
DAYS
STAY SALTY ...... means column
DAYS / Reiko Takami Column
Walking and Walking
My Daredevil Challenge
from Tokyo / Japan
7.1.2024
DAYS/ Reiko Takami Column
Walking and Walking
My Daredevil Challenge
Life span of apple trees

It is the last day of April, when the small pink blossoms of apples are in full bloom everywhere.
I was at an apple farmer's farm where I am always indebted to,
I happened to witness the cutting down of an old apple tree.
This was just in time for apple blossom picking.
Flower plucking is the process of plucking flowers and buds off a tree or a branch to allow it to produce the right amount of fruit.
It is an important process that determines the taste of apples.
A short while after a delicious lunch prepared by his mother, he said, "I'm going to pick flowers.
Mr. Nasuno got on a light truck parked on the property and headed for the apple orchard.
A little later, I headed to the field on foot.
By the time I arrived, the flower picking was finished.
Mr. Nasuno was standing in front of an apple tree with a thick trunk that looked long in age.
Mr. Nasuno was about to start the engine of his chainsaw in front of an apple tree with a thick trunk and long history.
Why are you going to cut it down when it's in full bloom? I asked him,
He said, "This tree won't produce any more delicious apples. I've been watching it for a long time, and I know a flower when I see one.
Mr. Nasuno replied without looking at me, perhaps because he was concentrating on the chainsaw in his hand.
This tree has been here since before I took over the apple farm from my mother's (wife's) parents, and it's almost 50 years old.
They worked a lot for me, so I'm cutting it down."
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
He climbed up on the stepladder with the chainsaw, which started up with a rumbling sound,
He climbed up on the stepladder with the chainsaw, which started up with a loud bang, and nimbly cut down from the thin branches of the apple tree.
It is said that the life span of an apple tree is about 30 to 40 years before it can be harvested,
Just like humans, apple trees go through stages of life.
Seedling stage (1 to 2 years)
Young tree stage (3-4 years)
Young tree stage (5 to 10 years)
Complete tree (11 to 15 years)
Mature stage (16 to 30 years)
Old-growth period (30 years or more)
Generally, a tree has a life span of about 60 years,
After 50 years, it is said that harvesting apples becomes difficult.
In order to keep the cycle of harvesting delicious apples in good order, it is important to plant trees even if they are still healthy.
Even if the trees are still healthy, they are replanted.
However, it is not easy to replace an apple tree that you have taken care of for many years like your own child.
I thought it might not be easy to replace it.
Mr. Nasuno used a chainsaw to cut down the tree without hesitation.
He didn't seem to have time for sentimentality.
I asked him what he was going to do with the wood,
He replied, "Someone wants to use it for a wood stove, so I'll give the thick part to him.
The thin part is for our bath.
Even though I have been coming here for a long time, there are still many things I didn't know, and it is really a lot of fun.
4.15.2024
DAYS/ Reiko Takami Column
Walking and Walking
My Daredevil Challenge
Hello, my incapable self.

At a local development event, Mr. Sashiide, editor-in-chief of Sotokoto magazine, had something interesting to say.
The words may not be accurate, but...,
A good community is one in which the entrance door is half-open.
The characteristic of a good community is that participants are free to come and go as they please.
The same is true for the "Whimsy Diner" activity.
I am conscious of the fact that it is a place that is open to the public.
One of our regular friends said something like this: "When you grow up, you don't want to meet friends regularly.
As an adult, you don't get to see your friends as often, so it's a lot of fun.
Takami's personality makes the people who gather there loose and comfortable.
In a way, it gives me courage to realize that things don't have to be perfect to be successful.
He once told me with a smile, "In a way, it gives me courage to know that it doesn't have to be perfect to be successful.
I can't help but wonder if the food is satisfying for the money,
"The food must be perfect," "We must not make people wait," "The food must be satisfactory for the price.
In addition, you may feel guilty if the meal did not go well.
In addition, there may be times when you feel guilty for not serving a good meal.
In the past, I used to give out the food with a lot of worry, but now I am not so worried.
But this year, we are going to accept what we can't do and what we don't know,
This year, I hope to be able to cook meals with a little more ease.
I think a comfortable place is a more relaxed state of mind.
I don't want to be so rigid that I feel I am no good if I can't do things properly.
Life is not something to be shown off to anyone, nor is it something to be evaluated.
In this country where it is important to read the atmosphere, it is actually quite difficult not to mind one's surroundings.
That is why I wrote this column as a declaration.
I would like to keep a happy feeling and change a little bit every year.
2.10.2024
DAYS/ Reiko Takami Column
Walking and Walking
My Daredevil Challenge
An 80-year-old lady who flattened 15 kg of apples.

In November 2023, we were waiting impatiently for the Nagano apple harvest.
Every year, we receive orders for apples from a limited number of acquaintances.
One person ordered the largest quantity of apples ever.
She is the mother of a teacher at the university I attended.
She was about 80 years old and lived with her son in Hachioji.
According to the teacher, she especially loved seasonal fruits, but
She is a "gourmand" who will not try to eat even a bite of anything that is not delicious.
Around early November, when we solicited apple orders only from friends and acquaintances via social networking sites,
It was just as well that his mother was eating apples a lot,
She ordered a 3kg box of apples that she thought she would be able to finish eating.
When we sent them to her parents' house, she ate them all in less than a week by herself.
The speed of consumption was beyond her imagination, and even her daughter, the doctor, was surprised.
My mother seems to like it very much! Can we order more? She said, "Can we order more?
After ordering 5 kg, 10 kg, and so on, the total order was 18 kg!
The mother seemed to like them so much that she ate two or three every day,
The farmer was also surprised that the same person kept ordering more and more, so he said, "What? More? The farmer was surprised and laughed because the same person kept ordering the same thing over and over again.
The reason I started going to the farmer in Nagano was because I wanted to help nice people.
This time, I was able to get apples from a farmer who only accepts fax or phone orders.
I was able to ensure that the apples were delivered to the farmers, though only face-to-face through social networking sites.
I felt that both the farmer and the recipient were sufficiently pleased with the apples.
I returned to the starting point of making people happy.
It was also a great harvest for me to have my mother, who is a gourmand, know about our delicious apples.
We will continue to support the farmers who grew the apples to deliver them to as many people as we can see.
In order to be able to connect with them in a small but careful way, I would like to go to Nagano this year to tell them how the apples are doing.
4.10.2023
DAYS/ Reiko Takami Column
Walking and Walking
My Daredevil Challenge
Having wild vegetables whose season is short

It has been somewhat like early summer in Tokyo.
I heard from a farmer that the harvest season of wild vegetables would start before GW, about two weeks earlier than usual.
I heard from a farmer that the harvest season of wild vegetables would start before GW, about two weeks earlier than usual, so I made an urgent plan to go to Nagano at the end of April.
I also go to the mountains to pick them when they are in season.
I also go to the mountains to pick them when they are in season, and have them sent to me when they are harvested.
Spring is the season when I am happy to have more opportunities to enjoy freshly harvested wild vegetables.
Sansai are known as the seasonal delicacy that reminds us of the arrival of spring.
like bamboo shoots that come out all at once and grow quickly.
but they soon become hard after the time to eat them has passed.
Many of Nagano Prefecture's wild vegetables grow wild in the mountains,
When they are in season, local people usually go out to the mountains to gather them.
Typical wild vegetables include bracken, taranobuds, and butterbur sprouts.
Straw is known as one of the most expensive wild vegetables
It is characterized by its thick and crispy texture.
Tarano-no-mo (taran sprouts) are harvested by plucking the sprouts of taran trees that sprout on the surface of the mountains in early spring.
I like tempura best served on top of handmade soba noodles prepared by apple farmers.
The bitter taste of taranobuds disappears and their sweetness increases when they are made into tempura.
So, even those who do not like the bitterness of wild vegetables can enjoy it.
Fukinotou is a bud of the Asteraceae plant that grows wild in mountain forests in early spring.
It has a slightly bitter taste, so it is often served on the table after being seasoned with salt and sugar.
Wild vegetables in Nagano Prefecture are a seasonal delicacy and an important ingredient for the locals.
We hope you will enjoy tasting wild vegetables during this season of spring.