The Cherry Blossom Festival on Heiya Island was another case where Animalians adapted to various cultural norms and practices that allowed them to show that they weren't copies of Americans in foreign countries. For Tani, Naya, and Data, some of this seemed to be even bigger at present, given the various tit for tat actions coming out of the American government. Seeing the cherry trees bloom represented the changing of the seasons and provided a change in color for Heiya Island and its residents. And in providing this along the main streets on the island, there was plenty that served to decorate the embassies for China, the main Japanese government offices and attached South Korean embassy, the Interpol offices on the island, the main building for Heiya Island's government, and Samurai Prep, along with various other buildings.
"This makes for a good shot," Date commented as she caught the line of cherry trees that were in bloom as their branches moved slightly with the breeze that went over the island.
"And will fit with some of the other aspects of the celebration," Tani commented with some agreement, "not just the new year... but a new spring."
Naya and Date nodded in agreement. The celebration did a lot to honor the blooming of the cherry trees and of the specific role that the specific tree played in the concepts surrounding life and its interesting and often complicated course. There were all sorts of events scheduled for the day and some of the actors that had been in various productions that Animalia and Heiya Island had put on were scheduled to take place during the day. They were also scheduled not to interfere with anything like school or any of the flights that came into Heiya Island. Some of it played to Japanese culture and some of it played into how many Animalians adapted things from Japanese culture. For the moment, things were quiet, and the sun was only just rising to the east and was starting to illuminate things and cast some deep shadows in places, but they'd also clear as the sun rose. Date could also see that there weren't any clouds looming in the east or west.
As Date lowered her phone, which the Quasi-Raccoon Cuties used for their filming, one sound did rise up and drew attention. There was a rattling of a metal cart moving up and down on the stone sidewalk. This drew some attention, and then they noted what it was. It was Nate, who was pulling a fairly decent sized metal cart with a series of metal cans rattling in the cart. Date also noted what looked like a decent sized car seat also sitting in the cart. This naturally drew their attention. They carefully approached and found that it was Maya in the car seat. As Date got closer, she could hear the young Water Buffalo Animalian making a series of calls from the car seat and occasionally raising an arm to try and catch Nate's tail as he swayed it behind him. Maya didn't have much success, as cattle were not known for the precise control of their tails the way that some other animals were, but from what Date could hear, Maya didn't seem to mind.
"Getting started on the festival, Mr. Bowman?" Naya asked politely.
"And what's got the little one up so early?" Tani asked.
"I'm more on handling the standard work with my orchard," Nate answered with a smile, "as for Maya... I'm not sure what woke her up. But she rolled over and was calling... She didn't have a dirty diaper, and she didn't seem to be hungry, and since Shuixing has been busy helping Muxing with wedding plans, I decided to take Maya out for a bit of an adventure and let her mother get back to sleep."
"Gah-gah-gah!" Maya cheered from the car seat.
Nate then began walking along again, and the Quasi Raccoon Cuties followed along behind. For the moment, it was early enough that many of the events of the festival weren't going to start year. They hadn't expected to really run into anyone, but it did happen, and Maya remained as cute as could be. They followed along until he came to the desalinization plant on the island. While Heiya Island was of a decent size, it wasn't quite big enough for any real established river and freshwater systems. The desalinization plant allowed for sea water to be harvested for the colony's water supply and made safe to drink and use. It also helped Heiya Island's farmers, and which counted Nate among them. He filled the water cans that were behind Maya's "car seat" and then placed the hose back on the hooks that were there for the sort of pumping that would be done.
"So... is all this part of the beauty for the festival?" Date wondered, "your orchard?"
"It can be beautiful," Nate answered with a small smile and then turned around to head toward the areas of the island that were set up for the herbivore Animalians to farm, "though, in many ways, it also serves a practical purpose."
Their march then followed some of the dirt paths that separated many of the plots. Several of them were set up to grow crops that were typically grown in China and Japan and largely fit with the majority of Heiya Island's population. However, as they moved along, they found a spot that was different. Nothing in the plot was sunken but was level with the path they were walking on. Within it, there were a set of four trees. They were evenly spaced from each other and set ready for the day. Date also noted that for the moment, there weren't any leaves or flowers yet.
"I'm not sure they're ready for the festival," Date commented.
"Probably, but then the festival you're looking to is mostly working with a different type of cherry tree," Nate answered, "not all trees will flower at the same time... sometimes not even all trees within the same family will flower at the same time. And these trees are cultivated cherry trees. When they flower and the flowers are pollinated and the fruit ripens, the cherries will be sweet and good to eat. I would imagine that they could even be used in cooking. Things like pies and the like. It'd be something good to bring and cell. They'd be great for snacks and everything else. But when they do leaf out and flower, they can be just as beautiful as the ones that were brought in for ornamental growth and flowering."
"I take it they'd be getting ready for their growing season?" Tani asked.
"It's been fairly warm here," Nate answered, "and unlike some parts of the US... we haven't gotten some of these polar vortex cold snaps. And the weather reports don't hint at that. And as you can see at points, the trees are getting ready to leaf out. New buds and all that."
The group that functioned as Heiya Island's version of the Animalia Ambassadoria team looked closely to the edges of the various branches. There were small bits of green on the tips that were very small. It matched some of the growing green of the grass that covered the ground that the trees were planted in. It was one of those things that showed the changing of the seasons, even in times when many weather patterns were changing. Nate set Maya down in the grass in the center of the orchard and she proceeded to give a series of happy calls and actually managed to catch Nate's tail when he moved back to the cart that held the water buckets. He gave a startled "moo," which only delighted Maya into a fit of giggles. Tani, Naya, and Date couldn't help but giggle a bit as well.
"And I suppose that shows that there is more than one way to show the seasons are changing as well," Nate commented as he looked back as Maya let go of his tail, "and things that go beyond the symbology of the festival."
"I can't fault your logic," Tani commented, "and I think a lot of the others that are farmers here aren't too far from you in mentality."
"They may be different in that..." Nate smiled, "mostly because of the difference in the crops that they grow. And my orchard is really only just starting. It will still be a while before these trees are ready to produce enough cherries to make the effort worth it. And once we get to that point... I'll need to talk to someone about bees."
"Bees? Wouldn't they just come here?" Naya asked.
Nate laughed at that, "heh... no. We're too far from any larger island and many of the plants on these islands... if they have any... aren't necessarily the sorts of flowering plants that would use bees for pollination. Thus, we'd need to introduce bees, and preferably ones that are docile and can be worked with."
"And they'd provide honey, too!" Naya said excitedly.
"Yes," Nate nodded, "and all of that will come with the changing of the seasons and the time it takes for them to pass..."
"We could add this to some of our coverage!" Date exclaimed.
"Sure... go ahead," Nate answered.