A bird feeder

I love birds. Then come cats and maybe pugs..but birds come first. I love to imagine how lord Brahma decided to unleash his creativity when he decided to make birds. I had a book in india describing about habitats of birds locally found. There is our national bird peacock. Ohh so elegant and beautiful. Both white and the multicolored, lord Krishna's favourite. There is the demure sparrows and meanacing crows and ravens. Annoying but somewhat pleasant pigeons. Then there are mynas and cuckoos, parrots which when not imprisoned in the cell, have regal long green plumage. Then there are storks, once in a while kingfishers. But it was in New Jersey that I got to see the real art. Plsticky blue and white blue jays , black starlings, black and yellow gold finches, the dirt brown and solmn mourning dove. Then there were robins and cardinals with their striking red plumage and the usual suspects of sparrows (who are my favourites ) and crows (nope...still didnt endear) Egret (bigger storks) vultures, a wierd but ok addition (didnt see from near but they are around . Especially when a deer fell due to car). Cranky ganders and preety ducks...so many others that I saw but forgot to search. Marvelling in their beauty. Finally I had a bird feeder and took almost three weeks to install it. and then for two days it sat lonesome, and then yesterday I saw a lady cardinal and many cutie sparrows...A kind satisfaction. Now hope to hear them so much that it becomes daily occurance...marvelling at god's talent in making so many different kinds of lives.

Sands of time

The days leading to last day of school in 2024 for the year 2023-24, went in a jiffy. Kind of just dragging time. June switched to july for ESY and then that got over too. When I saw the calender on the last day of ESY, I remember thinking..ohhh, except for weekends when I will go to SnS , I have 22 days for my self. But as I say for my self, I know thats not true. 22 days of working extra with pilla. Keeping his skills relevant and maintained and thats how my vacation went as I stand on the noon of last tuesday of vacation as next week, our week will start two days earlier than pilla. My mornings mostly started with a walk to library, two days of late time and whole clock crumbled, so I started going when the day just started. I liked how the light shifted, I also noticed how my usual time to leave started getting darker and darker, till it was barely lighted when I left. I had to wear a hoodie now and the marigolds that bloomed frenzy just a few days back, started reducing their crop and the crop already there, lost its lustre.The amount of birds I heard and saw in the morning dropped dramatically and the leaves turned that shade of green, before which it will slowly turn colors. Yes fall was coming with slow but steady feet. After I came back home, I used to think of taking a nap before starting to cook and get ready for the day but that never happened, so then I started taking my cuppa and sitting out in the patio to enjoy tranquility while listening to my favourite bhajans. I noticed how much sound activity increased in 1/2 hour of me coming back home. Yes, humans are truly noisiest creatures, what with vehicles vrooming and planes whooshing. Then I would go back home after my first cuppa was done , either put second cuppa or make breakfast and keep it ready for the boys. Then pilla's studies would start to maintain his skills, and within no time my day's morning would finish, sometimes at 11.30 am, sometimes at 12.00 pm. A nap here and there, mr Lee coming and evening would smile upon me. Where did the day go? Where did my morning go? my afternoon??, recently Amit started joining us to the park and meanwhile we came back, the street lights were on...yes, day had become 1/2 hour shorter. That 1/2 hour would be spent drinking cool sparkling water, hints of days holding on tight. Now the days just run off and within no time its wednesday. Then I know the week is gone. Thursday gives me melancholy now than the excitement of school days. Now weekend means another week lost, as time flies by. I got time for my self, nothing unusual. No coloring, no crafting. I shrug my shoulders at the thought. Next week, my vacation would have already ended. somewhere wondering how long my work permit will take to come, I wonder...as I see the afternoon sun from the usual study table, I shrug.. leave everything to my god. I am sure he has best for me in his mind. my mind clears and as I decide to publish this entry, a half smile forms on my face.