Weeping trees!

The first two photos here of the Rambutan trees in our garden are of the first week of April this year with flowers and the Sunbird feeding on the nectar. 

The last photo taken this morning indicates that in a week or two the rambutan fruits would be ready to be plucked. 

Now the squirrels, Barbets, Bulbuls, Tree pies, crows and Parakeets would be seen in the trees. 

I realise as I look back over these two months, that the flowering to the state of ripe rambutan in the trees took place amidst a difficult weather condition. The first three weeks of April had high day temperature and from the last week of April till now the weather is variable between hot day and rainy afternoon. This variability did not suit the rambutan trees. Nearly a quarter of the immature fruits withered and dropped to the ground due to the inhospitable weather. 

A neighbour whose house was damaged in the recent rain told me that the summer with heavy rains in the afternoon was not good for the old houses built with mortar and clay.  Fortunately the local panchayat came forward to rebuild his house. 

When President Trump made the USA withdraw from the Paris agreement on climate and environment protection, he sent an ugly and disheartening message to the rest of the world that all is well. The emission control and efforts to reduce use of fossil oil got thrown out of the window. 

From the way the Rambutan trees behaved because of the inclement weather this year, unlike any time in the last five years since they started fruiting, I feel inclined to think that the earth is suffering because of man made  environmental stress !

When I see the fruits ready to harvest, there is a delight! 

From the daily collection of raw rambutan from beneath the trees, which is into two or three buckets on some days for ten days now, I get a message that the trees are weeping for want of optimum conditions for their health! 

I feel awful when I sense the arrogance of thought of the president of the USA towards environment and disregard for advocacy of reduction of carbon emission. 

Trees speak when in distress ! That is what I pick up as a message from the weeping rambutan trees in our garden!

M.C.Mathew( Text and photo)