April 5, 2004 (Mon) We went hiking in the forest nearby. There were many beautifut flowers. The photo below is . The right is raspberry? The yellow flowers are Japanese rose.
	We found a stream in the forest of cedars where the forest association thinned out and well kept. Next time, we want to come here with a lunch box.
April 10, 2004 (Fri.) The first experience. I sowed the seeds of rice. I'm looking forward to having germs.

April 19, 2004 (Mon.) We collected fallen leaves in the forest to make compost one month ago. we stacked them and covered with a vinyl sheet in the back garden. This morning, we found a bamboo shoot standing out from the hill of fallen leaves. Bamboo shoots are coming out alll over the back garden. My mother is preparing soy soup with bamboo shoots cut in the morning. We can't eat all of bamboo shoots in the back garden and we have to kick them away not to make a bamboo forest in the back garden. Too good....

April 22, 2004 (Thu.) The bamboo shoot in the compost is growing more and more. It must be cut before it becomes hard.

April 24, 2004 (Sat.) We had a drive to the top of mountain nearby. We looked down the view of Yasato-machi. A beautiful view.

We found a puppy. He didn't have a color and seemed to be left in the mountain. He was so cute and kindly to us that we took him home. One of my dreams has come true.

April 28, 2004 (Wed.) Once again, a strange bamboo shoot appeared. It opened a heavy concrete box and jumped out cheerfully.

April 29, 2004 (Thu.) There is no holiday for farms. One week of national holidays from today is the days for rice planting for farmers who has another job from Monday to Friday. There were many tractors working in the rice fields. My father did "Tanokuro". It is to make the ridge between rice fields. Now, there are not so many farmers who can do it with only one hoe as the artisan technique is necessary.

May 6, 2004 (Thu.) Rice planting of our rice field. Every year, a relative does it with his machine and finishes before noon. Today, my husband challanged to drive the machine for the first time. It seems that the technique is necessary to plant rice seedlings straightly. The left vinyl plastic hothouse is our strawberry house. The harvest is not much recently and we miss it. But, it is a good rest as I have a pain in my hips.

May 31, 2004 (Fri.) On April 30, we bought five hens from the poultry farm where a neighbor works. They arrived before the chiken house was completed. My husband hurried to make a chiken house and five hens were kept in it for a couple of days. All family worked to make a fence of 15 m2 around the chiken house and then, five hens could walk in their garden. The hens did not have eggs for several days at all. Then, they had 2 or 3 small eggs, and now, they have 5 eggs every day. It completly difference from eggs of super market because the white is elastic. I wanted to eat such an egg. I am intent to prepare food for hens who give us good eggs.

On May 17, we got a cock silkie fowl, 3 females, one cock bantams and 3 females. The silkie fowls are elegant with snow-white feathers. The bantams are small and lovely. The silkie fowls are very good and quiet as their appearance without joining the competition to get food. The bantams are hot-tempered and so quick to quarrel against its appearance. The next day of their arraival, a bantam left an egg in the nest box of hens house although the bantams have their nest box and house. The houses of silkie fowls and bantams are floored highly to be able to walk under the house.