Nocturne

Moonlight is sculpture.~Nathaniel Hawthorne

Star Appeal!!

My mother-in-law sent me a whole lot of produce from her garden.
Besides the star fruit there were two bunches of bananas, bay-
leaves, fragrant lemons, a small pumpkin, corn and bamboo shoot.
The last came cut into thin fine slices, wrapped in a kind of
leaf that is commonly used for wrapping food in north-eastern
states.

I've always been fascinated by this fruit and the tree. Originally
from Sri Lanka and the Malaccas, this tree has been cultivated in
many south-east Asian countries for hundreds of years. Mature trees
reach a height of 25 to 30 ft with several branches. The blooms are
mauve with purple tinge and the fruit grows in clusters.

When it comes to bearing fruit the only word which comes to mind
is, prolific. At my ma-in-law's there are hundreds of fruit during
the season and they look so pretty hanging like green and yellow
little lanterns. Green or yellow, depending on its maturity. This
is the sour variety and is good for pickling. There are two kinds;
the other is the sweet variety. Even the sour ones turn sweetish when
they ripen. ripe fruit turn yellow with light brown splotches on them.

There are many medicinal properties attributed to this fruit. Several
sites list the benefits, but ever since I was a child I've heard about
the juice of the star-fruit curing jaundice. Maybe not on its own but
with other prescriptions of alternative medicine.


Also known as carambola this fruit is now found/grown in all sub-
tropical and tropical regions of the world.
This picture shows stars in the making ( of the pickle!) A full day
in the hot sun and they're ready to be spiced up!

Freshly cut, mixed with turmeric and salt. Out they go to soak up
the sun! After being sunned I've added these spices....
Whole ones that went into the hot oil---
Fenugreek, mustard, bits of dry chillies, caraway seeds, cumin seeds
bay-leaves and asafoetida.

Roasted and ground into submission------
Coriander seeds, cumin seeds, caraway seeds, fennel.

Soaked in vinegar and ground--------
Dry chillies and about ten cloves of garlic. The last ingredient
enhances the taste and the flavour!

The pickled stars!! A few more days of sunning and voila, the
pickle will be ready for the eatin'!

Frangipani Blooms

The frangipani trees with white blooms can be seen in many
gardens here. But this pink isn't all that common, which is
why I couldn't help stopping by this Namghar, (the literal
translation is Prayer House) at Zoo Road, in our city, to
click a few pictures. I hope you enjoy going through the
photos. A very happy weekend to all those who stop by.

My Sister's Garden, Again

Spent some time with my sister's family yesterday. My
nephew is now six months old! There he was, joining in
on our conversation with his happy, happy gurgling! And
whenever I'm there, a garden stroll is a must. What I couldn't
manage here with butterflies, lady luck or should I say
butterfly luck, favoured me there!! Here are some shots.

This Ixora has grown from a cutting from my plant given
to her years ago.

It does make sense to have vibrant blooms in the garden.
there were so many butterflies flitting about!

Some shots of the garden .....


The dark green leaves of the only orange tree.


I love this spot, it's so shady.

Ah, Neem. Without it where would we be?!


The last remaining blooms of the Flame Tree. Makes you realise
that summer is no longer here...

Of This And That!

The common wood sorrel...I use the leaves for that li'l bit
of tang in fish curries. And sometimes I pick the mauve
blooms to add that splash of colour inside the house!
The leaves are also used to scrub and polish brass utensils
and other decorative objects. The acid content brings a
lovely shine to brass.


The spouse bought these from local growers recently. These
were really sweet and went into making juice. I added the
juice of fragrant lemons and crushed mint (not in this pic-
ture). Swirls of heaven----in a glass!


Guavas from a tree that's bearing fruit for the second year
now. Just a few to be picked in a day but for a family of four,
it's enough. THe crows get there first and against them, other
birds don't stand a chance!

Looks can be so deceptive! These pretty wild berries are
extremely sour. Not only that, the moment you're done
with the pulp(?) and you get to the seed you realise it's
bitter! My husband bought them because they're so pretty.
Doesn't beauty work like that? In some cases knowing fully
well it's worth nothing,you still fall victim to it!

Peak Time For These Beaks!

My lucky day! I'd always wanted to take pictures of a
kingfisher I'd seen ever since the great deluge started.
But every sighting also brought the realisation that they
are really shy birds, and any movement, even from as far
as 10 feet is enough for them to take off to blue or
green (depending on direction) infinity!
This morning this blue vividness calmly sat on this
branch. I got this shot but although I was Stealthy
with a capital S, it flew away.
As if that wasn't treat enough the black one descended on
another branch soon after the blue one left!

I included this bird because of the shape and size of its
beak. Thank heaven for this wire! At least I'm getting to
click them!
Then I came face to face with a mongoose. It was on the ledge
next to my neighbour's frangipani tree. The first thought that
came to me was--Ah! a picture of a mongoose! But I didn't get
the same response. It just looked at me with a 'I know your type!'
expression and was gone beyond the wall. But seeing it now gives
me the hope that soon I'll be able to take a picture of this
beautiful animal. Till then I'll be content with birds, and
more birds!

(Please click on the pictures for a better view).

Rising Like The Phoenix

I was busy trying to get a good shot of this dragonfly in the
wildest-looking part of my yard--where sedge grows tall and
abundant, and another kind of grass which blooms before winter
arrives.


I do use a lot of sedge, with or without the leaves in many of
my floral decorations. As fillers I think they do a great job.

It was then that I noticed this! The unmistakable buds of a canna!
I was so amazed that I momentarily forgot about the dragonfly!
Amazed because I remember having cannas in this particular spot
some years ago. How did the rhizomes survive for so long?! Or did
they go into hibernation or do a Rip Van Winkle, or....or..?!
Still can't figure out!!

By next afternoon the buds started to open. With the promise of
a colour that would light up this portion of my plot! I couldn't
wait for the blooms to open in all their yellow glory...

It'd rained at night...this was how I found them in the morning
--vibrant in yellow and a photographer's delight...countless
droplets of rain on the petals.

What a joy to discover these little surprises that a garden throws
up from time to time. For me, the memory of the canna rising like
the Phoenix from muddy/watery oblivion will be treasured for a
long time. Who would've thought that such wildness had a precious
treasure waiting to be seen?