I led a nature walk in English yesterday. Most of the families were Japanese, but the parents and the children could all speak some English. Staff members helped me take the group to a tidal flat on a river. Once we got there, language no longer mattered. The kids loved looking for crabs and mudskippers. When they picked up a rock, they found crabs under it. At first, they were afraid of getting pinched by the crabs, but they quickly learned how to pick them up safely. The mudskippers were really hard to catch because they were so fast. Some kids used nets and caught a lot. I didn’t have a net, so I used my hands, and I caught one. I felt really proud of myself, just like a kid! (130 words)

I happened to learn two new slang words while watching American TV dramas. The first one was HALT. It stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely and Tired. The line in the story said you should not make decisions when you feel HALT. I slapped my thigh, remembering my quarrels with my husband. I always felt HALT then. The next slang word was FOMO. It means Fear of Missing Out. I was completely FOMO when I was young. I was scared of missing any opportunities to meet new friends and hang out at drinking parties. I am not FOMO anymore in my sixties. I’d rather stay home and watch my favorite American dramas and learn new slang. Now I am HSHC, Happy to Stay Home and Chill, which I just thought of. Will this be the next new slang? (137 words)

If you go out into a grassy field at this time of year, you will probably come back with little seeds on your clothes. The seeds stick to your clothes, and they don’t come off easily. They are called “beggar’s lice” in English. In Japan, there is one kind of plant called “nusubitohagi.” When I was working at the environmental center, I had to cut the grass. After I finished the job, I came back and looked down at my green workpants. I thought they were a solid color, so I was surprised when I saw they had a nice pattern on them. I looked more closely and saw that they were covered in little green “nusubitohagi” seeds. (118 words)

Apples are coming into season now. What kind of apples do you like? The other day I saw a chart with 23 different kinds of apples from around the world. They went from the sweetest to the tartest. Fuji apples were the sweetest. They are my favorite kind of apple not only because they are sweet but also because they are very crisp. Granny Smith apples were the tartest. I don’t particularly like to eat tart apples just as they are, but they make very good apple pie. We have some Tsugaru apples at home now. They were not on the chart because they are not common outside Japan. I like Tsugaru apples, but they’re not as sweet or as crisp as Fuji apples. (124 words)

Today, Japan will get a new prime minister. Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said on August 14 that he would step down as leader of the LDP (the Liberal Democratic Party). The LDP is the biggest political party in Japan. It had an election for a new leader last week, and that leader will become the next prime minister. Ishiba Shigeru won the election. He has decided to have a national election on October 27. Every Japanese person who is 18 years old or older will be able to vote. The LDP and the Komeito are partners in the government. If these two parties get more than 50% of the seats in the Diet, Ishiba will continue as prime minister. If they don’t, Japan will get another prime minister. (128 words)

The autumnal equinox was one week ago, but one thing was missing. Red spider lilies, known in Japanese as “higanbana,” were not in bloom yet. I looked around and didn’t see any until Saturday. They grow along the side of the environmental center where I work. I was walking around the center on Saturday morning, and I found half of the flowers in full bloom. The other half had buds on them, but they weren’t open yet. There are reports of the flowers blooming late all over Japan. They say that the days and nights have been too hot. Now, the nights are much cooler, so the red spider lilies will probably bloom all at once. (116 words)