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!

Here's the magpie robin sitting on the champa tree outside of my dining room. If you click here. you'll get to see him having his drink of water and bath, all the time whistling sweetly. I think it's mating time for them. That's when he sings the sweetest song.

"Birds on the tree tops sing their song,
They fill the air with music all day long.
Each flower in the garden sings it too;
So why shouldn't I, why shouldn't you
Praise Him too!"

A hot day!

It was a pretty hot day a couple of days back.  So everyone was at the water hole!

First was a magpie robin--

 

then a chipmunk

and then, towards dusk, crows discussing the day's happenings at the water hole. Each waited their turn to drink and some had a quick bath too.

I'm sorry the chipmunk isn't too clear.  He was way too timid to allow me any nearer

Afternoon bird song--but recorded with my trusty phone cam!

There were 3, repeat 3, wood peckers outside my window a little while back. But unfortunately my camera phone wasn't up to capturing a pic because firstly they were not too near, plus it's a cloudy day. So here's a picture from Answers.com. They are beautiful birds, with a loud raucous cry. The 3 of them were battling for space on the same side of an old coconut tree with a chipmunk. I can still hear them outside.