Last weekend there was a free display of large dinosaur models in Yanagase in Gifu. I took my kids to see it. They really enjoyed it, though my younger son was a little scared. There were about 10 dinosaurs. The biggest one was Tyrannosaurus rex. It was pretty scary, especially when it opened its mouth. Some kids cried.
Vocabulary:
- I wasn`t scarED. My son felt scarED. Were you scarED?
- It was scarY. The dinosaurs looked scarY. I saw a scarY poster.
I found these two nests in my garden. I`m happy about the first one, but not so happy to see the second one...
I think the bird`s nest belongs to a brown-eared bulbul (ヒヨドリ). I`m looking forward to seeing the chicks (雛鳥).
Vocabulary:
- In English, to "stir up (掻き回す) a hornet`s nest" means to create trouble or panic, e.g. "The worker really stirred up a hornet`s nest when he accidentally uploaded his private photos to the company website."
At the end of summer last year I put a caterpillar in a box. I fed it until it got big, then it turned into a cocoon (繭). I wasn`t sure if it would survive (= not die) the winter, because it gets pretty cold in Japan, & I kept the cocoon outside, not inside my house. Finally the weather turned warm, & I noticed that a butterfly had emerged (=come out) from the cocoon. After its wings had dried, it flew away.
I was pleased (= happy) that the caterpillar finally managed to become a butterfly.
It`s a Common Yellow Swallowtail (Papilio machaon) (アゲハ蝶)
Grammar:
There are a few ways to say なります in English:
1. get + adjective形容詞 e.g. get big, get sick, get fat
2. become + adjective形容詞/noun名詞 e.g. become confused/become a mother
3. turn + adjective形容詞 e.g. turn 21 (years old), turn red
4. turn into + noun名詞 e.g. turn into a butterfly, turn into a typhoon
5. go + adjective形容詞 e.g. go crazy, go quiet
On the way up the (many!) steps to Henro temple number 71, there is a small restaurant. We stopped there for lunch. Kagawa Prefecture is famous for `udon` style noodles, so we ordered udon. It was okay, but nothing special. I was a little disappointed.
The restaurant is in the middle of a forest. While we were eating, a forest animal came into the restaurant. What do you think it was? Challenge!
I`ll tell you the answer in 2 weeks.
UPDATE:
The answer is in comments!
On the weekend I went to Ibuki Mountain. I didn`t see many butterflies, which was a little disappointing, but I found this jewel beetle (jewel = ほうぎょく). There are many different kinds of jewel beetle in the world. This kind is called Chrysochroa fulgidissima or Tamamushi (玉虫) in Japanese. Have you ever seen one? This is the first one I`ve ever seen. It`s beautiful, isn`t it?
I keep my many めだか (killi fish) in fish tanks (すいそう) outside. A cat used to come at night to try to eat them, so I made some wire covers.
Recently this frog has been visiting. It can get through the wire covers. I guess it wants to eat my fish too.
The first time, I caught it & released it, but it came back. Next time, I released it further away (もっととおい), but it came back. Finally I released it even further away. I hope it doesn`t come back.
Maybe I should make a mesh cover, but it`s a hassle (めんどくさい).
By the way (ときに) do you know how to cook frog?
I caught a big stag beetle (かぶとむし) & I kept it for about 2 weeks. But it was smelly & a hassle (めんどくさい) to take care of (せわする) so finally I decided to take a photo & release it.
However, when I opened the box, it was gone! Oh no! It escaped!
In the living room!
My wife was angry!
My son was excited!
We looked for (さがした) it but couldn`t find (みつける) it. However, last night we saw it climbing up a curtain. We caught it & released it. Phew!
Sorry - I didn`t take a photo...
I went snorkelling at Mizushima & saw some fish, but nothing special. However, I was interested to see these colourful starfish. The Japanese name for this kind of starfish is イトマキヒトデ (Thread Spool Starfish?), but I don`t know what they`re called in English.
Some animals change colour as they get older, or male (おす) & female (めす) are different colours. I wonder (かしら)if that is the case for these starfish. Or maybe it has to do with (= かんけがある) the nearby nuclear reactor (かくはんのうろ). Anyway, I think it`s interesting that there are so many colours of the one animal, all living in the same area.
I found another beetle. This one is an Asian long-horned beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis). The body is about 3cm long.
It`s native to Japan, Korea & China but it can`t be taken to countries like Australia or North America, because it damages trees, so they don`t want it. They try hard to keep it out. Bad beetle!
I kept this one in a container, but it soon died. However I don`t feel so bad. In fact (そのじつ), I`m proud that I could help to protect (かばいたて) Australia. What a great guy I am.
I have a small lime tree in my garden. Every summer it gets attacked by caterpillars (あおむし). It`s really annoying! Nowadays, every morning I check the leaves for eggs & caterpillars, & remove them. It`s a hassle (= めんどくさい).
Anyway, can you guess the type of butterfly which is responsible?
* click on the photo to enlarge
UPDATE: The answer is number 3: The Common Yellow Swallowtial.
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