A Walk Diary. Cloudy. Turtle. Kasumagusa (Vicia tetrasperma). A Zitting Cisticola sewing grass with spider silk.

Today, while I was walking, I encountered a turtle on the side of the road.
I wondered why it was there, so I crouched down to look at its face and noticed a fishing hook caught in its neck.
I told it, "It's okay," and tried to remove it very carefully, but I couldn't. It was definitely not okay!
I was completely at a loss, so I called Taki-san, who I figured was likely somewhere along this river.
Taki-san always carries various tools with him; he can do anything and knows everything, like the wisdom of a turtle. If it were Taki-san, he could remove the hook from the turtle.

While waiting, I chatted with the turtle.
When our eyes met, it blinked, which was very cute. Its eyes were round and looked like greenish crystals. We talked with our eyes.

Taki-san rushed over in about five minutes, grabbed the hook with scissors, and pulled it out with a firm tug.

Oh, I'm so relieved.

When I returned it to the water's edge, it stayed still for a long time, but eventually, it poked its head out and swam away, paddling through the water with its limbs.

I thanked Taki-san, and as usual, we enjoyed nature together at a leisurely pace.

Taki-san said, "I found some Kasumagusa in front of my house today."

Kasumagusa...?


He chuckled. "Before that, do you know about the common vetch (Karasu-no-endo)?"

"Then, do you know about the tiny vetch (Suzume-no-endo)?"

If you compare their sizes, it's like this.

It was my first time hearing about the tiny vetch.

He explained that this legume, which is about the size between a "Karasu" (crow) and a "Suzume" (sparrow), is called "Kasumagusa."
Or, it's the "in-between" grass.

"It grows around here too," he said, and we looked for it together.
But apparently, it's quite hard to find.
The two of us walked along little by little, treasure hunting, and finally, we found it. Yay!

Apparently, it blooms with two flowers like this. The vine part was the same.
I was so, so happy to find it.
Common vetch, narrow-leaved vetch, and Vicia tetrasperma. You might be able to see them near you, too.

Also, I was taught that flowers seen at this time of year are called spring ephemerals.
What are spring ephemerals...? From here on, I'll make a bulleted list for myself, which will also serve as notes.

Spring ephemerals
・Flowers that can only be seen now, before the undergrowth grows tall and thick
・Dogtooth violets, etc.
・In forests or under trees
・It means spring fairy... How lovely!!!

While I'm at it, the zitting cisticola too. A high-pitched chirping sound, like 'hi-hi-hi'. It's quite noticeable.

Zitting cisticola
・Bird
・The name 'Sekka' comes from the etymology of 'holding snow in its beak'
・Good at sewing
・Uses spider silk to build its nest
・Pulls and unravels clumps of spider webs to make thread. It makes holes in grass, passes the thread through, and sews them together.
・Sewing grass together with spider silk...!!!!
・Holding a spider web in its beak → looks like it's holding snow → snow... Sekka. I really can't get enough of this richness of sensibility and the beauty of the Japanese language.
・The chirping sounds like this

Since I hear this chirping often from the grass when I'm walking, I've become able to tell it's a zitting cisticola.

End of personal notes.

Finally, here is my favorite for this season.
What is your favorite for this season?
Mine is the plantain

Right now, in the grassy areas by the river, starlings are often walking around, trotting along with dead grass in their beaks.
Swallows are coming to get mud from the waterside. They are scooping it up with their beaks.
Everyone is building nests. It's amazing that they make them with just such small beaks.

Have the swallows visited you yet, too?

Hehe (*´ ˘ `*)

That was my walk today.

Later on, the turtle actually came to return the favor by crawling over Sotto-san's hand!!
I'm so, so happy ♡♡ I feel so blessed.

Thank you so much (*´ ˘ `*)♡♡♡