Affinities with nature...

Good morning! I ate my breakfast already, a cup of coffee again na ang bilis lumamig, and biscuits with blueberries. Wow ang sarap...ang gaan sa stomach. Good thing am not craving for more.

It's another cool day...gloomy and overcast. Yesterday it drizzled. Now, we have gusty winds na talagang parang may sariling buhay ika nga. Grabe...nagwiwhistle siya. Kulang na lang na ilipad ang roof namin oh. But I hope not. Ganito siguro dito talaga dahil ang Japan is a mountainous land 75% covered by forest...at wala akong masabi sa gaganda ng kanilang kabundukan...mapapansin mo na talagang alagang alaga nila ito...though sa ganitong winter marami ang mga punong mistula'y patay at tuyot na tuyot, pero ito'y buhay pa at naghihintay ng panibagong pagsibol. Wow, feel kong magsulat gamit ang aking sariling wika. Extremes dito ang panahon, malamig na malamig sa ngayon, pero pagdating ng summer, grabe naman ang init nito. Kaya sa aking obsarbasyon, ay napakaswerte pa nating mga Pinoy talaga na 2 season lang tayo mayroon. Dahil medyo mahirap din ang nagssnow na bansa. Magastos sa lahat.

At isa sa napansin ko dito ay ang natural liking for or attraction to a person, thing, idea, animals etc. Medyo kakahawig din ito sa atin. And some examples of these affinities with nature are,

1. napakahilig nila sa CATS, we have Puyo-chan here na kung ituring ay parang kabilang talaga sa family. Athough cats were kept to kill rats kahit sa Pinas, in resto or other forms of businesses in which customer turnover is important it is customary to display a figure of a maneki-neko or beckoning cat. sitting upright with one paw raised in a beckoning motion...said to invite customers and riches. Ay bibili ako niyan pag-uwi ko. Uhhrrmmm...that gives me an idea. Dami niyan sa Pinas. :D
2. DOGS, there's a saying that to die like a dog is to die meaninglessly. And to call someone a dog is to accuse him of being a spie or dupe. Phrases referring to this is somewhat derogatory. But old folks here always walk with their own dog pet sa paniwalang nagpapahaba ito ng buhay. Totoo man o hindi, mahilig na ako sa dogs. I'll add another pet dog this year...it will be a big dog naman. Hopefully. We always assumed the animosity between cats and dogs. But Japanese thought that this animosity exists between dogs and monkeys, such as two people who cannot go along well are said to have a dog and monkey relationship. The onomatopoeia for a cat's meow here is nyan-nyan, eh bakit kaya hindi ung meow-meow ganung klarong klaro naman hindi ba...lawl...and for dog's bark is wan-wan, na klaro din naman na arf-arf di ba? Am I right here? :D
3. Japanese expresses such high esteem for sea breams, considered to be the most delicious in cold winter and the early spring. It is eaten in many ways, most popular is being as sashimi and salted and grilled. The eyes of sea bream is rich in vitamin B1. It's delicious but I am not used to eating raw except for oysters. Hindi na rin naman ako kumakain ng oyster sa Pinas, ask again Mike Enriquez.
4. They have CARP, or what they call KOI. Colorful ornamental carp is known the world over. Minsan may pinuntahan kaming shrine nila...naku naawa ako sa mga koi, dahil ang ibabaw ng pond ay nagyeyelo na talaga. Sakit kaya yon sa mata. :D
5. They have CRANE as a symbol of longevity akin to dogs. As in the old saying that crane lives for 1000 years. With this in mind, origami paper cranes strung in strings on 1000 and often presented to patients recovering from accidents or illness.
6. CROWS have an unsavory reputation. Scavengers garbed in black, with harsh ear grating caw. Anabnormal cawing of crows portends death, they say. But this is not true of course. And they say that ifsomeone is hit by it's droppings brands a person marked for disaster. Yet in some folklore they are messengers of gods. Since all crows are black, in English if we say six of one or half a dozen of the other, it means indistinguishable. The crows caw is ka-ka in Japan. But it's easier saying it u-wak...u-wak! :D Kaya naman ang tawag natin sa kanila ay uwak. Carrion, raven and crow yata are all the same. Will research on that later.
7.PINES are the majestic evergreens...that grow into towering trees , symbolizing longevity again and steadfastness.Thought to portend good things, they are set out on New Year and other ocassions.
8. SAKURA, Japan's national flower, commonly called as cherry blossoms. everybody likes this fluffy pink blossoms, that is suggestive of a bright future. This is one thing I look forward to, to see sakura in bloom. Malapit na...
9. MUSHROOM
10. PLUM and PEACH
11. BAMBOO, and manymore...but am right now lazy and exhausted in long sitting position.

....sigh, it's too taxing to blog while sitting, bending my knees 180 degrees tucking my calves under my thigh...ang laki ko pa naman, wheeew! Hindi naman sa nagpapaka-Japanese way ako. The table naman kasi here in the sala is the kotatsu, and ito ang gamit ko since masarap din dahil may heater sa ilalim. Hay ang hirap din...ang sakit sa likod. :(