September 22, 2023: Autumn Leaves, Warming （紅葉、温暖化）

Like others, I like autumn, too. Autumn is the best of the four seasons for me. It is not as hot as summer, not as cold as winter and is more pleasant than spring. Autumn heals me, physically and mentally, with cool breezes. It also refreshes me. In particular, I love to see the autumn leaves in full colour. They help me get my second wind. Among them are autumn leaves in Kyoto, which I love to see the most. They are much more beautiful than in any other place. I still remember one of them very well. I saw the ones in the garden, Shisendo, on the east side of Kyoto.
Autumn is the best season to heal me physically and mentally. But it has been changing. For now, I am unable to feel a nip of autumn in the air. It is now September and is in the autumn season on the calendar. However, it does not give me a breeze of autumn. Instead, it is still late summer and is very hot and humid. It is not until October that I can feel an autumn breeze, these days. As the real autumn comes later and later, the winter comes later, too. And it is also getting warmer and warmer. Soon, I may not be able to see the autumn leaves until winter on the calendar. And winter might become the best of the four seasons because it may be only in winter that I can see the autumn leaves on the fire. What is more, we may lose four seasons and may only have three or two seasons a year in the near future.
Then I may lose a chance to see autumn leaves on the fire and may have to go deep in the mountains to see them. I hope it will not happen. But I do not know what I can do about it.
For the time being, I will focus on enjoying autumn leaves and sear the scenery in my eyes.

　ぼくも、秋は好きです。四季の中で一番心地いいシーズンです。夏ほど暑くなく、冬より寒くなく、そして春よりも心地いいです。秋は、そんなことはありません。秋は、涼しい風で心身の疲れを癒してくれます。また、元気づけてくれます。特に、燃えるような紅葉が大好きです。紅葉をみるとまたやる気が湧いてきます。特に、好きなのが京都の紅葉です。京都の紅葉はどこよりも美しいです。いまだに忘れられないのが東山の詩仙堂の紅葉です。
　秋は心身を癒すには最高のシーズンです。でも、それも変わりつつあります。今のところ秋の気配を感じられません。もう暦の上では秋の９月です。でも、秋の気配はありません。それどころか、夏の終わりでいまだに蒸し暑いです。このところ、秋の気配を感じられるのは10月になってからです。秋らしくなるのが遅くなればなるほど、冬の訪れも遅れます。そして、冬もますます暖かくなっています。その内、紅葉も暦の冬にならないと見られなくなるかもしれません。そのため、冬が一番好きな季節になるかもしれません。更には、近い将来、四季がなくなり、季節が2つか３つになるかもしれません。そして、紅葉をみる機会がなくなるかもしれません。見るには、山奥に行かねばならなくなるかもしれません。そんなことがないことを願いますが、何をすればいいのかわかりません。
　とりあえず、紅葉を楽しみ、目に焼き付けます。

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