A bird bath !

The above sequence of a Bulbul having its morning ritual of bath was a fascinating sight to watch. It dipped into the water a few times and seemed to take delight in doing so.

I noticed that it gave away a few bird calls while sitting at the edbe of the water pot. 

Soon another Bulbul flew in to give join the bathing rituals. They took turns to dip in the water.  

The above photos of the pair of Bulbuls having their bathing ritual  gave an indication that they were a pair. 

They had a way of getting into the water and coming out. They fell flat on the water keeping the neck and tail lifted up. They used the wings to splash water and returned to sit at the edge of the pot to dry the body before getting into the water again. 

The experience of watching this reminded me of a community bath of different species of birds when water pipe was leaking on the road side. The cacophony they created made the motorists to stop and watch this unusual sight of bird behaviour of celebration. 

Following this prolonged indulgent bathing experience, one of the Bulbuls stayed in the pot to groom the body and the other perched in the branch of the tree above for its grooming ritual. 

I am not sure if the rituals of other birds are similar in their behaviour during the ritual of bathing. The crows have a different bathing pattern. Some of the smaller birds like a sunbird does not get into the water to soak their body fully. They dip themselves into the water while sitting at the edge of the water pot. 

I too felt the celebrant mood of these Bulbuls on a cold morning. They chose the timing of the bath when the sun was just rising! They had the sunshine  to dry their body for their flight journey! A bird watcher once told me that birds come to the bird bath only when the sun is shining to dry their body. 

To watch these bird behaviour sitting in the courtyard of our cottage is more than a delightful experience. 

I am used to watching birds in our garden and is not used to go for birding excursion, unless I am in a new place for some other purpose. And yet, I have had many close encounters with some of the bird behaviours , by observing the birds during their visits to our garden.

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

The Nesting activity!

At day break I noticed this Common Cora perched in the tree in our front garden. While I was looking for other birds, it flew away somewhere. 

At sunrise, I noticed it perched on a dry stem and searching for its feed of insects. 

I waited to see for its next flight movement. It arrived with its pair on another tree in our front garden. 

Following this was the interesting activity by one of them to peel fibrous strands from the exposed surface of a stem and gather them to make a nest for themselves. 

What a dight ti was to watch a family is engaged in making a home for welcoming the next generation of birds!

I felt delighted to watch this process and was keen to look out for the site of nesting. It is in one tall nutmeg tree and I shall look out for the nest as these two birds would continue their nest making.

The sights and scenes around us can give us window into the silent and creative events taking place all around us. 

I know of a family who plays melodious tunes in their garden to invite birds to come and make the garden their home. It seems to have worked. At one breeding season they noticed five bird nests in the trees in the garden. This family was bird and garden friendly! They avoid using insecticide sprays or burn waste and confine to trim trees only once a year in the non breeding season of birds.

To me this is, mindful living and responsible stewardship of our environment!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

On the first day of 2024 !

A walk in the garden on the first day of 2024, brought some indication of how a garden becomes the home for plants to bring forth their gift in due season.

Each of these plants has flower bed from which it sustains its nutrients to grow and bear new shoots, buds and flowers. 

The flower bed is therefore a symbol for a home!

Anna was engaged in knitting warm wear to welcome a grandchild to our family.  I watched her knit different sets with colourful wool, with attentiveness and perseverance. Now they are ready to be sent. When I watched this for about three weeks, I felt the sense of nearness that Anna shared as a grandmother, to be thoughtfully present with the family, while they await the arrival of the baby.

A home is a place where each member of the family creates space for others. The flower bed offers its place for plants. A home is a place for shared living and growing. 

The home needs a nurturing ambience for the growth of children and adults. 

The flower bed is nurtured by watering, de-weeding, manuring, protecting the plant during the extreme weather conditions and pruning in due season. 

I noticed a family on a walk with their three year old son, along a water body. The child was allowed to play in the water and in the sand. There were conversations between them. They had some bread in their hand to feed the pond herons. They collected some stones in a pouch, which their son carried with him. The leisurely walk was paced by the interests and explorations of their son. A home is the nurturing ground for wellness for everyone. 

A news item suggested that the ambience in some homes is dysfunctional. A senior psychiatrist commenting on this said: There is an air of suspicion in many homes about each other. He attributed increasing violence in homes due to the suspicion and emotional distance from each other. 

I wish that every home  has routines and rituals which make the home a nurturing ground. To have unhurried conversation times and indoor play activities, instead of the addictive viewing of the TV for entertainment, is one step towards making a home homely!

The news of the earthquake in Japan, war and human displacement in Gaza, shooting in Manipur, and different forms of violence remind us that there is a need to promote and practice peace in our homes. 

I wish peace is the ambience in our homes!

M.C.Mathew (text and photo) 

  

A Cormorant perched above a pond!

 

Although this Cormorant is perched refreshing itself in the morning sunshine while  grooming, it has a chosen a spot from where it can observe the movements of fish in the pond below. It was in its regular site,  waiting for the right time to fly down and plunge in to the water, to get its feed of fish. I am yet to capture this in the photo sequences. 

As its flying into water is frequent, it dries and oils the wings and feathers after each dive into the water. 

This water bird is different from Egret and Heron as it has to largely depend on the fish for its feed. 

The web on its toes facilitates the swimming movement in water. 

What fascinates me about this water bird is its vigilance and briskness to respond to reach its prey. On one occasion I watched fish movements near the surface of water. Before I knew anything else, the Cormorant was in the water, dipping under the water and chasing the fish. Its quick body movements is its distinguishing trait. Every species of bird has its own distinct features for its survival and hunting for food. 

The mystery of habits and rituals of most avians are conditioned by the  necessity to adapt to its environment. 

The two bulbuls who come to feed from the feeder, come when there are no human movements. But they got used to Anna and myself that they would call out for us with bird calls, in case we forgot to leave banana, which is their favourite morning feed. 

I find how sobering it is to get familiar with the habits of some birds, from which we get to know about their overcoming ways.  Birds make us think differently.

One advice we received when we came to live in this cottage 11 years ago, was to plant bushes and shrubs in the garden. There were tall trees for larger birds. Since we did that we have a lot of smaller birds regularly visiting us in the garden. 

The birds are feathered friends !

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)

A Homeward movement!

The movement of leaves in a nutmeg tree, about two hundred meters away in our garden alerted me of the presence of a bird. It turned out to be a Common arora.

I spotted a pair of them, a few minutes later in the tree in the front lawn. They were together in the tree with frequent conversational gestures between them. 

In a few minutes, I found one of them picking fibrous strands from the hollow in the tree. On of them gathered enough between its beaks and flew off to the nutmeg tree, where I first noticed one of them. 

I noticed a few sorties to gather the slender sticks for making their nest. 

To me it became a message for 2024!

Both the birds were on a 'homeward' journey!

For Anna and myself, the year ahead will also be a time of making our home a place of our belonging.

This is one dimension that all retired people consider and respond to. With the home becoming the 'ground of their belonging', it is necessary to add routines and rituals to the daily rhythm to make the home a 'hallowed space' for mutuality, togetherness and intimacy. 

Anna and I have got used to a routine from the time we have our coffee together before the day break. It is also a time to be quiet for reflection and foreseeing the events of the day. The two short breaks, when we get together during the morning, provide us time to talk about the garden, news items from the news papers and the chores which need attention. The meal times are usually times of sharing about our experiences of the day. The evening walk is usually a silent time giving us space to see, hear and feel. Dulcie and Daffny have a free run into the garden during this time. Their play brings a relaxing experience at the end of the day.  There is a time of reading together we practice after dinner, which often brings thoughts that upbuild us. During the in between times in the morning and afternoon we both have a schedule of responsibilities which we attend to, the recent activity being writing and editing. The week ends have a slower pace when we make social visits, do the shopping  or invite others home. The time we spend for gardening is another special time of the day two or three times in a week.

The way to bring nearness emotionally and experience communion through conversation is by making the time spent together meaningful and cordial. When there are matters to be talked about, we follow  the practice to fix time to meet, that both of us are ready to listen and open to share our thoughts.  

There is a traction to keep us occupied, which is why there ought to be conscious effort to share experiences to feel the movement towards each other in trust and openness. 

The homeward movement is an inward experience, which is what adds to the richness of life at home!

We realise that we need to be ready to welcome children and grandchildren when they come to visit, so that the ambience of inwardness gets extended to them for them to feel connected and we have the opportunity to 'turn' younger in spirit!

 

M.C.Mathew (text and photo)

The year 2023 !

 

The year 2023 was a year of considerable significance, which brought a closure of another decade of active involvement in child development activities. It was a year of evenly blended experiences of peeks and valleys.  

When I gathered the flowers from our garden, for the vase in our front room, what moved me was the colours of the rose flowers, which when placed in the vase overwhelmed me with the fullness it represented. The recent six months since I left my work place, gave me a good season of summarising the forty years in the child development frontier. 

The flower vase is a symbol of everything that is rich and colourful and yet it is transient. In two to three ays the flowers will fade and the petals would fall away. All the things, which a professional might consider as a gain or contribution would also fade away from the memory of others. Just as the flowers would return to the earth, so would all those we sometimes valued and thought as our laurels, would also fade away. The plant which gave the flowers would still continue its presence in the garden. 

The buds in the last photo of the flowers above, reminded me that the plant still has life left in it and would continue giving flowers. 

So receiving life as a gift to be lived was the message that came upon me as I took time to close the year 2023. 

The full moon in the horizon in the morning yesterday, gave yet another message to this life,  which is to be lived as a treasure. The eternal light during the night and the day, is what offers  fullness to life. It was not the gains and losses in the journey of life that shall be the theme to pursue in life. Jesus of Nazareth told a parable to Hiss followers about a man who had a rich harvest of grains. He intended to build a larger barn to store them. Jesus described this man, as one 'who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich towards God'! (Luke 12:13-34).

The discourse of Jesu of Nazareth in the above passage, was on addressing all the existential questions that we face or feel the pressure to live strivingly to achieve and possess. To such a pursuit, Jesus had something to say: 'For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also'(v34).

When I gathered the flowers from our garden, I was moved to realise that even the flowers were 'given'. The attitude of Job, who lived in prosperity but lost his  possessions, his children and his health responded by saying: 'The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord' (Job 1:21). Job had an unusual experience following this prolonged season of denial and deprivation in his life. 'And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he prayed for his friends, and the Lord increased all that Job had two fold' (Job 42:10).

The above passage gave me a call and inspiration about the way we are called to live, remembering others. For Job, he suffered further humiliation and emotional upheaval, as his friends who came to console him, made him feel that 'no one suffered unjustly'! What a burden of guilt they imposed on him! But He remembered his friends not judgementally, but graciously and thoughtfully. The turning point in his life was when he was able to show kindness to them. 

Job lived 140 years after he was restored of his losses and was blessed. His end was described as:' And Job died, an old man and full of days' !

To live, turning away from the gains and losses and finding hope in God and in His purpose, is a redeeming experience. 

I conclude the year 2023 with this consciousness that gains and losses are transient. What sustains hope and brings cheer to live is finding contentment to pray, 'Give us this day our daily bread'!

Farewell 2003, it was a year of journey, beyond the gains and losses, to  find contentment and gladness in what is 'given'!  It leads me to  grow in mindfulness towards those, 'for whom nothing is prepared!

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)