An Adorable Tradition -- Haiku in the Supermarket (and update) (Patreon)

There's an adorable tradition in my town that I wanted to share with you all. 

Spring is here! The weather is warming up, the new school year is about to begin, and flowers are blooming everywhere. What a better way to celebrate spring than impromptu haiku? I'm not kidding!

Every year one of my local supermarkets sets out a table with colored, rectangular strips of paper, pens, and an entire wall free to decorate. Shoppers are encouraged to stop, think for a moment, and come up with a haiku poem, maybe a little drawing, and by the looks of it, little stories and scribbles, too. Write them down and hang them on the wall to share with other customers. 

While most of the haiku seem to be children, I do see a father who wrote something like: Spring Camp, awash in cherry blossoms and sake. 

Another from a little one: Spring Night, the night sky and cherry blossoms, so pretty. 

Another: It would be nice if Corona would ease up.

Another: Spring has come, along with lots of yummy foods

Can you read any? 

In other news, I got some neat nekomata cat art to share. I also did my first Yahoo auction and got a delicate ukiyo-e picture book from 1862 for $15!! It's a little bit worm eaten, but I scanned it and found the original online, so I can translate it because the book itself is written in that fancy, old time-y script that is near impossible to read. Even my Japanese friends couldn't do it. The reason I tried for it, is because it's about a Nekomata! A particularly nasty one, by the looks of it. 

I'll put that up here this month. 

For April's Bedtime Story I'm thinking of recording a bunch of cat superstitions and old wives' tales that I found. It's a collection of ancient folk beliefs from all over Japan. I've been skimming through and find them very interesting, so thought you might like them, too. And, again, I've never seen or heard most of them, so I'm hoping it will be brand new and just as interesting to patrons, as well. 

XO,

terrie