Calendula Pink Surprise

Calendula strengthens the heart exceedingly. 

~Nicholas Culpepper

Calendula is popularly known as garden marigold. It's showy and brilliantly coloured orange-pink blooms have a strong distinctive scent. The true Marigold is easy to grow and is one of the most popular hardy annuals. Calendula has been used for centuries as a culinary, medicinal and magical herb.They are the true comforter of the heart and spirits.

A tryst with nature. #CalendulaPinkSurprise

The Flight to Freedom

 A tryst with nature #herringgull #freedom

Hibiscus Blue Bird

Every flower is a soul blossoming in nature. – Gerard de Nerval

As the name suggests, the flowers are blue-purple and bloom from late July, throughout August and into September. This makes it a great choice to fill the colour gap between late summer and early autumn.
Hibiscus syriacus ‘Bluebird’ are deciduous shrubs and do not need pruning apart from trimming the shoots inorder to adjust the overall desired shape. They survive long periods without any rain and prefer freely drained, reasonably nutritious soil.

A tryst with nature. #HibiscusBlueBird

Nature's Angels

“If nothing ever changed, there would be no such things as butterflies.” – Wendy Mass

The holly blue is a small bright blue butterfly with black spots on its silvery-blue underside. It is seen during early spring and late summer. Their habitats include gardens, coastal areas, woodlands and parks. The caterpillars feed mainly on Holly and Ivy. The conservation status of this delightful butterfly is of low risk. 

A tryst with nature. #hollyblue

The Benefits of Bird Feeding

Great acts are made up of small deeds! - Lao Tzu

Bird feeding has a great impact on our local ecosystem. A few benefits are mentioned below:

• Reliable source of food during winter when there is scarcity.
• Improves the survival chances of birds and their offspring by helping the parent birds feed their chicks all through the year. 
• Helps us experience nature from our garden.
• Supplements natural food sources thereby ensuring that the birds have a reliable and plentiful source of food to keep them well fed and thriving.
• Give birds the energy they need for long distance migration. 

A tryst with nature. #birdfeeding

Born Free

"The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." - Mahatma Gandhi

Freedom is our most prized possession which we have earned after numerous sacrifices from brave men and women whose courage has no limits.

Many eminent freedom fighters like Mahatma Gandhi have always included animals in their commitment of attaining freedom using nonviolence.

Considering this, in today's blog post I am highlighting the five internationally accepted aspects of freedom which are recognised by Britain's Farm Animal Welfare Council.

• Freedom from hunger and thirst by ensuring that animals have ready access to fresh water and food in order to maintain health and vigour.
• Freedom from discomfort by protecting their appropriate habitat which shelters them.
• Freedom from pain, injury or disease by providing the right medical treatment when in distress.
• Freedom to express normal behaviour instead of taming them for human selfishness.
• Freedom from fear and distress by not encroaching into their habitats and interfering in their life cycle.

Humans are gifted with supreme level of intelligence on this planet which should be rightly used to uphold the liberty of all less privileged living beings around. On the eve of Independence Day let us all be aware of this discrete additional duty with us and strive doing our best in this direction.

Wishing you all a very Happy Independence Day!!

 A tryst with nature. #bornfree

"I'm always with you. Even when you can't see me, I'm here."

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon’ and hyperlink it to: https://www.theblogchatter.com/

World Elephant Day 2021

  “Only elephants should own ivory.”– Yao Ming.

Elephants have always represented strength and power. On the eve of World Elephant Day, lets us protect the largest land mammals from the numerous threats they face.

Shedding Velvet

“Let nature take its course. By letting each thing act in accordance with its own nature, everything that needs to be done gets done.”-Lao Tzu

Deer velvet is the soft velvety layer that covers the antlers of male deers during a short period of time every year. The velvet is not just a visual but it actually serves a greater purpose.

The fuzzy layer provides nourishment and protection to the hardening antlers beneath so that they can be used by the male during rutting season. 

The deer needs to shed the velvet to reveal its new antlers. This shedding process is a horrific sight as the dense blood vessels under the velvet bleed causing it to hang in the form of red blood strips from the deer’s rack of antlers. During this period, the deer tries to remove the blood-filled velvet by rubbing against trees and even biting off hanging pieces if it can reach them.

Peeling of the velvet is a signal that the rut (a mating season when the male deer start to prepare to face off against rivals for the affections of females) is beginning.

A tryst with nature #deervelvet

Deer antler velvet

A deer shedding velvet 

Rutting season

Survival of the most vulnerable

American coots have a black body and white bills. Their chicks, however, sport a red-and-orange head and their necks are encircled in bright yellow-orange plumes.

Coots lay more eggs than they can raise. As a result about half of the chicks die within the first one week. After that, the parents tend to pick their favourite chicks based on their colourful plumage. The younger ones are generally the most colourful ones. 

Coots also tend to lay some of their eggs in the nests of other coots. However as the intrusive chicks tend to be less colourful, they are less likely to be picked as favourites. Hence their chance of survival is very bleak. 

This is one of the rare instances in nature where vivid colours are a sign of weakness and not strength.

 A tryst with nature. #babycoot

 

(P.C Bruce E. Lyon)

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon’ and hyperlink it to: https://www.theblogchatter.com/

Law Of Attraction

For to the bee a flower is a fountain of life and to the flower a bee is a messenger of love and to both bee and flower, the giving and the receiving is a need and an ecstasy. - Khalil Gibran

A bumblebee is attracted to the bright colours, fragrance and patterns of flowers for sweet nectar. But there is more to pollination than sight and smell. The electric forces in air also enhance the attraction between pollen and pollinators. 

Bees are sensitive to the electric field which surrounds a flower. They can even distinguish between fields produced by different floral shapes or use them to work out whether a flower has been recently visited by other bees.

As bees fly through the air, they bump into charged dust particles. This friction gives them a positive charge.

Flowers, on the other hand are grounded and tend to have a negative charge. When the positively charged bee arrives at the negatively charged flower pollen flies. 

Many animals like dolphins, sharks and platypus are also sensitive to electric fields.

Bees and flowers have been exchanging secret messages all this time.

A tryst with nature! #LawofAttraction

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon’ and hyperlink it to: https://www.theblogchatter.com/

Pitter Patter, Splish Splash

"Rain is grace; rain is the sky descending to the earth; without rain, there would be no life.” - John Updike

Why is rain important?

• 97% of Earth's water is salty sea water which cannot be consumed directly by nearly all mammals including humans. Precipitation and snow support life by providing salt-free water.
• Vital for farming in order to meet the soaring food production demand. Rain is a natural alternative to the strenuous man-made irrigation process which is employed by farmers in regions with less precipitation. 
• Part of a larger process called the hydrologic cycle which transports water from the ocean to land and back to ocean again. 
• Through the gradual process of erosion, rain creates unique rock formations and remarkable landscapes.
• Supports fresh-water aquatic life like trout and catfish which live in streams and ponds.
• Rain clears layers of pollution containing a harmful mixture of aerosols, dust and soot in the atmosphere. These pollutants have proven to have potentially damaging effects on human health. 
• Rain water slowly seeps its way into the ground and penetrates porous rock layers to become groundwater which is especially important for life during droughts.
• Many of us enjoy the comfort that comes with the sound and appearance of rain. It gives us a respite from the hot and humid climate.
• Rain water is used for generating electrical energy.

Human life definitely depends on rain and it is our lifeline. Here are some beautiful scenes from a rainy day...

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon’ and hyperlink it to: https://www.theblogchatter.com/

Winged Water Wonders

“The Only Constant in Life Is Change.”- Heraclitus

I have been watching this family of Mute swans. Unfortunately, only two cygnets survived out of the three.  

The colour change in the plumage of cygnets has inspired me to write this blog. Young cygnets are dusky brown-grey all over with a grey-black bill.

Gradually, over the first six months, they turn brown and this is the time when they learn to fly.

Juvenile mute swans are predominantly grey but within a years time they turn white. However, their beaks remain grey/pink.

Full white plumage and orange beaks come with maturity.

I will continue to watch the winged water wonders and keep you updated.

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon’ and hyperlink it to: https://www.theblogchatter.com/

Jewels of the Pond

"Life Springs Out Of The Most Unusual Places."

Water lilies are popular and glamorous aquatic pond plants. Besides filling the water surface with colour and vibrancy, they maintain the well-being of the pond ecosystem in following ways:

• Provide shade to keep the water temperature down during the hot summer months.
• Reduce the algae growth by blocking sunlight and consuming same nutrients as algae.
• Stabilise pH naturally by consuming various metals and other compounds.
• Shade fish from sunlight which would otherwise get sun burnt. 
• Shelter fish for protection from predatory birds.

Presenting the majestic water-dwellers which enhance the beauty of the pond with their colourful flowers and pretty leaves.

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon’ and hyperlink it to: https://www.theblogchatter.com/

Bug Hotel

"The smallest act of caring has the potential to turn a life around."- Leo Buscaglia

A bug hotel is a structure created with natural materials to attract a number of wildlife species and insects. They come in various shapes and sizes depending on the purpose or specific insects they are catered to. The different sections of the hotel provide nesting facilities and shelter for bugs especially during winter. Their main purpose is to host pollinators. 

An insect hotel should be put out during spring or summer when the wildlife is commonly out. An occupied hotel should be moved into a cool dry area like a garden shed during winter to protect the wildlife from wind and rain.

Bug hotels are beneficial for gardens by supporting biodiversity and maintaining ecological balance of the world. However, they require timely clean-up and maintenance else it can be a nursery for disease and pests. 

A tryst with nature #bughotel

This post is a part of Blogchatter Half Marathon’ and hyperlink it to: https://www.theblogchatter.com/