Flower viewing party

It is a tradition in Japan to have a little party when the cherry blossoms (Sakura) are in bloom. This is called hanami with hana meaning flower. Kenji one of Okano-san's childhood friends came by Saturday with his older sister to pick up some veggies from the farm and suggested we have a flower viewing Easter Sunday at lunch. That evening Okano-san's wife Shigeko-san invited us to go to St. Barnabus Anglican church for the Easter service and we accepted.
The church service was followed by a true potluck lunch with a variety of very interesting dishes. We stayed for a while and then rushed back to the farm for the flower viewing.
There is a very narrow lane meandering on the edge of the farm. More than forty years ago when Okano-san's oldest brother was born the parents planted many cherry trees on a stretch of  road. This combined with other plantings has resulted in nearly a kilometre of cherry trees. The ones nearest the farm were only about ten percent in bloom. But any excuse for a party.
When we got there we realized they were in the greenhouse as the air outside had been quite cool. Kenji's sister had brought a lot of food and there were a variety of fruit juices. The conversation flowed freely and later Okano-san's wife Shigeko-san showed up. She works in a school frequently till nine in the evening and we had never seen her out in the farm area before. The three men have been friends since forever. Okano-san the farmer, one friend who is a teacher in Tsukuba and the other is a junior high principal and artist like Okano-san.
When it finally wrapped up lettuce, spinach and Japanese green onion were harvested and given to the friends marking the end to a very nice Easter Sunday.