We held an event of dietary education today.
And now, it's August, the month of food hygine, so the event was involved in food hygine.
We prepared some games, quiz, picture-story show, and dance to songs with kids.
We prepared black-light tool and fluorescence laution, to show how to wash hands right way.
I wore a catfish costume of the mascot of our prefecture, called caffy, and danced to the song! Kids gathered around me and I felt as if I were an idle.
It was very exiting and enjoyable!
I hope I would be in this costume someday!

Today, we took a ride on the local train named "Beer Train" with my coworkers.
This special train runs only during summer time and we can have beer and a small box of lunch.

It is only 90minutes of round trip through country side, but we enjoyed beer and food, relaxed on the train that went slower than usual.

I hope we could have a longer trip, taking easy and going far away...

Now it's OBON vacations here in Japan.
OBON is a couple of days around August 15th, which is supposed that spirits of ancestors come back from heaven to see their family.
So we take holidays in this period and go back to home town, to visit graves or to hold some Buddhist memorial services with relatives.
Our family went to graves of my father's ancestors today.
He was born in a small mountain village in Gifu prefecture.He couldn't find job there and had come to Nagoya city.Most of his relatives did so, now only few relatives are living in this village.

We cleaned graves, mowed grass, then put rice and flowers in front of graves, and chant Buddhism sutra.
My father doesn't have any sons to take over his family.2 daughters, my sister and I, both married into each husband's family, so my father's family would finish at his generation.

I wonder when my father died, who would be able to take care of these graves, which is in mountain far from our town...

Today, I and Susan, the leader of our NPO Japan Cat Network come to an University in Nara prefecture to help students doing TNR for stray cats living near the dormitory of the University.
There are 3 cats here, a mother, a son, and a daughter.
Kittens are about 7 months old, and very friendly.

But mother doesn't appear...maybe she is very cautious and knew something wrong would happen with her 6 sense.
Anyway, we have waited all day long, hoping we could catch mother, but now it's time to go back...
The university students gave up to catch mother and she brought 2 kittens to vet.

And we borrowed the trap and leave there.
Maybe mother cat would appear after we have gone.
I hope she would success next time!

When we got back to home, the student called me and she caught the mother cat and brought her to vet.
She appeared to eat food soon after we left.
And the vet said that she was pregnant, that was why she was so cautious...

Anyway, we did it successfully!

Today, I brought cats to a vet clinic in Hirakata city, Osaka prefecture, about 100km from our town.
My friend, who is doing TNR program and rescue kittens in Hirakata city, told me that they would have neuter operations at free of charge, and they would accept more 10 cats, so asked me to bring cats there, if our group had unnutered male cats.

Of course there are so many cats in our region, most of them are stray and not spayed/neutered yet.
I called some of volunteers who are feeding stray cats and now doing TNR program with our group to catch males as much as possible.
Then, I put all 8 cats (including 3 kittens) in my car and drove through 100km to the clinic.

In Hirakata city, there is a park that is famous as many abondoned cats.
The leader of our group helped TNR here last year, it was terrible situation when she saw there first time.
Many volunteers joined and caught, spay/neutered 89 stray cats during 6months and 78 were returned to the park, 11 were adopted. In addition, our leader rescued more than 30 young kittens and almost all were adopted or fostered.
That is amazing!

Now the situation in the park looks like much better.
High cost for spay/neuter operation is always a big problem for volunteers of TNR like us, so it would be a big help that vets sometimes help us with cost down.

Finally, rainny season finished.
Blue sky and white cloud, now it's summer!

Finally, it stopped raining.
So, we went to the mountain to go for hiking.
It was very fine and comfortable for walking around in the mountain.But we didn't go to the top, only walked along the forest road.

We took a rest at the cabin on the way to the top and had a coffee.

My husband sometimes caught butterflies.Some people also came to hunt butterflies.
Recently hunting insects are inhibited many places in the country, but in Gifu prefecture, government doesn't prohibit to hunt any insects.
Of course we should respect nature, but the reduction of insects' numbers are not caused by hunting but by development.
My husband has seen many places where he used to hunt various of insects changed to highway, factories, or other properties by development near our regions...
He looks like a little boy when he is getting into hunting.

I hope I would bring a better camera next time!

Last week,my husband said me suddenly, "OK, let's go to Shinhodaka next week!"
Shinhodaka is the famous mountain as mountain climbing in Japan, which many climbers go to climb from all over the country.
But purpose of my husband was not mountain climbing but hunting for insects collection.
He loves to collect insects, and always says that it is important to know true nature...
Anyway, we came here, the entrance of trail up to Shinhodaka.

It should have finished raining this week, and we expected weather would be fine, but indeed, it is still terribly raining...:-(
We started to hiking up to mountain, but soon gave up.

Now, we are taking a rest at an inn with hot spring.Very comfortable!
Japanese people love to take public bath of hot spring, from young people to seniors.
It's really relaxing and happy to soak in a hot spring bath!

August is the month of Food Hygine.
We had a caopaign and pass the paper fans to people at the stations.
Today the fireworks event is held, so many people came to see that wearing YUKATA.
It is one of the most fantastic event in summer!