Jinja and Shoga: Life in the Land of the Rising Sun

   You know that the rainy season is over and what I like to call the Hell Days of Summer have officially begun in Japan when it becomes impossible to walk by any cluster of trees without going nearly deaf. The reason? Cicadas, or 'semi' (pronounced not like a truck but rather with a 'me' as in..well, me), shrieking out their desperate attempts to find a mate before dying.
 Those of you in the US may well have heard cicadas before, but not to this extent. These guys put American cicadas to shame. It's really an amazing sound, kind of a sharp alien pulsating that threatens to take over your brain if heat stroke doesn't do you in first. If I get the time and energy to record them, maybe I'll post a follow-up later this week.
  As for the Hell Days of Summer...I'm told that this extreme heat is supposed to last longer than usual this year...and of course it's already been hotter than the past few years, too. At first I thought it was just me with my increased BMR as a result of being pregnant, no such luck. I get to deal with the increased body heat AND the heat wave, too. What a bonus!

                                    This one was already dying, poor thing

                                  Sad, ugly puppy face