On the way back from the doctor's, where we turn onto the road at the top of the hill, there's a bunch of banana trees. I'd asked Kinya if he wanted any banana, but he grinned and shook his head. I noticed the only one on the red-purple banana flower who was interested was a bee!
Along that river were a kawasemi (Japanese kingfisher), sandpiper, beetle, butterfly...but I knew most living things would disappear from Okinawa's heat and humidity until the fall. I took pictures of as much as I could--even if I wasn't getting good shots--just knowing I wouldn't be seeing my friends for very much longer this year.
I saw a family of turtles, remembering how, in mainland Japan, I wanted to spend as much time with them as possible before hibernation because I wouldn't see them during the winter months; would it be backwards now, did it never get that cold in Okinawa that they had to hibernate?
I mean, it never snows; the ponds never freeze over; and some people don't even own overcoats. I remember growing up as a little girl in Okinawa there used to be shops that rented overcoats--honest! I'd forgotten what the climates here were like and have to remember again.
One thing I remembered fast I told Kinya about were the Okinawan outdoors afternoons, and how you had to keep moving if you sweat a lot, or the mosquitos ate you up.
