Last year Mona was still a girl. She did not know that you are not supposed to walk outside barefoot, she did not know that you can’t eat with your fingers, she did not know that getting dirty is wrong. Somewhere along the way she has learned these things, and now, when I try to take her out for a walk to pick some sansai wild vegetables, it is like pulling teeth. She just wants to get back home and watch Tomoe’s youtube or NHK cartoons, or even just watching NHK daily news – as long as it moves.
I did manage, after much kicking and screaming, manage to get her out yesterday to do some token wild vegetable foraging. We didn’t pick anything that will end up on the table, but at least we got to touch some green, and she still really enjoys her suiba (Japanese Knotweed).
The other thing I noticed while looking at some photos from last year’s May foraging season (below), is that her pants are really getting shorter.
I loved seeing these pictures of Mona. She looks like she has grown a lot since we last saw her.