The Flowers and Birds of Autumn

Here are some of this year's higanbana, aka red spider lily, growing near my apartment. I also saw a few white ones this year:

They're a sign of early autumn in Japan but they're all just about withered now. The weather changed kind of abruptly this past weekend and it's already starting to feel a little like winter.

Did you know most languages treat doves and pigeons as the same animal? I learned this when I was observing an ESL class a year before I came to Japan and the instructor, from Russia, told the class that pigeons were a symbol of peace in America. Japanese also doesn't distinguish between crows and ravens, calling both karasu. Pigeons and doves are called hato.

Twitter Sonnet #1630

The bees of summer talked of spinning ice.
My knitted friends await a true response.
We split the house to settle nervous mice.
The cheese sufficed for urgent needs and wants.
Her dropping lids concealed her cake.
A special day was etched on iv'ry keys.
With brick and jam they built a silly lake.
But certain girls can talk to kindly bees.
The flying wolf was paid to build a bridge.
Successful mods returned the mind to scratch.
Reacting crowds observe along the ridge.
The numbers built with each successive patch.
Suggestive furs were found about the scene.
A broken city grew from tortured bean.