Category: Trees

FOL: A Leafy Collection

Hello and welcome to Dawn’s Festival of Leaves challenge. Anything to do with trees, as you perhaps may know by now, I simply cannot resist 🙂

Let’s see what I can find, this week:

This was in the cacti section. I had never seen leaves of this color before. Have you?

“They tell you to turn into a new leaf and then complain about your faded colour.” – Nitya Prakash

I would have never thought a combination of pink and green would look good but they gel well don’t they?

“Let your life lightly dance on the edges of time like dew on the tip of a leaf.” – Rabindranath Tagore

There are even brown leaves – who would have thought!

“Art is the flower. Life the green leaf.”- Charles Rennie MacKintosh

with red stems! These are really eye-catching aren’t they. Not quite sure what they are called. Do you know?

“Open the bloom of your heart and become a gift of beauty to the world.”– Bryant McGill

Monstrous leaves, aren’t they? Dont miss the bright yellow stems, almost as if they are mocking the traditional plants 😀

“Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.” – Luther Burbank

Don’t they look like flowers? The purple leaves were actually bluish in color, when seen with the naked eye. Their shape is also so unique.

“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”– Frances Hodgson Burnett

Brown pink and green! I can’t help but wonder how they manage photosynthesis and why the need for such colorful leaves. I did a little bit of research, and as I remembered (ahem) only the green part can do photosynthesis. The tiny green porton is enough for its sustenance. But what about the other leaves and the bare trees? Apparently sunlight penetrates the thin outer bark it can be enough for photosynthesis. You can read more here. I am not very convinced, but perhaps you can tell me more 🙂

“Life is a party; dress like it, dance like it, and make every moment count.” Audrey Hepburn

I found these leaves to be very interesting. It wasnt very clear if it was a creeper or part of the tree

“Why not show off if you’ve got something to show?” J Jones

Well, what do you think? Can you make out?

“It is better to aim high and miss than to aim low and hit.” Les Brown

And this is the showstopper. I couldn’t take a pic initially, then I waited to click it on the return journey. Isn’t it precious? Just like life.

“It ain’t over till it’s over” Yogi Berra

Have a super day. Cheers

PSPC: Please Have a Seat

Hello, here’s my attempt at XingfuMama’s Pull Up a Seat Photo Challenge. This challenge is about a seat, a place to perch. This might be a chair, a bench, a wall, a pew…maybe even a log or a rock. These spots can be artfully designed, quirky or very plain, sometimes they have a view, sometimes you meet someone else who needs a rest.

So, without any further ado, if you are comfortably seated, off we go:

The chairs, I presume were once upon a time a bright orange to match the flowers but under the scorching sun faded to a pale pink. Or perhaps, they turned pale with envy…

The envious man grows lean at the success of his neighbor. Horace

Recently I had the opportunity to watch a live Kathakali performance. This is a traditional dance form originating probably in Kerala in Southern India. It is a “story game” genre of art, usually drawn from folk stories, religious texts and Hindu epics. It is characterised by the elaborately colourful make-up and costumes and performed traditionally only by males. You can read more about it here.

I was seated in the front row and the ‘lady’ on the left performed a sequence (while seated on the stool) wherein ‘she’ put a baby to sleep. Once, the imaginary baby was asleep, ‘she’ tiptoed away only to stop and request me, with only ‘her’ eyes expressions, and gestures to keep an eye on the baby. I played along and raised a hand to ‘assure’ her but ‘she’ instantly stopped and ‘asked’ 4 kids! I shook my head, and raised one finger. She then proceed to ask if they were married, or studying or working. It was amazing!

At the Kochi harbor, while on a morning walk, we spotted these birds, perched at a vantage point waiting for breakfast to be delivered.

This one is in a hurry, probably late for work 😀 This was taken while on a boat ride on the river Periyaar.

This picture was taken by the kind boatman as we weren’t allowed to move about on the boat. They don’t seem to be in any hurry. In fact, they seem ready for bed after a satisfying meal 😀

We were waiting for the boat, I wonder what they were waiting for – breakfast in someone’s pocket perhaps?

That’s it from me. I hope I didnt break any rules. Which one did you like the best?

Thanks for visiting. Have a great day.

MWWP: The Magical Village

Hello and good day to you. Today I am participating in Eugi’s Moonwashed Weekly Prompt. The prompt is Magical Village. It can be any variation of the prompt or the image (below).

The photo is rather magical and made me throw caution to the wind and attempt a free verse. Actually, I am not even sure, if that’s what it is – anyway, here goes.

The World of Trees

Fireflies line the path

Magical village

Hiding in plain sight

A lush rustling village

No wants and little needs

Strife there was none.



Oblivious of taunts, curses

and betrayals

Partners for life with

ample space for young’uns

Once they grew roots

they too stayed put.



Some were short, some tall

some colorful, some shy

The naked and the  bedecked

together, no bite in their bark

Phoenix rising from the ashes,

They were that magical.



Passing travellers stop by

Catch a break, 

have a stretch, grab a bite,

Scratch an itch or build a home

They leave without even

A hug, a pat or a backward glance



Once in a while

When the weather is fine,

a light wind blowing

they nod and

wave to each other

going about their daily chores



Day in and day out, these

voiceless master chefs concoct

magic out of thin air

Some make tea, some coffee

Offering children of their heart

an arm, a leg, their whole being


With no expectations

the tireless village plods on

in pursuit of its

Endless thankless task

-- Feed and sustain

20 quintillion lives and counting

***

Thanks for visiting and your kind comments and suggestions. Have a super weekend.

Note (8/10/23): I changed the title of the poem as I felt that otherwise the poem was very obscure for most readers. Do let me know your thoughts. Thanks

SSC#1: Number of Fences

This my submission to Terri’s Sunday Stills Challenge on fences of any kind. Initially I thought I wouldn’t be able to participate but now I think I have too many.

Entry for humans beyond the fence is offensive to the law of the land and jungle 😀

“There are three kinds of men. The one that learns by reading. The few who learn by observation. The rest of them have to pee on the electric fence for themselves.” Will Rogers

You can of course see the fence but it is the gnarly tree that captures one’s attention, isn’t it? Doesn’t she look as if she is involved in some long standing feud with her own self?

“I am a woman in process. I’m just trying like everybody else. I try to take every conflict, every experience, and learn from it. Life is never dull.” Oprah Winfrey

This is another shot another side from the same spot. No sign of conflict here, just peaceful coexistence.

“Coexistence reminds us that together we are stronger.” From the internet

A makeshift fence to demarcate private land cultivating precious spices. Can you guess what the long leafed shrub provides?

“A green pearl on the banks of the river Periyar in the South-west mountains”. Chanakya wrote in his ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, political science, economic policy and military strategy, Arthashashtra. It was written in Sanskrit in the 1st millennium BCE.

The photo is also taken around the same place as mentioned by Chanakya and is considered the Queen of Spices. I presume you must have guessed it by now – yes, it’s the green cardamom.

Here the audience is fenced out as experts demonstrate the ancient martial art, Kalaripayattu. Originating in Kerala, India, it is one of the oldest surviving martial arts in world. Kalaripayattu differs from many other martial arts systems in the world in that weapon based techniques are taught first, and barehanded techniques are taught last. Elements from the yoga tradition as well as finger movements in the nata dances, were incorporated into Kalaripayattu.

It was truly a treat to watch the masters fight with swords with sparks flying. They were so swift in their actions, from the shot it appears as if they are bare-handed when actually they are using swords.

I hope it was worth your time to visit. Do let me know your favorite photo – if any. Bye.

FOTD: An Alien Flower

Hello! Here’s my contribution to Cee’s FOTD challenge. Today, I am here with a flower that looks like an alien. Seriously. Have a look

Doesnt it look like an alien? Once with lots of antennas! 😀

It’s actually a creeper growing on a frangipani tree, a red one at that. I have usually seen yellow or white ones before

Going back to the alien, anyone know the name?

Thanks for dropping by. Have a great day.

CFFC: Pink Punch

Hello everyone and welcome to Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge where the theme is to have fun with pink!

Here’s some what I gathered from my archives and went down memory lane – thankfully all good one and have great fun. Thank you Cee!

“A flower’s appeal is in its contradictions — so delicate in form yet strong in fragrance, so small in size yet big in beauty, so short in life yet long on effect.”– Terri Guillemets

I never thought I would find pink in a leaf! And look more pink leaves, just before they turn green.

“Anything is possible with sunshine and a little pink.” – Lilly Pulitzer

A pink building that once upon a time used to be my school – believe it or not!

“Love is flower like; Friendship is like a sheltering tree.” – Samuel Taylor Coleridge

And I got both in this photo and life – touch wood 😀

Which one did you like? Did you notice that I mixed and matched with quotes? Did it work?

Cheers and hope you have a fun and rejuvenating weekend

CMMC: Tree Talk

Hello everyone. It’s been a while since I played any photo challenge and even though it’s not exactly mid week, here are some photos for Cee’s Midweek Madness Challenge. I know Cee won’t mind, besides she’s the one who instigated me to have some fun and what else could I come up with but trees and more trees for the challenge. 😀

“And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.” – John Muir

“How do you spell ‘love’?” – Piglet. “You don’t spell it. You feel it.” – Pooh

“Blessed are the hearts that can bend; they shall never be broken.” Albert Camus

“We cannot see our reflection in running water. It is only in still water that we can see.” – Zen Proverb

There were a couple of more trees but I desisted from biting off more from your precious time. 😀 Thanks for visiting. Have a wonderful weekend.

Psst: Which one’s your favorite? Do let me know.

Doppelgänger

Hi, here I am with another repost from some years ago, hope you like 🙂

I grew up hearing that each of us has seven other people somewhere in this world who looks exactly like us. Have you heard of it? Do you believe it? I was very skeptical about this theory until I found a tree doppelgänger half way across the world! Don’t believe me? Take a look.

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If you are regular visitor to my blog (or home) you may have seen this tree right outside my window.

ViennaDoesn’t it look eerily similar to this one in Vienna?

You and I

will never meet

but

it is enough

to know

that our

roots

are anchored

on the same

earth.

Thanks for visiting – have a great week 🙂

A Survivor’s Tale

Photo (c) Rochelle Wisoff-Fields

A Survivor’s Tale

Words 98

It was dark and the weight crushing.  

Life oozed out bit by bit.  

I struggled to survive, one breath at a time.

 Loneliness engulfed me. 

Oh the pain the anguish the isolation – all for what?

Doubts racked me.

Why struggle so much?

Who cared whether I lived or died?

Why not just give up?

Give in.

I tried.

Believe me, I tried hard to give up.

But I didn’t know how.

I only knew one thing.

My time would come.

And it did.

That’s my story. What’s yours?

She swayed and dipped, offering me yet another luscious mango.

***

Written (after eons) for the Friday Fictioneers – a story in 100 words or less. Thanks to Rochelle for hosting the challenge and the photo prompt. To read the other stories inspired by this prompt click here.

WPC: Twisted Nature

This week’s photo challenge is about showing something twisted. So let’s see how twisted one can get…

20170804_112521Twisted metal rods that dot the rural landscape

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Fed up with the twisted eyesores, nature takes things into her hands – when you can’t beat them, join them!

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“Just a single cord is enough to be tangled” ― Munia Khan

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“The reality of the other person is not in what he reveals to you, but in what he cannot reveal to you. Therefore, if you would understand him, listen not to what he says but rather to what he does not say.” Khalil Gibran

 

IMG_0145Once upon a time, I lived my life in this ‘green room’. Only the bed is missing.

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“Man struggles to find life outside himself, unaware that the life he is seeking is within him.” Khalil Gibran

 

Rose

“The snow and the storm destroy the flower; but its seed they cannot kill.” Khalil Gibran

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“You may chain my hands, you may shackle my feet; you may even throw me into a dark prison; but you shall not enslave my thinking, because it is free!” Khalil Gibran