In English 

　My winter preparations are done. My preparations for winter are the house wintry-enclosure, changing the car wheels and putting away the plant planter.

　I live in the massive snowfall area of Akita Prefecture. Even though we living in the town don't have as much snow as people in the mountains, we need winter preparation for life.

　The enclosure of the house was finished last Friday. It was quite a task.  If I can't do some it myself, I'll ask the neighbours for help, but for my enclosure, all I have to do is fit the parts into the ground floor windows, and I only need the help of my family. Plants like orchids and almonds, which are vulnerable for coldness, need to be placed in the windbreak-space and inside the front door.  Now, the windbreak-space is full of plants. But the plants in the breezeway are only temporary.  When it gets colder, and the days will be below freezing, I need to move them into the front door, and inside the room to protect them, otherwise, they will not be able to survive the winter.

　With this and that, it didn't take much time for the house wintry- enclosure itself, but it took a lot to get plants in and out, take care of them and clean up around my house.

　Finally, it was to change the car-wheels. I went to the car dealer yesterday to have my summer wheels replaced with winter ones after a six-month inspection.

　Although my family also helped me, it was hard for me to load and unload tires for 1500 cc car into my car before I went to the dealer and putting them away after coming back.　

The winter wipers were broken, so I had to purchase new ones. It was drizzling yesterday. The new wipers wiped the raindrops off the front glass, and it made me feel good.

　The photo is of confectionery and coffee I was served at the dealership while waiting for the inspection and wheels change. The coffee was a caramel macchiato and very sweet. Sweet confectionery and sweet drinks, I know it was a mismatch, but as usual, I enjoyed this combination when waiting at the dealership.

　It's around when rain turns to snow.

Tanka by Rika Inami 39