Slightly Soggy
“The spring breeze.
Being pulled by a cow
To the Zenkoji temple.”
We could have constructed five percent of an Ark, these past two days, for the rain that watered the prairie. Wednesday and Thursday, well let’s just say it was better to stay indoors; and so our intrepid explorers postponed BNO until Friday, when the weather cleared, the grass greened, and the shy spring flowers of April sank back into the earth, giving May’s bolder cousins their time to shine.
On Friday then did our fearless adventurers head for the forest of Shanahan Ridge, along with various other hikers who’d heard the rain had stopped, for the nonce.
A bit of mud, a frog-filled pond, the big blue water tank, a couple of dogs happy just to be outside, whatever the reason. The gates along the trail have sprouted new signs that remind us to close them, lest the cattle escape and ransack the city (one supposes). We saw no cattle, but closed the gates anyway, and set the chains duly in their notches.
Interlude
One wonders, do the herds wander up to the gates at night and peer at them ponderously, wondering how to open them? Or do they open them and walk around the city, tapping their hooves softly on the concrete, like a patter of raindrops on sidewalks. Do they snicker to one another, and stifle their collective moos with knowing winks and nods?
“Bovolexia,” they might chortle conspiratorially, “is real.”
Perhaps not.
A few photos and kilometers later, and the outing was deemed “another successful BNO.”
Addendum
I was trying to find a different translation for this haiku by Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828), and encountered a haiku website (translated by my browser) which explained that Issa is referring to an ancient Japanese legend in which an impious old woman’s drying laundry is caught on the horns of a passing cow. She chases the cow all day long, eventually reaching Zenko-ji Temple, where the cow escapes. By that time the sun has set and it’s too dark to return home, so she stays the night in the temple. During the night, she has a vision and realizes the cow is calling her to renew her faith.
So whatever you do, be sure to lock the gates, lest the cows steal your laundry and lead you to Zenko-ji.
