Celebrating April

 

April is always a busy and festive sort of month in our home. Sharing with you some glimpses of the month...

The first week we celebrate a birthday, and the next week we mark the anniversary of our move along with the start of the Bengali new year. 

This is also the month when the onset of summer becomes evident and the garden is full of the seasonal blossoms before the hot winds of May and June make everything barren. 

Our home has always been blessed with bowls full of sweet-smelling blossoms -- shiulis in autumn and bel or jasmine in summers. A tradition started by my mother and one that we happily continue.

For this year's new year celebration we served square rava idlis along with avocado on toast, a first for us. The avo guacamole turned out delicious and creamy and the idli-chutney combo made a hearty meal. Of course we prepared the traditional payesh too but forgot to click a picture.

When Climate Plays April Fools

 

First day of April, balmy weather, and a relaxing Saturday.... just too good to be true! Well yes, as the evening seemed straight out of apocalypse. Read on to know what happened...

This was our garden in the morning, full of spring blossoms and produce. As the son had finished his college exams, he headed out to the gym in the early evening. While the hubby and I went out to wrap up some chores and pick some stuff. Dark clouds were gathering so I hurriedly put in an umbrella in my bag before moving out.

In the next half hour, we got caught in a furious squall with gale-force winds and accompanying hail. The hailstorm lasted for about 15 minutes, with icy stones pelting our spring garden, destroying our lilies and many other plants, while the lawn looked like there had been snowfall.

Hubby and I waited it out at the local bus stop, thankfully protected from the battering by the human wall standing around (we were seated). We later walked home through a steady drizzle and inundated roads. Hubby used the umbrella while I covered my head and neck with a stole. Both of us had shoes soaking wet when we reached home. Son booked a ride home on a bike to avoid the swirling waters. Daughter, who was managing the home front alone, reported mild indoor flooding.

The episode was quite a lesson for all of us. Climate change is real, and here to stay. Such unpredictable weather is going to be the norm rather than the exception. And it can occur any time, anywhere. So mentally we must be prepared and thinking on our feet all the time. Tough times! And yes, April Fooled by the elements.

The Many Moods Of March

 

Unseasonal rains in March brought down the unusually high temperatures of February and gave us a prolonged spring, with pleasant weather and blossoms everywhere. Here is a visual record:

Meanwhile, the story of the purple sunbirds also took an unexpected turn. 

While the female was comfortably ensconced for some days and nights, and then seemed to be feeding her newborn chicks, something seemed to have happened that scared off the sunbird couple. 

One fine morning onwards they discarded the nest, though they hovered around in the vicinity and kept an eye on it. Whenever other similar-sized birds tried to get near, the sunbirds chased them off. Yet they wouldn't return to the nest, leaving us pretty much heartbroken.

Towards the end of the month, a large peepul tree in the lane was chopped down, just a day after I photographed it. The tree canopy was full of shiny new leaves, and it was time for the rosy starlings to arrive when this happened. 

It was saddening to see how completely disastrous the timing of this exercise was. No shade in summer in an uncaring world.... unfortunately that is where we seem to be headed now.

Lily Season

 

April onwards is Lily season and this year, after a long gap, we had quite a bounty. The lilies usually follow a pattern, starting with the red amaryllis around the Easter weekend. But this year the pretty peach lilies daintily outdid the sturdy bright amaryllis.

Starting out first, they blossomed right through April and well on to May. The red amaryllis showed up a couple of days after Easter, and I sorely missed the white ones.

And that brings me to the yellow May lilies that also arrived early and gave a bumper crop, making up for all the missed years in between. Pity they only bloom one at a time.

Hope this lily bounty repeats itself every year. In the meanwhile, I'll have to search for the missing white amaryllis.