It's been about 8+ years that I haven't lived in a place with real seasons, and by that I mostly mean a real winter (with snow), because let's face it, California might have four seasons (floods, fires, riots and earthquakes), but half aren't exactly Nature's.
The arrival of autumn came sort of as a surprise, mostly because the leaves suddenly changed colors. Here are a few pictures:
Before I knew it, the mountain next to the city had turned into a beautiful landscape of colors and shades. I regret not getting any pictures of that! For next year... And with it came a bout of cold and I had to start layering long sleeves with pullovers, sweaters, etc. Fall had indeed arrived.
One of the surprises of Hokkaido (or parts of it), is that it snows before winter. You might ask yourself, "How is that possible?" Well, I got my answer towards the end of October when biking back from school, I noticed a lot of bugs in the air. The more I biked, the denser they became! These white bugs, called 雪虫 (yukimushi), literally "snow bug," stick to everything, don't move a lot and are in over abundance! Thus the snow before winter, because they seriously look like snow storms! But no, the bugs' appearance simply announces the coming of winter.
Poetic? Hardly. When you have hair like mine, it becomes a nightmare! Not only did I have to brush my clothes off after getting to my destination, but I had to fluff my hair and witness too many bugs falling off. What a nightmare they are, and frankly, I'm glad they're gone now that it's gotten cold!!
Here are a few pictures of my "collection" on my way home one day...
Delightful, aren't they? I thought they were like a plague... Especially because I believe one stayed in my hair overnight, after I washed my hair... ugh. I then understood why the お婆さん達 (obaasan tachi), the elderly women, biked while wearing gigantic hats, because then you can see without having to blink out bugs or cover your nose and mouth for fear of inhaling insects, and more importantly, get home with bug-free hair.
During the 雪虫 (yukimushi) season, there was a lot of bad weather, nearly typhoon-like days. The good part is that the bugs cleared out after all the rain, but the pounding rain on my roof can get way too loud, and the howling wind gets to be a pain when trying to sleep. But after all that, here I am, already in November, and expecting the first snow in about three weeks. Yesterday (11/11/11) was the first frost, what a surprise! Now I have to find myself some snow boots and/or some waterproof shoes, along with getting a shovel before I get snowed in...
Winter is coming...!
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