Day 64 of the War: “The Story of Abandoned Sonya” Sonya is 6 years old and from the Odessa region. Since the war began, her owners left her alone in their apartment. An acquaintance of the author gave Sonya some food, but she missed her family and began to bark loudly. Then a neighbor called the police and Sonya was kicked out of the apartment to the front door. Now she lives on the street. Sonya’s character is not easy, her family betrayed her, so she is untouchable, does not trust people, and is adapting to life on the street. In some of these cases, they are not able to evacuate together, but this would not have happened without the Russian invasion.
It was such a peaceful and beautiful city. The act of aggression such as destroying it is the same as the Islamic State’s destruction of ancient ruins. It is unforgivable. ※ The deadline for distribution is April 28, 03:49.
We went to Hakone, thinking that the sightseeing spots would be free on a weekday as the Golden Week holidays were approaching. This time, we went with Anne and her family, but we were meeting locally, so we had lunch in Hiratsuka on the way there.
最近人気の「平塚漁港の食堂」
Recently popular “Cafeteria at Hiratsuka Fishing Port”
月曜日なら空いてるだろうと思いきや、名前を書いて順番待ち。
I thought it would be empty on a Monday, but I wrote down my name and waited my turn.
There were many delicious-looking dishes on the menu, and we ordered a bowl of kaisen-don (rice topped with seafood). It was ￥1,480 and included miso soup and oshinko (pickles), which are not shown in the picture. And it takes almost an hour to get to Hakone from here.
As usual, we stayed in a pet room at Tokyu Harvest Club Hakone Koshien. The purpose of coming here this time was to eat delicious Chinese food at “Taigen,” and with four people, we could order many kinds of food, which is fun. While we were taking a rest in the room, Taigen’s microbus came to pick us up.
この日はあいにくの雨模様でしたが店内はほぼ満席。さっそく次々と注文し
Unfortunately, it was raining that day, but the restaurant was almost full. We quickly placed our orders one after another.
ビールで乾杯していると続々と料理が運ばれてくる。先ずは胡麻豆腐とトマトの冷菜。
After toasting with beer, dishes were brought out one after another. The first dish was cold greens with sesame tofu and tomatoes.
ここに来たら外せない雲白肉（ウンパイルー）。見た目も楽しいし味も最高！
You can’t miss the unbai meat (un pai lu) when you come here. It’s as fun to look at as it is to taste!
酢豚、黒酢の味と香りがとてもいい。
Vinegared pork（stir-fried sour pork and vegetables）, black vinegar taste and aroma is very good.
会話も弾み食事も進む。でもこんなのまだほんの序の口。
Conversation is lively and the meal progresses. But this is just the beginning.
ビールの次は紹興酒へとお酒も進み､､､
After the beer, the Shaoxing rice wine goes on and on…
麻婆豆腐。辛すぎず、コクもあって他店ではなかなかお目にかかれない味です。
Bean-curd soup seasoned with red bean paste. It is not too spicy and has a rich flavor that is hard to find in other restaurants.
言わずと知れた春巻
The well-known spring rolls, which are deep-fried meat and vegetables in a wrap.
レバニラ炒め、これで6品目ですがまだまだ終わりません。
stir-fried liver and garlic chives. This is the sixth dish, but it is not over yet.
これは光麺、具が何もなく小皿に香菜が添えられているだけの麺。それを4人で分けた。
This is light noodles, just noodles with no garnish, just a small plate of aromatic greens. One portion was divided among four people.
シューマイ
steamed dumpling (Chinese-style)
〆のチャーハン。ご飯がパラパラになっていて素晴らしく美味しいチャーハンでした。
Fried rice to finish. The rice was wonderfully crispy and wonderfully tasty fried rice.
From here on, it’s dessert, and this is a white bean dumpling. Lastly, I had apricot bean curd, but I forgot to take a picture of it. We had 11 dishes in total, but as you can see from the pictures, all of them were shared by 4 people, so we were full, but not so much that we ate too much.
奥さま達も満足そうな笑顔なのだ。
The wives are all smiles of satisfaction.
翌朝、ようやく雨が上がり、辺り一面霧がかかっている中をこなつと散歩。
The next morning, the rain finally stopped, and I took a walk with Konatsu in the foggy weather.
My wife prepared a light breakfast of bread and salad, so the four of us and our two dogs took our time to relax and enjoy the afterglow of last night. Below you can see Konatsu and Anne enjoying themselves.
こなつが元気なうちに出来る限りあちこち旅行に行きたいと思っています。
I would like to travel here and there as much as possible while Konatsu is healthy.
A friend of my wife’s stayed at our house for three days and left today. Konatsu loves it when someone comes to visit and the house is lively, so it was a fun three days for Konatsu.
ときどき下の階の様子を窺いに行き､､､
Konatsu sometimes goes downstairs to check on the guests, and…
早く2階に上がって来ないかなぁ｡｡｡ とオスワリをして待ってみたり
Konatsu waits for her to come upstairs soon…. and then Konatsu tries to wait for her to come upstairs.
もう待ちくたびれちゃった､､､ という仕草をして見せたりしている
The “I’m tired of waiting…” gesture.
食事やティータイムになると、こなつは彼女の横に寄り添って「何かもらえないかなあ」って顔してる。
When it’s time for dinner or tea time, Konatsu cuddles up next to her and looks at her with a “I wonder if I can get something?” look on her face.
テーブルにケーキが並ぶと食い入るように覗き込んでいる。それでも飛びつかないのはエライね。
When cakes are lined up on the table, she peeks at them as if she were devouring them. It’s great that she doesn’t jump at the cakes.
Ukraine is on day 47. We can know about the devastation in the cities and the people there as it is reported on the news, but I am observing the situation from the perspective of someone who lives with his pets.
The following is from the UAnimals article. Ukrainians who managed to escape shelling and massacres by Russian troops have arrived in Zaporozhye. Even in the most difficult times of their lives, many of these people did not abandon their animals and took refuge with them.
もちろん彼らの気持ちはよく分かるし、このすべての人が無事であってほしい。
Of course I understand how they feel and I hope all of these people are safe.
The weather is about to change from spring to early summer, and as I turn around in the garden, I see that many of the flowers my wife is growing are in bloom. I hardly know the names of the flowers, so I’ll just put up pictures.
これだけ一斉に咲けばキレイだとは思うが、草花音痴の私はコメントのしようがない。
I think it would be beautiful if they bloomed all at once like this, but I can’t comment appropriately.
何が楽しいんだか、急に笑顔になったよ。
I don’t know what’s so fun, Konatsu suddenly smiled.
We are having such a peaceful evening, but it has been 45 days since Ukraine was invaded by Russia. It’s been a while since I’ve seen this image from the UAnimals site, but it’s a scene that should not be happening on the planet we live on.
Railroad crossing in front of Kamakura High School. This is a famous photo spot, and there were already a few people coming to take pictures at this hour.
広場に到着
Arriving at the park
まだみんな居るね、間に合って良かった。
You’re all still here, I’m glad I made it.
さあ、ご挨拶に行こう！
Now let’s go say hello!
オーストラリアン・ラブラドゥードゥルのアンズちゃん
Anzu, an Australian Labradoodle
黒ラブのボビーちゃんと、白ラブのヒナちゃん
Bobby, a black lab, and Hina, a white lab
バーニーズ・マウンテンドッグのルフナちゃん
Rufna, a Bernese Mountain Dog
BMDのルフナちゃん、水を豪快に飲む！
BMD Rufna, drinking water with gusto!
最後にキレイに足を洗って、これで朝のお散歩終了です。
Finally, the doggie’s feet are washed clean, and this concludes the morning walk.
Fuji, which is usually clearly visible, is only faintly visible due to the spring haze. Fuji at the top of the cape on the right, but you can hardly see it.
I left work early and arrived home to find that my wife and Konatsu were out for a walk. I thought that if I walked around the neighborhood, I would see them sooner or later, so I walked over…
やっぱりね。向こうからこなつとシバちゃんが歩いてきた！犬が2頭と姦し娘3人
I knew it. Konatsu and Shiba walked in from the distance! Two dogs and three people.
このくらいまで近づいたら、こなつは私に気が付いて走り出そうとしている。
When I get this close, Konatsu finally notices me and is about to start running.
そして、私のところまで来たこなつは顔が笑ってる。
And Konatsu’s face is smiling when she comes to me.
シバちゃんは両目義眼だけど、こうしてちゃんと歩けるんです。凄いね。
Shiba has artificial eyes in both eyes, but he can walk like this. That’s amazing.
家で待っていたら0歩、こうして歩けば3,000歩。わずかな時間だけど運動になりました。
If I waited at home, I would have taken zero steps; if I walked this way, I would have taken 3,000 steps. It was only a short time, but it was good exercise.
Today, I am going on a business trip to Gunma, and my wife is out of town for a few hours on business, so Konatsu has no choice but to stay at home. Konatsu seemed to somehow realize this and was making a slight resistance, a slight gesture of intent.
こ：「何だかイヤな気配を感じるんですけど､､､」
Ko: “I have a bad feeling about this…”
そういうときはドアの前でへそ天して「アタシを置いて行くつもり？」とアピールする。
At such times, Konatsu would stick her belly out in front of the door and say, “Are you going to leave me?” and appeal to us.
This ballpark has a long history and is also known as the place where Sawamura pitched a great game when the American baseball team, led by Babe Ruth, came to Japan right after the war. Japanese professional baseball has the Sawamura Award, which is the equivalent of the Cy Young Award in American Major League Baseball.
スタジアムの入り口付近にはその二人の像が立っており、待ち合わせ場所としても有名。
Statues of the two men stand near the entrance to the stadium, which is also a famous meeting place.
And the games begin. This spring tournament also decides the seeded schools for the prefectural qualifying rounds of the summer Koshien Tournament, so the results are very interesting for the alma mater’s supporters like us.
The result was a 19-0 cold game in which they dominated the opposing team. Our team will now qualify for the prefectural tournament, and if they finish in the top 8 in the prefecture, they will be seeded.
楽しい一日を過ごしてきました。
We have had a fun day.
帰ってくるとこなつが「アタシを置いてどこにいってたの！？」という顔してるようにも見えるが､､､
When I came home, Konatsu asked, “Where did you go without me?” I think she’s saying.
I have decided to change the top page image for a while. It has been 36 days since the Russian invasion began in Ukraine, and the lives of many people and many animals are still threatened. I know some of you have been accessing this site from Ukraine, and am praying for your safety !
Here’s another one from the UAnimals article. Berlin is now one of the largest centers for refugees, with thousands of migrants passing through Berlin Station every day. And since many people don’t leave their important dogs behind and travel together, Berlin Station is like a dog show with many dogs.
When I started the shower, Konatsu ran around even in the small bathroom, and the photo above shows her finally taking a stand and rinsing off the shampoo.
今日は天気がいいのでベランダでこなつを乾かすことになり､､､
Since the weather was nice today, I decided to dry Konatsu on the balcony.
To finish, bring an ironing board to the balcony, place Konatsu on it, and dry it. This is because Konatsu will run around if you try to dry her normally, so I put her on the ironing board to prevent her from escaping.
最後はブラシで整えて終了です。
The final step is to brush the hair to finish the process.
こなつママと二人がかりでないと出来ない作業だね。
That’s a task that takes two people, my wife and I, to do.
In the past, this road used to be jammed with cherry blossom viewing cars during the cherry blossom season. However, now that the cherry trees have become old and their blossoms have diminished, the traffic jam no longer exists.
約1時間の散歩して家の近くまで戻ってきたらルナちゃんに会えた。
After about an hour’s walk, we came back near our house and saw Luna.
もう15歳？16歳？のルナちゃんは、今日はカートに乗ってお散歩でした。
Is she already 15 or 16 years old? Luna, who is now a very old girl, took a walk in a cart today.
こなつはルナちゃんのパパが大好きだからしばらくの間撫でられて嬉しそうにしている。
Konatsu loves Luna’s owner and is happy to be petted for a while.
Health checkup for Konatsu. It is time for filaria testing and rabies vaccinations. Konatsu is a senior dog, so we have been doing detailed blood tests at the same time for several years, and we went to the veterinary clinic today.
As usual, Konatsu, who hates clinic, starts shivering as he enters the waiting room. But for some reason, she also goes to check on the examination room.
今日はこなつだけしか来院してなかったので、ゆっくり時間をかけて診察してもらえました。
Since only Konatsu visited the clinic today, the doctor spent plenty of time examining her.
The doctor and I talked about Konatsu’s blog, so I was allowed to take these pictures. Once Konatsu is on the examination table, she becomes quiet and does as she is told, no matter what is done to her.
The other blood test results were: PCV/blood concentration was high until last year, but returned to normal this year. I am glad to hear that the diet control is going well. On the other hand, ALT/liver enzymes were high and may be chronic hepatitis. This will be rechecked in a month.
This is a prophylactic eye drop for cataracts. Konatsu was examined by a testing machine. The lens of the eye is a protein, but due to oxidation (=aging), its components are lost and it becomes cloudy. In the process, the lens becomes distorted at first, and when this happens, light is diffusely reflected and the lens appears white. Konatsu is now in this state, and although the lens is not yet cloudy, it was decided to use eye drops in the future as a preventive measure. Overall, there are no major problems and she still seems to be in good health.
It had been a long time since I went to a concert, and since Covid-19 expanded, many of the scheduled concerts were cancelled, so I didn’t get a chance to go. I don’t remember exactly, but it’s been probably about two years since I’ve been to a concert.
サントリーホールに向かう途中の、ここは虎ノ門あたり。こなつも一緒に乗っています。
On the way to Suntory Hall, here around Toranomon. Konatsu is on boarding with us.
高速道路が空いていたので家から1時間ちょっとで到着！
The highway wasn’t busy, so we got there in a little over an hour from home!
Today is a duo recital by these two musicians. Daishin Kashimoto is the concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic, and Yu Kosuge is a pianist living in Germany and active in Europe, a combination that is not often heard in Japan. We had a very good time.
This is the program of the day. After the end of the program, my wife said, “I think Daishin’s violin sound has changed.” I checked the Internet and found out that he was playing “Do Berio” by Guarneri del Gesu, which he had recently acquired, and this was the first time he had played this piece in Japan. It was great that she noticed that.
樫本大進の動画です。これは珍しい、サイモン・ラトルとのデュオ
Here is a video of Daishin Kashimoto. This is a rare duo with Simon Rattle.
こちらはサンサーンス作曲のヴァイオリン・コンチェルト
This is the Violin Concerto by Saint-Saens. Nice piece.
It was a late-night earthquake. Right after I turned off the TV and got into bed, I thought, “Huh? Earthquake. The shaking gradually increased, and Konatsu seemed surprised to see what was going on.
I hurriedly turned on the TV and saw that another earthquake had hit the Tohoku region, this time measuring 6 on the Japanese seismic scale. I can only hope that the people in that area must have been scared and that the damage was minimal.
I was watching the JMA conference and found this data. They said that the tremor was transmitted to Kamakura, where I live, in 55 seconds after the earthquake warning was issued. The “0” in the center means that the earthquake had already shaken when the warning was issued. If it had been a huge earthquake, we wouldn’t have been able to escape.
This earthquake is said to have a magnitude of 7.4, but even so, the Tohoku Expressway broke ground and the Shinkansen bullet train derailed. This reminds us of how powerful the 2011 earthquake was, which measured 9.0 on the Richter scale.
話は変わって、今朝から近所のお宅で工事が始まり、その音でこなつは何だか落ち着かない。
On a different note, construction began this morning at a neighbor’s house, and the noise made Konatsu somewhat restless.
工事車両を見下ろしているが、大きい音がするたびにこなつの身体がビクッと動く(笑)
Looking down at the construction vehicles, Konatsu’s body jerks when she hears a loud noise (lol).
一方、庭はだんだん春らしくなってきた。
Meanwhile, the garden is gradually becoming more like spring.
私は今日から5連休。こなつを連れてどこかに行こうかと思うが天気が怪しい､､､
I have 5 consecutive holidays starting today. I’m thinking of taking Konatsu somewhere, but the weather is doubtful…
More news from Ukraine today. For 20 days, Ukraine has suffered from the actions of its Russian occupiers. Despite fatigue and all the risks, keepers continue to do their best to help the animals. Today, Team UAnimals provided financial assistance to several shelters to help their animals. Today Kyiv volunteers distributed food to residents who could not afford to buy food for their pets. Some exciting news. At the blockaded Gostomel shelter, today the 78 year old facility owner did a great job and brought a generator that will bring water to the shelter. Together with him we donated 70 liters of gasoline, 500 kg of dog food, and food for the shelter staff. This will help the shelter residents survive.
Day 15 of WAR: Animal rescue status. The war with the Russian invaders has been going on in Ukraine for more than two weeks. In such difficult conditions, UAnimals team continues to rescue animals. Unfortunately, the situation is critical for many shelters. Many of them are still blocked by Russian troops and are in the area of active shelling. It is impossible to get to such shelters, especially since it is not possible to evacuate animals from there. This means that with each passing day, the lives of every animal in blocked shelters are becoming more and more endangered. We try to stay in touch with shelter owners and look for ways to save animals. Today we helped the Kyiv Botanical Garden by providing it with 100 kg of fodder. In the garden, local volunteers sheltered hungry animals from the private sector nearby. They also helped with horse feed at the Kyiv Hippodrome. In addition, our team provided funds to the veterinary clinic “Asti” (Pechenizskaya 35) for the purchase of medicines, equipment and feed for sick animals. This clinic provides free treatment for injured animals. Besides, assistance from UAnimals was sent to Kharkiv Zoo. Another 1,100 kg of feed we sent for the needs of Odessa animals. Today, UAnimals team began evacuating two bears and a wolf from Chernivtsi and Kamianets-Podilskyi to Romania. We do not forget to monitor the situation with animals in small towns and villages and situationally help local shelters. UAnimals team is sincerely grateful to you for your support during these difficult days for Ukraine. Everything will be Ukraine! 🇺🇦
