Old cherry blossoms
Residents of the Nagadoro area of Iitate village, which is located in the difficult-to-return area, stayed in temporary housing or rented housing hoping to live again in their hometown, but in the last year or two they built a house on new land. The number of people starting to live is increasing rapidly.
Still, my feelings for my hometown are still unbroken.
Residents scattered around Fukushima Prefecture come to the Shiratori Shrine in the Nagadoro district in the spring. This is to hold an annual festival to pray for the health of the people and the recovery of the Buraku.
This can be said to be an expression of the strong will of the inhabitants that the relationships with the land and nature that have been passed down from generation to generation, and the relationships between human beings are not so easy to end, and must not be end.
I think nature is confused by the sudden interruption of human activities that we have been with for a long time.
I know that the very existence of nature cannot even have emotions.
However, at the bottom of the pond closed by ice, there is a carp waiting for spring, and in spring the old cherry blossoms in the garden will be in full bloom, and in a few days the petals will be dropped and the water surface will be dyed pink. Why?
On the other hand, the garden in the summer was covered with grass that should not have been planted, and the garden was no longer reminiscent of what it used to be, but the following year, Amur adonis looked into the corner.
Besides, in the field where willows that have grown more than twice the height of a person grow densely, daffodils bloom in early spring, and cluster amaryllis line up in a row in autumn, letting me know that it was a ridge of a former paddy field. What's wrong with that?
Nature also seems to me to be waiting for people to return.
Brother Falcon
The peregrine falcon is a member of the eagle hawk and is a bird of prey about the size of a crow. Habitats are mainly coastline cliffs and rock walls, where they live throughout the year.
Peregrine falcon hunting is an acrobatic one that catches flying birds in the air. Making full use of his keen eyesight that allows him to see up to several kilometers away, he kicks a branch and makes a leap forward when a goal is set. When it reaches the sky above its prey, it plunges and hits its own body violently. The fallen prey is swiftly grabbed with a sharp claw like a dagger.
For the breeding of peregrine falcons, it is important to select a place where "there are many birds to feed on, the prey is easy to find, and there are no obstacles that hinder flight". The steep cliffs of the coastline, where many wild birds live, are prime settlements.
Reproductive behavior has been seen since early spring, and mating is repeated when a pack is formed. In late March, lay 3 or 4 eggs directly in the pits of the cliff ledge. Eggs are warmed by changing sexes and hatch in about a month. The falcon brothers and sisters do not get along well and compete for food. Then parents continue to feed the chicks for about 40 days.
After that, the fledging falcon brothers and sisters practiced flying and hunting under the patronage of their parents for a while, and in the beginning of autumn they left alone from the territory of their parents.
The relationship with parents and siblings will be cut off there.