Stop, Look and Listen

Everything natural - every flower, tree,
and animal - has important
lessons to teach us if we would only
stop, look, and listen.

                                                         (by Eckhart Tolle)

Once in a while I post on what is happening there ....just outside our matchboxes ... if we can manage a little time to pause and look .... and feel. One need not to go to the wild to see the life ...just a step out to your terrace or balcony and look ..... sooo many things are happening there ... you will find something new, something fascinating .... it's a promise!

This time my pictures are mostly from our terrace garden and surrounding.  We were not in town for around a month ....who knew nature had so many new things in her basket to surprise us!

To start with... the Strawberries! First time ever in our garden.....

Most were tiny... but  brilliantly red, juicy and flavorful with a sweet-sour taste ..... these are the REAL things! Super happy!

Next the Leaf lettuces .... they are looking gorgeous and eye soothing too! Last year I tried to grow them in winter .... but for a villain .... a rodent whose only goal in life was to destroy any "possibility" in our garden! Well ... one night he found his way to heaven and possibly now destroying god's own garden! Please god! No early reanimation for this guy .... please!

 I tried to grow one batch when it was raining here in Bangalore as the weather was cooler ... they grew well but were not this gorgeous! Season matters!

After providing us with fresh salad greens for a long time, the last batch has now been in seed state ....I'm collecting the seeds .... don't know if they will sprout again or not! Will check that soon ....

My single sweet basil plant is also looking promising with lots of flower stems that have started to settle into seeds (Sabja).... planning to try  those pretty looking (and healthy too) basil-seeds-drinks that are the IN thing in the market nowadays!

Cherry tomatoes are also coming up in bounty ..... but they are little late like their caregiver! .... need little more time to look photogenic!

With the chill in the air Roses are looking prettier!

Same for the Marigolds .....
I bought this beauty last year from a plant exhibition almost at the end of the season .... it survived just a couple of weeks  .....but came up nicely this year from the seeds that I could save by that time!

One month back when the flowers just started to appear, I noticed this tiny creature when trying to take a macro shot of the flowers ..... what attracted me most was the looong antennae (which reminds me of a Bengali proverb .... "baro haat kaNkurer tero haat bichi")...... little research revealed that this guy is called Speckled-bush-cricket. But you can't really hear his song (he makes that sound by rubbing the right wing against a tooth-like projection at the base of the left) as it comes at a frequency of 40 kHz .... ultrasound it is!

There are some new arrivals as well!
The Christmas Cactus flower has come up late .....

But worth the wait ..... she is soo delicate... Anyway! Merry Christmas ... buddy!

The Poinsettia, however, was ready on time being truthful to her name as Christmas plant.

We had few visitors too ....
Some came for a short visit ...just to say hello ...
And few decided to stay longer ....to call this place their home ....

First this Praying Mantis .... he was looking very funny when he turned his head (just like a human) and looked at me ... the giant monster!

The word mantis comes from the Greek mantikos, for soothsayer or prophet.The praying mantis was considered a god in southern African Khoi and San tradition for its praying posture. They have as many senses as we do; sight, smell, taste, feeling and hearing. And they are queen of camouflaging as well!

Got interested? Check this link for some amazing pictures and fun-facts about this species.

Then this guy ...the Signature Spider .... not funny at all! Also called X-spider for its habit of resting in the web with legs outstretched in the shape of an X. It builds a web with a pure white zig-zag decoration. The spider aligns one pair of its legs with each of the four lines in the hollow "X", making a complete "X" of white lines with a very eye-catching spider forming its centre.

But our guest had a missing pair of legs ....so  resembling like a Y-spider instead of X.

Next these Brown-paper Wasps .... they are very busy now ... tending and rearing the next generation. I guess there are some guards also to protect the castle (see the inset picture) .....
They gather fibers from dead wood and plant stems, which they mix with saliva, and use to construct water-resistant nests made of gray or brown papery material ..... that's why the name.

I found these stock photos in my archive ...... when the foundation stone was being laid with great precision!

Oh! The Mud Dauber Wasps are everywhere now! Were they always here or I have just started noticing them after my first encounter!

They look very active and making nests in every possible and impossible locations ....Like this small Chennapatna toy or on the back of a shoe!

Well! All are NOT so well! ..... we got a few unwanted guests too ....
Aphids, Black flies, Mealybugs, Cabbage loopers .... we had them all!

I discarded the leaves affected by cabbage loopers and for all others sprayed them well with my go-to neem-oil solution. Hope that helps!

Finally, my terrace friend "Elokeshi" the little cat got a partner .... a fierce looking guy....

Elokeshi is showing a lot of obedience to this MAN ..... though that does not seem very romantic to me all the time!

Sometimes I wonder .... is it Surrender or just Submission!!!!
Anyway, I'm hoping this time she will chose our attic as the nursery :) ..... fingers crossed!