I sit on the verandah in the afternoon heat--it's 3 p.m. and I'm sitting in such a way that I catch the westerly breeze.
Afternoon sounds are all around. I nod over my book. I'm tempted to sit in the rocking chair and shut my eyes. But I stay where I am, sitting up groggily now & then. I want to see what bird life I can get to see, if I am quiet. I'm rewarded.

I see a pair of magpie robins and one of them has a quick dip in a puddle left by the previous day's showers. I see a treepie come to drink water.

Then there are the usual raucous crowd of crows to bathe and talk. A small sunbird flits in the divi-divi foliage above my head.

Away from the bird pool I get to see a green barbet, with his brilliant green plumage and I spot the silhouette of a woodpecker.
A lovely lazy, bird-watching afternoon!

Lucky me

I know I am so lucky to be able to live and work amongst so much greenery and to see the kind of bird life and wildlife that I do see--that too in the middle of a town. I wonder what the world will be like in the time of my grandchildren and whether they will get chances like mine. Maybe this blog will remain in the ether for them to know what it was like!

Two pictures of beauty and interest around me:
These are pigeon orchids on a coconut tree, in my front yard. The original plant was got by my mother-in-law many years back. Later, my youngest brother-in-law and wife came to stay in my parents-in-law's home (by which time they had both passed away) and the orchid plant grew so much, my sister in law was giving away some of it. So now I have them on 2 trees and they have bloomed in profusion this time. They stay only for a day though. They are a lovely reminder of my mother-in-law, who was an avid gardener.


This is the nest of leaf cutter ants. Isn't the nest amazing? Almost like a tepee.

yellow glory

It's flowering time for one of my favourite trees--the Cassia Fistula. There are trees all over town in full bloom in shades of yellow--one a dark yellow and the other a much paler one.

Here is one of the bright yellow ones taken with my phone.

Moonlight

Silver
Slowly, silently, now the moon
Walks the night in her silver shoon;
This way, and that, she peers, and sees
Silver fruit upon silver trees;
One by one the casements catch
Her beams beneath the silvery thatch;
Couched in his kennel, like a log,
With paws of silver sleeps the dog;
From their shadowy coat the white breasts peep
Of doves in a silver-feathered sleep;
A harvest mouse goes scampering by,
With silver claws, and silver eye;
And moveless fish in the water gleam,
By silver reeds in a silver stream. -
Walter de la Mare



Moonlight is like a magnet for me and I love the waxing moon because her light shines in the early part of the night, when I can walk and enjoy her company. She throws lacy shadows as she shines through my divi-divi tree and makes all the white flowers in the garden glisten. Tonight she shone so bright that even the densest shadows seemed light ; so I turned off the electric light so that I could enjoy her light in all it's splendour. A beautiful walk!