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)

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In Japan, they say that the heat only lasts until the autumnal equinox (around September 23) and the cold only lasts until the spring equinox (around March 20). The days have been a little cooler since the autumnal equinox this year, and the nights have been much more pleasant. In fact, I slept with the windows open on Monday night, and I woke up in the middle of the night feeling cold! It was a wonderful feeling, but I have to be careful. This is the time of year when it’s easy to catch a cold. Tomorrow, however, the temperatures are going up again in many parts of Japan. When is the summer really going to end? (117 words)