found it, I should have been able to
check many things about the grape.