Nature Speaks

It is summer in Lincoln and Oh! how we wish you were here. The first wave of the season's blooms is on parade outside our home. I woke up early in the morning and took these pictures in the first light of the day. The dew wet my feet and the air felt cool. Suraj, Ravi and Sachi were asleep so I got this personal time to commune with nature. Come, walk with me a bit. This pleasant surprise is our first attempt at water gardening. The sacred Indian Lotus blossomed two days back. It closes at night and reopens in the morning. I sit and watch it often.

This Hibiscus flower brings many memories of home and Botany class dissections. In Lincoln it grows in summer only.


These are Floribund Roses that grow in a pot outside our front door.

This circle full of flowers is visible from the family room window. We plan and plant it meticulously every year. This bed was created after the fire. It was our homecoming present to ourselves.

This bed of marigold and roses is outside our bedroom. The pink rose blossoms like to peek inside.

Cherry tomatoes are abundant and very sweet when ripe.

The flowers in the center island were planted later and are still growing. The purple Liatrus was planted when we first moved here and is 18 years old.

Nine O clock is called Moss Rose in America.

This is blue Hibiscus. I discovered it in the nursery this year and it is delightful. It grows to six feet height and spreads four feet. Unlike the red variety this one survives winter.

These are the peaches growing on our new peach tree. Remember the picture of Suraj against this tree when it was in bloom? Now it is laden with fruit and if Suraj was standing behind it you would not be able to see him.

This is Rajnigundha growing from bulbs that our friend Jeetu Samal gave to us few years back. It is called Tuberose here. What an unromantic name for such a sensuous flower.

Aah! Dinner plate Dahlia!! Looking at these Sachi fondly remembers the dahlias Bou used to grow in her garden.

Hydrangea. We have planted four of these this year. They grow to a height of six feet. In alkaline soil their blooms are pink. In acidic soil their blooms are blue. I fed them acidic fertiliser to get these blue blooms.

This is Pink Kanaer. It is called Oleander here. It reminds me of a twelve feet tall long wall of yellow, white, pink and red bushes in Delhi. These lined the street where I used to catch the bus to go to college. Standing in front of my little potted bush I can hear my friends talking and smell the smoke from the buses.

We used to have Black Eyed Susans where these daisies are growing. When they got burnt in the fire I decided to put these to please Jyoti. She loves them.

This Canadian Goose sat in our yard the whole day yesterday. In the evening she was gone and has not come back yet. The Canadian geese winter in South America and go to Canada for summer. I guess we were this one's day stop only. There is a pair of Red Cardinals that nests in our yard and stays over during winter. I have been trying to photograph them but no luck yet. Few times I have also seen a deer nibbling at our shrubs. He looked very young early in the spring but now looks full grown. He is camera shy too.

We have two of these pots on either side of the front door to greet everyone.

Apples on our ten year old dwarf tree. These have to be sprayed every two weeks to save them from bugs. The new apple trees that we planted this spring sadly died. They had a year's warranty so we will get new ones next spring.

These flowers grow on Balboa Sunset Trumpet Vine. It grows under our Gazebo and wraps around it. Its growth is so vigorous that we have to prune it often. When in full bloom it is stunning.

Of course Sachi fades all blooms when he comes out. Do not roll your eyes!!! This Saturday is our thirty fourth wedding anniversary and this is my gift to him. He is number one in my heart.

He is slowly recovering and beginning to enjoy life. Every now and then he even goes shopping for groceries. Suraj and Ravi have to behave because he now notices when they slack off. Even I have to behave; I kind of got used to being the boss instead of just a co-boss. He plans to start working half time from July 21st. He will have to build his stamina real fast for this. I like having him home but I want him to choose to stay home. I am glad he will have that choice.

Enjoy the Summer. Enjoy it to feel the gift of life.

This gift that is tenuous and tenacious at the same time.
. . . . Ambi