winter solstice.
This is the day of the year when the sun's energy is at its lowest.
The daylight hours were the shortest of the year, so it got dark all of a sudden in the evening. I had no choice but to give up on the farm work I had planned for the evening.
When this day comes, it feels like a turning point and my feelings change.
Eat pumpkin and take a yuzu bath to replenish your energy.
This week has been a busy one, with me on a business trip to Tokyo for the first half.
A friend of mine who works in event management asked me to make bamboo lanterns to decorate an event in Akasaka, and I've actually been secretly (?) working on them since around October.
We started by cutting thick bamboo from the bamboo grove on the house's property, then came up with a design, drilled holes one by one, and installed the base and lights.
We also split bamboo and put it together in a circular shape to create a sphere with a diameter of one meter.
The theme of this event was a new form of environmentally friendly tourism (MICE) by foreign companies, and bamboo was chosen as a symbol of circulation.
Since the tent was to be taken down the day after it was set up, we stayed overnight, took it down the next night, and headed home.
My younger brother, who also lives in Hokuto City, and I work with other local organic farmers to maintain bamboo forests and make bamboo charcoal, and as part of that, I was given this job, which was a great experience.
While it is important to cut down the bamboo that grows in abundance every year and control its numbers, we are truly grateful for the opportunity to use the cut bamboo. After it has fulfilled its role of emitting beautiful light as a bamboo lantern, it is finally burned to make charcoal, which can be used to grow vegetables and rice.
Taking this opportunity, we will continue our activities with the dream of holding a bamboo lantern festival in the future!
On the day of the winter solstice, we held the second pickle preparation event in Pitara Village. Everyone, both adults and children, gathered together and worked together, chatting happily. When we put traditional wisdom into practice, connections between people and nature are born. It is something we want to cherish.
The vegetables pickled this time were radish, red turnip, and Hinona turnip.
Daikon radish pickled in sweet vinegar has been made at Hapitara Farm for a long time.
21kg of daikon radish was pickled in granulated sugar, salt and vinegar. To finish, I sprinkled some dried persimmon peel on it.
There are two types of red turnips: pickled in sweet vinegar and pickled in rice bran.
The leaves of red turnips were dried and made into dumplings and pickled.
Hinona turnips are pickled in a traditional rice bran recipe.
We're all looking forward to the finished product. We'll all be brewing in one barrel and sharing the finished product.
Since we had some extra time and radish, we all decided to make dried radish.
Mochi pounding starts tomorrow! Let's do our best!
