A Bulbul was perched in the Kennel yard and observing a pair of Bulbuls make the feeding time a conversation time.
It was the bird call of the Bulbul that drew my attention to the pair of Bulbuls in the feeding station.
That gave me an occasion to observe the Bulbuls at the feeding table till the arrival of the Barbets which displaced their privacy.
I have had this thought in my mind how the meal time can be made into a communion time!
I confess that around the meal time the conversations drift to food, people, events, news or discussion.
What was touching was the sense of presence and nearness the Bulbuls communicated to each other, which to me was an experience of communion between themselves!
How conversations around the table can draw the family to intimacy ! A father told me that at dinner time, the conversation is to say something to each other, where children and parents share thoughts appreciating each other. What follows after this was the Family prayer time which was a time to be thankful! They deliberately avoid discussing news or other matters for most part of the meal time. Their two pre-teenage children participate with expectancy and interest!
I realise that food draws us closer at a meal time. Our words of kindness and intimacy draw us to each other. The time of prayer following the meal draws each other closer in the presence of God.
Bulbuls have this ritual of pausing to be still while feeding ! The meal time is a communication time for communion!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
I was curious to look for the hiding places that birds choose when it becomes cloudy and threaten to rain!
I found that these three locations above are places that they fly for shelter!
Some birds like Sunbirds and Bulbuls avoid getting drenched in the rain. But the Magpie robins, Mynah and Greater coucal can be seen wandering in the lawn even in the rain!
The Bulbuls use the water bath for their water play and a dip, after which they pay attention to grooming the body and drying.
I realised as I watched these bird behaviours, that most birds look for hospitable environment!
A Bulbul and Barbet arrived at the feeding table after the shower looking dry! They sheltered themselves in a safe place during the roan!
The bird behaviour sometimes surprise me because there is an intelligent design behind what they do!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
The rose bushes have a new vigour and freshness in the recent weeks!
The waiting is over and soon the garden would have fragrant flowers !
There is an expectancy and anticipation!
I feel carried away by what it might be to see, if all the twenty rose bushes in the garden bloom together!
The parable of Jesus of Nazareth in Mark's gospel chapter 4, verses 26-29 reveals the mystery of growth and fruit bearing.
" The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil, and goes to bed at night, and gets up by day, and seed sprouts up and grows- how, he himself does not know. The soil produces crops by itself, first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. But when the crop permits he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come ".
The central theme of this parable is the suggestion of the mystery of growth!
During the recent months, I have had opportunities to listen to parents who shared their thoughts about their concerns about their children. They are intrigued by the mystery of transitions in the lives of children!
One parent was moved deeply by the thoughtfulness that their five year old son conveyed on his fifth birthday. He preferred to visit the children's home and be with the children there instead of a regular party at home! That is what they did!
I was curious to know how the parents celebrated their birthdays. On the father's birthday, the family visited the senior citizen's home and took food and gifts. On the mother's birthday, the family had the domestic helpers's family to come over to spend the evening with the family!
Thoughtful parents beget a thoughtful child!
The soil of the home above was genuinely blended with thoughts for people who were different from them !
The thoughts and acts of kindness towards others beyond the family make the soil of home rich with kindness to provide children the nurture to 'love your neighbour as yourself' !
A lot is known as to how we can influence our children in the way they can grow and go!
M.C.Mathew( text and photo)
The still postures of birds, when they are perched in their favourite sites in our garden, share some information about the way they internalise the environment. This Barbet during its transit halt in the gauva plant for about three minutes, gave an indication of the alert presence and the navigation plan ahead!
Its location in the guava tree is only for a short time, and yet is a link in its flight path !
A Barbet is a moving and flying bird. It is not common to see it on the ground or in the lawn hopping like a Magpie robin or a Greater Coucal or a Mynah.
Its life is lived in the trees often sheltered by the foliage. Its plumage merges withe the green leaves. Its safety is finding its shelter in the trees.
So all flight movements are for finding fruits to feed on and to remain sheltered in the shade of the foliage. Its fear prone behaviour is evident when a squirrel moves in its vicinity in the foliage of the tree. It flies away to a safer place on spotting a squirrel. However it would chase away a Bulbul from the feeding station. It is not used to co-feeding.
There are three behavioural patterns which are common to Barbets. They are greedy feeders taking larger chunks of fruits between the bills and struggling to swallow. When possible they would fly away with fruits between their bills to feed privately! Their bird calls are sonorous and distinct, but do not convey a socialising instinct to draw other birds to their proximity.
That makes me wonder whether Barbets practice a defensive presence all for themselves! Do they practice living insulated!
I pondered over this when the premier of Israel made a presentation in the United Nations general assembly two days ago, with a territorial map in his hand showing how Israel disarmed at least seven opponents in its territorial region, declaring it as a trail of victory over other nations!
Is Israel seeking for insulated existence!
The globalised world on one side is seeking for collaborative existence. On the other side countries like China, Russia, and the USA seem to convey an authoritarian and dominant mood to exist controlling others!
Why continue to turn back in history to accuse Adolf Hitler of fascism when some countries are behaving similarly in the current time !
About 142 countries vote for independent Palestine nation and less than ten countries oppose that in the United Nation's general assembly. Many representatives of countries walked out of the assembly when the Israel premier was addressing the assembly.
I suspect, what is common between Barbet's behaviour and that of these few countries is individualism, isolationism and authoritarianism!
I wonder whether we would return to a better relationship between nations honouring liberty, fraternity and democracy!
M.C.Mathew (text and photo)
