On Cherry Blossom and Lost Wanderers

I spent twenty minutes under the Japanese cherry tree today, marvelling at its ethereal beauty. We have only had these trees for ten years or so, I think; they are not native to Uzbekistan. The one I was admiring today grows near the Navoi Opera Theatre which was built by the Japanese prisoners after WWII, and I believe the tree has a symbolic meaning - was planted there for a reason.

I must admit that the topic of Japanese prisoners never was of a great interest to me - you see, our life in USSR was infused by the war, we were eating and drinking war - no, breathing it... every family would have veterans, or someone who was killed, or both; there were all those countless books, films, memorials - what does a handful of prisoners mean compared to this huge array of memories, evidence, emotions? However, when you stand under this tree, next to the theatre build by the prisoners from a faraway country, you have to think about them. I read that there were almost 24 thousands Japanese PoW in Uzbekistan, and that most of them survived - only 817 died and were buried here. Local people are kind, and even in the hungry time after the war they would share food with the foreigners. As one article said, "If civilians treated German prisoners like enemies, the Japanese were looked upon as tired wanderers far from home".

I hope that most of those lost wanderers finally made it home.

No Regrets About Cherry Blossoms

We do not have many sakura trees in Tashkent, but I am fortunate to have one close to my house. Today I spent half an hour under the tree, marvelling at these blooms. They look like vintage lace to me, frayed edges and imperfections making it even more precious. It is a pity that these blooms do not last, but I remember their fleeting beauty throughout the year.

There was a haiku by Issa:

when cherry blossoms
scatter...
no regrets

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

(and this is my winner of "The Most Beautiful Last Rose" contest this year)

Quest for the Most Beautiful Rose of this Fall

In order to make our walks a bit more fun, we decided to embark on a quest for finding the most beautiful rose of this fall. That is, I suggested and Jager agreed, being a very agreeable dog and a good friend. So, all our morning walks now are focused on reaching some parks and gardens in search of roses - and, of course, we take a lot of photos.

Autumn roses are very special to me. I love roses altogether, but if you see a lovely rose in the summer, you know there will be many others. In the autumn, you never know if you will see many more roses, and for some reason this year there are not many at all. So I decided to loot at them and take photos and share. I love these flowers, love everything about them, even the first signs of fading - this imperfection makes them look more alive, vulnerable and dear to my heart. When you know something is going away soon, you treasure it all the more...

This is the rose that we found today, and it can well become my most beautiful rose this fall. However, there are two more photos in one of the previous posts, and there will be many more, I hope. We will continue our quest while there are still roses in the parks and gardens.

This is Jager posing next to this lovely rose.

And this is Jager just being silly!

...As you can probably guess by the format of the photos, they were cropped for Instagram. I opened an account several days ago and will be very happy to connect with you there! My address is https://instagram.com/mulberrywhisper 

Flowers Dreaming of the Sea

During our morning walk today, I paid close attention to the flowerbeds in the local park. Funnily, I have never thought before that these flowers look very much like sea plants. These silvery leaves covered with silky velvet - are not they just like corals?

And here we even have ray fish or manta. We cannot see them clearly as they float smoothly but fast and hide in the overgrowth.

I do not know what these would be called, either under the sea or here on the ground. But they are definitely very sea-like to me. I can see them swaying in the water, moving slowly with the tide.

This flower would be a precious creamy pearl, glowing softly and mysteriously.

And tagetes... the only flower I know here - shame on me... tagetes definitely looks like parrot fish to me. However, its astringent scent reminds me where I am. I know there are people who cannot stand the scent of tagetes, but I adore its autumnal bitterness. It is sobering and calming down; a very grounding scent. I touch the leaves briefly and tell Jager that it is time to move on.