A Feathered Blessing

Poor indeed is the garden in which birds find no homes.
~Abram L. Urban

I'd noticed this bird on the wire and on this tree as
if waiting for something, and definitely not in any
hurry to fly away.

We have a tin and bamboo shed where knicks and knacks
are kept. I went in there a few days ago and there she
was, guarding after her nest. I was so happy at the sight,
at the thought of the babies here, in my plot. I went to
get the camera and clicked a few pictures but when I got
too close, the bird flew away.


Taking this opportunity, I took the fledgeling out of the nest
(it'd stirred) and took these shots. Of course I was very gentle
and the beautiful baby was such an angel that it did not 'cheep'
or show any sign of discomfort.

I've never had the opportunity to hold a pigeon fledgeling.
And who can say whether birds will build their nests again
in my yard. Had the nest been on a tree I wouldn't have had
the chance to click and to hold a creation as wonderful as
this feathered beauty!

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the tune without the words
and never stops at all.

Emily Dickinson

Now Showing in my Yard------

All Day LOng-----

Every Single Day!

*****ing All Creatures, Winged,

Bright and Beautiful

The Lord, God

Made Them All!!

A Welcome Change!

Many bloggers are now writing about the change of season and
posting pictures of Fall decorations. It's fascinating to see
the photos of leaves changing colour and read about frost
that'll soon follow.
Here we do not have any pronounced difference in the landscape
except that it's soon going to look dry. The rain is now an
infrequent damper and the heat, in the evenings has come down
somewhat. With the festive season round the corner we know the
heat is about to say it's final, reluctant goodbye. And that
calls for a celebration. Hence, the candle--lit up in antici-
pation of cooler days, rather than joyous festive days!

Blooms that signify the end of summer in eastern India is the
"Seacharun spotaneum" . Locally known as "kohua" it blooms in
September. These are blooming not far from my house, in a plot
of land where construction is yet to begin. A massive gate, all
locked up, faced me, but I took the liberty to click away.
The night's drizzle has given the blooms a bedraggled look.
Otherwise they look like white fluffs in the landscape.



Most newspapers in the region make it a point to publish these
pictures. And every year the pictures stir up certain emotions--
This was published in "The Assam Tribune" one of Assam's oldest
newspapers.

Change is always welcome. It's the season, not of mists here
but mellow fruitfulness? Yes! And the candles are lit again,
this time in welcoming the start of the festive season!

Raining Bouquets and Brickbats!

Happiness is a shower of rain! With the heat that becomes almost
unbearable, we all wait and pray for rain. Then it comes, it
pours and pours! You gush and you revel in its magic--breathing
in generous lungfuls of earth's essence, overcome with joy that
your loved ones will turn greener, healthier.
But magic isn't supposed to last!

The soil starts to look like this. In the mornings and on quiet
afternoons, the footmarks of the water rail create an intricate
pattern of a foraging bird.

This was the worst! It'd rained heavily for two days and the area
was flooded. I thought I'd taken a photo of an insect skimming on
surface. Instead the reflection of the cycad showed up!

When the water gradually dried up, garden lizards came out to
bask in the sun. This shy creature darted under the palms at my
sight! Slush and shells here.

This type of weed proliferated. I noticed the shells again after
I'd loaded the photos in the computer.

With the number of shells spiralling I settled down to a child's
activity of glueing them along with pebbles and a stone butterfly
and bits of sea-shells on to this little pot. Pebble-dashed and
shell-stocked!

In The Pink Of Floral Health!

Hoping to attract more bees and butterflies, I'm gradually
adding more of bright blooms to my collection. I love the
pattern on this variety of coleus. The line of bromeliads at
the back also has tinges of pink on them!

I once had an adenium but it died. Maybe I should've gone easy
on the watering. A recent post by Eric of I Like Plants had
such a beautiful bloom that I HAD to go and get one from a nursery.
There was only a hint of a bud when I bought it but now it's
blooming. I'll most certainly remember that its other name is Desert
rose and where there's 'desert' there's no water!

I've only recently started adding more euphorbias to my collec-
tion. This colour instantly lifted my spirits!

I made a little bamboo trellis for this pink Ixora. Once the blooms
go I'll prune it. The trellis immediately attracted a carpenter bee
which soon gnawed/drilled a near-perfect round hole on it!

This Ixora is a dwarf variety. The person at the nursery told me
that it'll grow to a height of two ft or so. I'm happy with that but
most of all, the thought of the butterflies that'll come is worth
the wait!!!

Blotanical, thank you so much!

Thank you to all who voted for Terra Farmer and all Blotanists --
who stopped by, left their kind and appreciative comments ... It's
been a wonderful learning experience and has enriched my life in
ways that I had not even-- it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say--
dreamed of!!

A Little Discovery

Another beautiful day and I'm chasing a yellow butterfly...


Mission unaccomplished but it led me to the grassy road-bank
on the fringes of the marsh. And bugdom unfolded before my eyes.
I don't know what this one is called but it looked pretty with
a touch of red!


There were several damselflies--in reds and bluish-greys but
they were really tiny. Couldn't get a good shot of the insect
which resembled a lady-bug but it was in orange.


Miniature blooms amidst all that green and luxuriant grass.


Returned home happy with what I'd seen, carrying with me a spray of
wild grass blooms....