山形

峠近くの小さな池の水中に、ぼんやりした白い塊がいくつか。クロサンショウウオの卵だって。初めて見た、見られてよかった！ In the water of a small pond near the mountain pass, I saw several cloudy white clumps. I was told they were black salamander eggs. It was my first sighting of them!

初夏の山形の山道で出遭ったふしぎな花。葉緑素をもたず、その白さは幽霊じみている。菌類から栄養をもらって生きている、その名はぎんりょうそう（銀竜草）だって。 I came across this spooky-looking flower on a mountain path in Yamagata in May. It lacks chlorophyll and its whiteness is ghostly. It draws nutrients from fungi. It’s called "Silver Dragon Grass” in Japanese and the English name I think is Indian Pipe. A friend told me it was Emily Dickinson’s favorite flower!