My apartment is a nature reserve

I am worried that we will be kicked out of our apartment because the Ministry of Environment will declare it a nature reserve. As I commented to Tomoe today, as much as we complain about living in Tokyo, citing a lack of nature and beauty, I am so amazed, every day, at the fascinating events happening just within the confines of our three room apartment.

As I wrote recently, a new visitor appeared in my garden - maybe or maybe not related to one of our boarders last year.

The garden itself is a source of constant joy and wonder. Last year it was pretty straightforward - some spinach, some komatsuna, and some radishes. Of course it was all "edible" (and the radishes were really good), but it was worth much more to me to have the pleasure of watching the moth larvae and aphids convert my garden into their own little city. I even invited some of the larvae in through the window and later raised the moths in my home - they, like Awii and Klee, were free to fly around the room or return to their always-open cage as they see fit.

The spinach was much too small to make anything more than garnish for a single dinner for Tomoe and I, but to my delight, I discovered what a spinach seed looks like while on the spinach plant. So did Awii and Klee and they loved it (it's prefect because not only is it tasty and fresh, but it also includes the joy of picking at something).

I also had some nira, transplanted from Tomoe's mother's garden. Last year I felt like a failure because the nira was all but dead after the transplant. This year, however, it is growing strong - the only real "people food" crop we have this time.

Along with the strong nira, this years garden has taken on a much different, and much more fascinating personality. (Keep in mind, please, that this garden consists of three planters placed on the landlords roof, just outside my window.) It has a total surface area of less than one square meter. Yet, I am drawn to it every day. The first thing I do in the morning - after swatting away Awii and Klee, who begin climbing, exploring, and picking at my face and ears at the first sign that I am even half-awake - is to go to the kitchen, open the window, and gaze at my garden for a minute or so. I find myself repeating this up to ten or more times each day.

The reason the garden is more interesting this year is that not only did I plant the "cash crops", but I also planted anything I could find that looked like it might grow. A lot of kitchen scraps, some beans, bird-seeds, and green things I never looked up, etc. and, in addition to these "experiments", I never pull anything out that happens to appear on its own. It's amazing what can pop-up in one square meter on the roof of an apartment in Tokyo. Some are "just grass", but they are growing tall and strong. A daikon found its way here somehow (in the kitchen scrap?), this guy is all over the place, and my favorite so far is a lone mushroom that dropped in for a visit (ask Tomoe how excited I was that morning!).

Of course, I did have "problems" this year getting some of the kitchen scraps, beans, and bird-seed sprouted. I would plant something one night, and open the window the next morning to find it had been dug up. At first I suspected the sparrows which frequent the garden when the window is closed, but one night I opened the window to see something small like a squirrel scamper away across the empty roof. The only thing is, squirrels are rare in Japan (Japanese friends are always captivated by the big plentiful squirrels that would come right up to your hand for food in Michigan). I am guessing that I have at least one rat in my little eco-system as well. (Without telling Tomoe, I have been leaving seeds for this little guy as well.)

Finally, I have been checking daily on the progress of a little wasp bee "stingy thing" nest growing outside the bedroom window. Usually when I check it is empty, but I see that it is still growing, so I know that someone is working on it. Today was the first day that I actually saw the construction crew. There are only five or six of them now, and I know I will probably have to relocate it once it gets bigger, but how great is it to wake up every morning eager to see their progress!