Spring Blossoms

That time of the year is here again.... as winter chills melt into the warmth of spring, and pleasant breezes caress your evenings, it is time to show off this year's blossoms.

I started out really, really late this time, waking up to the need for saplings only in January. The regular flower-wallahs turned me away saying they had run out of all stock. I came home feeling so lousy.... till my local gardener saved the day by procuring some plants.

Nevertheless, we have a good mix of colour on our sit-out. Bright pink (ice plants) offset by creamy yellow (crown daisy)....

The corner lighted up by a dash of red (salvia), and velvety maroon (dianthus) giving company to the whites (petunias).

My all-time favourites, the happy bunches of orange nasturtiums, are already getting attention from other quarters, with bunch of purple sunbirds visiting many times a day!

The yellow gazenias are cheery but I was a trifle disappointed with them as I was hoping for a more showy, multi-coloured variety.

Now the dogflowers (anthirriums) are awaited with much anticipation, to complete our happy garden! Of course I'll show them off when they arrive. :)

Simian Sunday

Imagine turning back from working in the kitchen to find a monkey face peering back at you!

Happened to me one Sunday noon last month, as I turned back from the kitchen slab after kneading dough, only to find my simian visitor dozing on the sill. :) Cute, no?

Thankfully, the windows were closed (and a trifle dirty from the rains, hence the hazy picture).

The fella responded rather well to the kids making faces at him, and decided to hang around for a couple of days....

Ransacked a few of my plants before disappearing for good.

Nature's Jewels

My first post of 2011... and all about the vagaries of the weather! Humphh!! ....

Or look at it another way, and you'll see it is actually about the beauty around us. Small things which we often miss out on in our rushed, frantic pace.

A huge downpour last night, and this is what we woke up to - a damp, grey-brown fog enveloping everything. Made it seem as though we were living in the clouds up there somewhere!!

And then I noticed nature's jewels.... tiny beads sitting like garlands around the leaves of my plants.

And on all those spidey wires that hung between the leaves and stems. :)

The dampness brought them on, and made them stay, so I could capture them for posterity.

The kids missed seeing these as they rushed off to school.... but I'm sure they enjoyed their foggy bus ride. And making funny faces on those moist windows.

Small things that matter, only if we have the time to stop and stare.

Though this winter the fog hardly came, but I'm enjoying whatever little I can get. For who knows? - Next winter, I may be elsewhere....

The First Winter Blossoms

Yes, they are out.... the first winter blossoms of the season, just in time for Christmas. :)

It is amazing how these pretty Nasturtium blooms gladden my heart every time they bloom. Their bright, cheery faces are nothing less than food for the soul.

Here is wishing all my readers a merry, merry x-mas and a fabulous, exciting new year.

The Migration

Witnessed this bi-annual migration yesterday from my living room. These nomads, probably native to Rajasthan, can be seen moving from one location to another once during the onset of summers, and again when the winters start.

Their belongings aren't many.... both the children and their cots fit in very well on the donkey's back. But you have to see the number of sheep that they take around with themselves! What the picture shows is just nothing. They had a huge herd that seemed to go on and on. Certainly not a sight that you can hope to see in a big city!

Meanwhile we are also contemplating a migration. Sometimes the time comes when you just have to let go, and go with the flow instead. So while there aren't any decisions yet, the thought is definitely in our heads. Let us see what Time makes of it....

Eco-Friendly Diwali

We celebrated an eco-friendly Diwali this year with no crackers.

Not that it made us inhale any less smoke, given that we had neighbours who went berserk! But our decorations were all kept natural and floral...

Including the pooja decorations.

After all it is the festival of lights....

Not one of sound and pollution!

Hope better sense prevails next year.

Happy Diwali

Wishing my readers a very happy and prosperous Diwali.


May the festival of lights bring joy, happiness, warmth, love and peace into your lives.