shocking pinks in the park

we’d enjoyed the whole sunny week until today. it’s said that autumn makes people feel melancholic, while there’s been no room for melancholy in my heart so far; i’ve been too busy treasure-hunting in this october country. when i take my routine walk around the park, i always find and bring back home something beautiful like a crimson cherry leaf or two. i feel so great and appreciative of what nature has to offer us. when the weather is brilliant, the park’s rich flora and fauna just makes me happy. i am no doubt having the best season in japan.


meanwhile, it’s cloudy and going to rain tomorrow. i may, more or less, feel melancholic. i am not really in the mood for a treasure-hunt today. i know that the best time for viewing the red maple leaves in the park patio should be this weekend, though. never mind. i’ve lately seen a couple of maple trees with leaves tinged red there. while we have another month for japanese acer leaf-peeping, we japanese could go frantic over the viewing autumn foliage. i love the autumn tints, too. but, on a cloudy day like today, these unexpected “shocking pinks” in the park should look gorgeous under the grey sky.

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pic 1, 2, 3
all the kochias in the park garden have turned pink now. among the autumnal colours such as gold, red and brown, its pink is quite shocking.

pic 4
this is 紅花常磐万作 benibana-tokiwa-mansaku (loropetalum chinese) in the park's cottage garden. the olive green leaves have changed smoky burgundy. this plant blooms in spring, so my encountering one pink flower at the tip of the branch came as a lovely shock.
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enjoy the autumn colour, everyone!
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