Rains, Birds, and some new ones...


The rains are here...what a relief! And they have blessed us incessantly this July and August...thank God! Of course, Mumbaikars keep cursing the rains, because its mucky and dirty on the streets what with Leptospirosis and what not....but the rains are oh so beautiful in Bombay compared to any other place...we are blessed!

Mornings are lazy...These days I invariably wake up in the mornings - not to the alarm clock - but the super punctual sparrows. There are 4 of them I think that come to my balcony to eat Bajra - thanks to the sparrow feeder (thanks Prajkta and Shobha Agarwal who generously gifted to our ECBC team) I placed in March of this year.

Pip pip peep - Pip pip peep - first one chirps, then another responds - this goes on for an hour or more in the morning - the same pattern! Their chirp patterns seem different in the afternoons. They are there all the time jumping between the feeder and the water pot, which are placed one above the other. ...so so busy...sound familiar?

Their chirps are pleasant ...like some classical raga...a beautiful start. I often relax sitting next to the balcony reading newspapers and books in the morning. As the morning progresses, their sounds are drowned by the horns of cars - literally saying 'get out of my way, you piece of nothing!!!' - sounds like arrogance - or as we say 'Emgee Greens goes to work!' The road in front of our building has become a parking lot!

There is also a wonderful pair of sunbirds which suck nectar from the plants in my balcony. The flowers are in full bloom. And not only do we get a wonderful fragrance in our house all day, but as they sway to the wind, they are delightful to watch...almost as if singing in the wind!

The rains have brought in wonderful shades of green. And to it, I have added a dash of pink (thanks Charvie and Prajkta!).

Ah, I have not been able to take pictures of the sunbird with all their gynamistic postures (sometimes hanging upside down!!) ... and that's because they keep fritting around ....now here, now there....their beaks are perfectly made to drink nectar from the flowers in seconds! Sugandhi, Lantanas and the butterfly plant (that's what I call it for want of its real name....will consult Dr. Lattoo's encyclopaedia for the next time).

And there they go...breakfast over...bye bye for the day. I have here one picture against the light. Hmm....better luck next time!!

And now, finally, I have got rid of the pigeons in my bedroom. Thanks to Mukund, and quick service by Quality Nets...it has saved me so much heartburn in the mornings! And now, I have planted lady's finger, tomatoes and french beans. Here is a picture of my bhindi plant - just two days old....notice the tiny little thing with hairs all over (not bad from my Nikon coolpix L120)!

And here's a picture of the French beans plant.


Hopefully, I will have pictures of tomatoes, Lady's fingers and french beans very soon!! now that I don't have the pigeons to spoil them.