Last night when I went for my walk, I realised it is warm night air that holds scents. Last night was a relatively clear night and therefor warm and the perfumes of the night flowers were heavy near each tree, seeming to pool on the ground at the foot of the trees, in the flower carpets beneath each tree.
Late last week, when there was a rain shower almost every evening, it was extremely pleasant walking outside, the air light and gentle on my skin, a cool breeze blowing, the sky lit up occasionally by distant lightning. But I missed the scented breezes. It was as though the light air had carried away the scents.
So now it's a toss up between wanting a shower to ease the heat, and wanting a warm night to smell the smells that spice up my walk.

Flower carpet.

The above shows the carpet of mahogany flowers in my backyard.



Here you can see 3 of the little flowers. I put the safety pin there so one could get an idea of how small the flowers are. But what a scent!

The mahogany flowers are everywhere in my backyard.  They have fallen in their thousands I think.  A few days back, in the back yard, was a carpet of the small, pale-green, star-shaped flowers and the scent so overpowering, more so at dusk.  Now they have all faded.  They blend perfectly into the ground looking almost like very tiny pebbles and they crunch under my foot.  A few still drift down.  But the scent is gone. 
I tried to take a picture of the carpet, but it just didn't turn out, because, unless you knew what my backyard was normally, you wouldn't be able to make out the carpet.

Night walks

It's warm and oh so humid. Grey and white clouds sail slowly and ponderously over the moon. The air is so heavy, I can almost see it. Even the crickets song lack the usual zing, sounding indolent with the heat. The night is full of varied scents; the scent of the white champak flowers, of the white lilies, the sweet-spicy scent of drying mahogany flowers, mingled with the smell of drying rubber sheets, with the occasional whiff of jasmines. The still air holds each scent lovingly close, so much that I almost wish I could escape this olfactory assault.
There is not one night bird's cry. But a huge fruit bat wings it's way over head. I can just make out the Great Bear constellation through the wispy clouds. Way up above I see the flashing red lights and then hear the drone of a plane. The waning moon is finally free of the cloud blanket and shines down, but today the moonlight only adds to the mugginess.
But my heart is light after my night walk.
Note: The moon is waxing (earlier post too). My mistake.

Late night

Last night I went to bed after 1 a.m. and so saw a blushing Mr. Moon (he's waning and so just half his size), peeping in at the window. Makes me want to go on an late night/early morning road trip.

Mahogany in bloom.

It's a hot, muggy April evening. I sit on the verandah waiting for dusk to cool the day. The scent of the mahogany blooms is all around me, enveloping me, overwhelming me with it's headiness.

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!