Life in Inakadate・田舎館での暮らし

5月の下旬に植えた田んぼアートがきれいに伸びてきています。植えてから1ヶ月半ぐらいは稲が小さくて、田んぼにひいている水がかなり見えて「まだこれからだ」という感じでしたが、今になったら、それぞれの稲が高く伸びて、見ごろになってきています。。
　The Rice Paddy Art fields that we planted in late May have come in beautifully. For about the first month after we planted, the plants were small and rather than the pattern in the rice, visitors saw more of the water in the fields. You could see that it was coming, but that it still needed time. Now however, all of the plants have grown out and the field is at its peak viewing time.

　そして、見に来る人が数多く来ています。最近、役場の北口から入ろうとすれば、かなり混んでいる時が多いです。そしてもちろんのことですが、皆が田んぼアートの隣に建っている天守閣まで登って行けば、皆の「あっ、すばらしい」などの声をいっぱい聞きます。
　So of course, many people are coming to see it. Recently when you enter through the north entrance of the village hall you must push through the crowd of people. And of course, when all of those people climb up to the keep of the castle (which stands next to the Rice Paddy Art) and look down, we can almost certainly hear cries of "Wow, that's great".

　今年は4色目の赤となる稲を植えましたが、隣の写真で見えるように、それがまだ見えてきていません。穂だけが赤くなるので、その穂がまだフルに咲いていないという意味でしょう。その赤くなることを皆楽しみにしています。
　This year we introduced a fourth, red color of rice, but as you can see in the photo here, you can't see that red color yet. It is said that only the husks surrounding each individual grain will turn red. I guess we will have to wait a little longer for that red color to appear.

久しぶりのブログ
My first entry in a long time.

　最近ブログを書くことがありませんが、是非この写真を載せたいと思いました。8月の1週目は田舎館のねぷた祭りでした。
I haven't written in a long time, but I wanted to get this photo up for everyone to see. It is the Neputa Festival in Inakadate. 　

その前の1ヶ月ぐらい八反田集落の皆さんが準備を一生懸命やっていました。僕も少しねぷた作りに手伝いに行きました。役立ったかは別問題ですが、手伝うつもりで行きました。
For about a month before the festival, everyone in the Hattanda Neighborhood worked very hard in preparation. I too went to help once in a while. Whether I was any help is a different question, but I did go in order to try and help.

　祭りは一週間でしたが、4日は村全体の合同運行でした。この写真はその日出発する直前に撮った物です。何人かが抜けていますが、ねぶたを作った人たちです。。
The festival lasts a week, but August fourth was the all village parade. This photo was taken just before we started. There are a couple people missing, but it is the main people who build the float.

皆様、おつかれさまでした！
Thanks for all your hard work!