Living with Nature: May 2006

Monday, May 29, 2006

Feel the magic: Ice cream vendor on a tricycle in Bambalapitiya to quench thirst

“Ice-cream is exquisite. What a pity it isn't illegal.” - Voltaire (1694 - 1778) French Philosopher and Writer

Single petal red shoe flower in Thavady, Jaffna district in Sri Lanka

Sevvaraththai - Hibiscus - Shoe Flowers bloom widely and in many verities in most parts of Sri Lanka

"We need to find God, and he cannot be found in noise and restlessness. God is the friend of silence. See how nature - trees, flowers, grass- grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence... We need silence to be able to touch souls" - Mother Teresa

Sunday, May 28, 2006

Bloom in Beautiful Bambalapitiya -Sevvaraththai - Hibiscus - Shoe Flowers bloom widely and in many verities in most parts of Sri Lanka

“If we could see the miracle of a single flower clearly, our whole life would change.” - Lord Buddha

Sevvarathai - Hibiscus is the name of a group of plants that belong to the mallow family. Hibiscus rosa-sinensis (Hibiscus Shoe Flower) originated from East Asia. The flowers are large, red, firm but scentless. The five-petaled hibiscus flowers have distinct protruding stamen tubes and pistil tips. The petals come in six basic colours that are deeply saturated: white, red, yellow, orange, lavender and brown. But many colour variations are available among the 1,000 hibiscus varieties. Hibiscus flowers are characterised as either single or double form with variations in petal number and arrangement. Single hibiscus always have five petals, while the double form has more than five petals. They are propagated by cuttings and budgrafting. Among the types cultivated in gardens are the Rose of Sharon, a tall, late-flowering shrub. This flower which can stand 8 to 10 feet tall are very attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies. [ScienceNet-Singapore]

"From a tradition of love in life flows the
pleasure and grace of humanism" - Thirukkural

"Those who pursue a mission of duty, with a graceful
mind, have a right for all beauties of the world " - Thirukkural

"For the world, you are just one person, but for one person you could mean the whole world."

Mum is watching, as the photographs are being taken of its eggs in the nest on a Ponnochchi tree in Bambalapitiya

Dad joined the mum and watching together, as the photographs are being taken of its eggs in the nest on a Ponnochchi tree in Bambalapitiya

Bird hatching in Bambalapitiya

Sittukuruvi nest on Ponnochchi tree in Bambalapitiya

"Nothing great was ever achieved whithout enthusiasm." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882) US essayist & poet