Just a note to say, "Summer was here!"
A blistering, roasting, energy-sapping tropical kind of summer.
Reviled, perhaps. Moaned about, definitely. Yet so infinitely a part of us.
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| (Harvest time: fields along the Punjab - Haryana highway) |
Summer was here. All too soon the mad exuberance of Spring and the harvest season slows to a sultry crawl.
When it's Summer, the earth swings to a slower rhythm. The clock slows, sounds mute, movements gentle. It's the Summer way of life.
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| (Baradari palace, Patiala) |
White is so beautiful now. Especially the icy-cool white shot through with tropical hues.
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| (on the Dehradun - Rishikesh highway) |
And far away in cooler zones, there is an explosion of jacaranda clouds all along the highways, leaving travellers gaping and over-awed.
I'm sure that I was not the only one who rang up someone to gasp about the jacarandas in bloom.
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| (Patio of Ananda in the Himalayas) |
And just as I am ready to melt into the ground, the mountains call and I am rejuvenated.
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| (Patio of Ananda in the Himalayas) |
A winter-garden within hours of the heat and dust of the scorching tropics? There's something so surreal about that. But I love it, and the view of misty mountains fading into the horizon spins a web of wander-lust in me.
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| (Monsoon clouds over the backwaters in Kochi) |
Summer was here. And now it's on its way out. A flock of monsoon clouds are busy hustling it out. Shooing it away before settling in.I hope it's going to be a long cool, wet season ... goodbye Summer!
Posts
Great shots and flowers
ReplyDeleteThank you, Raji. My camera is packed with more but those can wait for other posts, I think :)
DeleteA lovely evocative post. Thankyou. I can almost feel the heat of the summerfading away !
ReplyDeleteThank you, Jane. I love this cusp of seasons. It's like a brand new world. And, of course, monsoon is my most favourite season.
DeleteI think it is already out (summer) and the monsoon is very much in.
ReplyDeleteLove those flowers on the patio.
Yes, it is, Haddock, and I'm so thrilled about that! This post was a nod toward the departing season. A polite one, actually. What I would really have liked to do was crow with glee .... I love the monsoon!
DeleteJacaranda flowers. I think it is not possible to understand the look, scent and feel of flowers except by personal experience of sticking one's nose into them. We had a jacaranda in the yard next to the house in NSW, Australia, and there is the odd one in Castelo Branco (Portugal)but I have had no success trying to grow them from the few seeds I have been able to collect. As always, your photos are superb.
ReplyDeleteThey have to be one of the saving graces of Summer here, Old McD. Unfortunately they do not get appreciated as much as they should here in the tropics. If you click on an old post of mine, you'll see what they have to contend with (http://the-urban-gardener.blogspot.in/2010/04/summer-sherbet-mumbais-flowering-trees.html ). But I think they're drop-dead gorgeous!
DeleteAnd, thank you, I'm so glad you enjoyed the photos.
Wow 2 of my favorite plants (Hollyhocks and Jacaranda trees). That Jacaranda looks massive. Keep up the posts its so interesting to read a garden / horticulture blog from India.
ReplyDeleteHello Alex! Yes, that Jacaranda towered over everything else around. So stunningly beautiful! i wish we had more of them around. The hollyhocks are grown mostly in the cooler parts of the country which is very disappointing for us gardeners living in the more steamingly hot coastal plains.
DeleteGlad you like The Urban Gardener, Alex. Do come back soon and hopefully there'll be new posts to keep you updated.
Lovely shots, Jacaranda is so pretty when in flower.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Karen. And I love the Jacaranda in bloom too.
DeleteGreat pics as always Sunita :) Love the flowers on the patio and the Jacaranda is awesome!!!
ReplyDeleteI adore Jacaranda.. but have not been able to get a nice pic of them as yet.. the violet against the blue skies.. :)
Thank you, Priya!
DeleteThe Jacaranda is so eye-catching in summer, isn't it? Glorious!
Stunning shots but the jacaranda stole the show.
ReplyDeleteHi KayEm!Oh that jacaranda was truly awesome! I wish you could've seen it. Not a leaf in sight, just one massive billowing cloud of blooms! (did you notice how many exclamation marks I've put in here? Yeah, it was that good!)
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