BLUE AND AMBER MOUNTAINS

Now that all the paddies have been tilled and readied for planting, the whole mountainside is water, waiting. Facets of water that combine to make quite a chunk of gem quality amber under the sun.

Today drove down the road that curls among the amber facets to the village, to use the village rice polishing machine for polishing our 30 kg of "Mother Lake" organic rice to just the degree of brownness we like.

While the rice was perfecting I stood outside in the finest part of the day, late afternoon, when at this time of year all is in brilliant color around here as the Lake-reflected light meets the sun slanting down the mountain. All the paddies down in the village are waiting too, and as I looked across their smooth mirrors I realized for the first time that from here, through a break in the bamboo and trees that rise on the other side, I could see across the Lake to pale blue Mikamiyama (Three-peak Mountain), also called Omi Fuji for its resemblance to Mt. Fuji (Omi being the old name for Shiga Prefecture) and, colloquialocally, Hachibuse (roughly, [contents of a] bowl turned over).

Then the rice was done.