#MyGreenGarden

Waaay delayed post! But the rains are lashing out here, and I wanted to click some good pictures. Anyways, the rains don't show any sign of slowing down, so clicked this from the terrace.

Kerala is abundant in greenery and our home sits in the middle of lots of mango, coconut and a lot many other trees. Rather than plants in flower pots, its these trees standing majestically in the rains and winds that give me happiness.  The trees invite lovely birds such as cuckoo, parrots, humming birds, woodpeckers, treepies, etc. as well as squirrels, mongoose etc. We are also surrounded by ponds. The ponds welcome fishes, turtles, ducks, black crakes, water hens, cranes, kingfishers etc. Water hyacinths, water lilies and lotus bloom in these ponds.

My MIL is very found of vegetable farming, and since I married and came here, we haven't bought vegetables except on the occasion of Onam, Vishu or other celebrations which call for elaborate vegetarian feast. From cabbage, cauliflowers, tomatoes, brinjal, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, ladies finger, snake gourd, ivy gourd, drumstick to chillies and herbs, we have almost all veggies here. We even have spices such as turmeric, ginger, pepper and roots such as tapioca, yam, elephant foot, chinese potato etc. Fruits such as mangoes, chickoo, jackfruit, rose apple, jaamun, chinese orange, sitaphal, papaya are also not to be forgotten.

We don't actually "grow" medicinal plants either. For any sickness, we just go out into the backyard and pluck the plants that grow like weeds, most are actually medicinal herbs, if you know which one to look for. There are plants that can treat cough, cold, fever, stomach ache, deep cuts, hairfall, etc.

At one point we had our own "mini zoo" (i used to tell everyone that I lived in a zoo), three dogs, a bunch of rabbits, love birds, African love birds, goats, chickens - it was a riot! Due to job in a different city, my hubby and I had to move away, so gave them up.

I could again go take a job in the city, but I wish my son to grow up in this serenity. I wish for him to roll and play in the mud, go fishing in the ponds and swim with the other little kids, watch the flowers bloom, climb the mango trees, chase the butterflies, take care of the little squirrels that often fall from the trees and give them back to the mama squirrel, grow up with a bunch of pets. But the harsh reality is that, no one notices the beauty of nature any more. Today kids are not seen anywhere outside during the evenings, because they have exams 365 days of the year, in some name or the other. Neither are they seen during the summer vacation, because there are Candy Crush and Temple Run sagas to compete and challenge. My wish is to keep my child as close to nature as possible - this World Environment Day, let us all take it as a challenge, to give our kids a taste of nature some way or the other...