The plants feed the Birds !

A plant, Orchana Serrulata, often referred to as Micky Mouse plant in our front garden is now about thirty five years, still looking  young and flourishing.  

The only thing we do consciously for the plant is to prune it once in two years. It survives even in summer, looking bright and colourful, always with flowers and fruits.

The flowers are yellow and attract bees of all species looking for nectar. 

 

The fruit when ripe is black surrounded by crimson sepals. Most fruits have both ripe and ripening ones. The Bulbuls are fond of this berry and come searching for them almost every day. 

This is an ornamental plant, rather special that amidst its foliage of small leaves serrated on the edges, the bright yellow flowers and crimson sepals of fruits stand out even form a distance. 

When I looked up, I realised that it is a plant which gives abundant oxygen, which is therefore considered a plant that contributes to purify the air. 

When I noticed the Bulbul with the berry between its beaks, I felt how birds find their food each day with ease and pleasure. 

The giving plant and the receiving birds!

The giving and receiving is therefore a normal and natural process in nature. 

A friend from the USA who is disturbed by the Federal government cutting of the USAID grants, sent a message to say that the Paediatric community has responded to it by going all out to raise voluntary contributions to sustain caring provisions for children globally who might be adversely affected by suspension of grants from the federal government. 

What a remarkable and quick response that might be otherwise a disaster for children, in various parts of the world who are cared for by these grants!

I feel further moved by another lesson from nature, which I witness in our garden each day. Most visiting birds bring language of communication and belonging, which is evident in the way they engage in reciprocal bird calls in the mornings and evenings.  Those occasions are a celebration of  togetherness!

This celebration of life, common with the avians, is a message that I receive to make it a habit to live gratefully, mindfully and altruistically to bring hope in times of despair!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)