Elsie

Went and saw Auroculture today and enjoyed showing her this picture of Elsie and Emma.  I just love it.

Very pleased to find out today that there will be four long term volunteers in Buddha Garden while I am away.  As they are long term it means they will still be here when I return.  Which means that I could think of taking time off to go away.

Mark from Kodaikanal phoned out of the blue today.  It was lovely to reconnect after about six years.  I would love to go there and see him.  

Twists and turns

We planted pineapples this morning and I loved how they looked all in heap before we planted them.

Have had a lovely conversation with Rajan about the history of Buddha Garden.  Loved talking about how the place has evolved and how it used to look.  We also talked about how we wanted it to look and what buildings we need.

The shape of the pineapple tops are a good visual metaphor of how things changed, bent and twisted as we evolved.

Quiet day

This flower is called ‘golden waterfall’ and its gorgeous looking with a lovely smell.

Nothing seems to be happening and I am bored.  Yet ideas keep coming one after the other about what I do next.  At times it feels quite overwhelming as obviously I can’t do it all. Vivek has managed to get some money for the laboratory equipment to do his research so that is something else that will need thinking about. 

Morgane came to visit before she goes to France this evening.  She said that five planets have gone retrograde but are at the point of turning back. She said that’s why I have been so bored recently as planets retrograde means its difficult to do anything.  So now I know!

Starting the journey

Finally got around to buying the first presents for my trip to the UK.  Now the journey feels more real.  

I love the bright colours but have to be a bit careful of the designs. Some of the very Indian one have designs that upset the Christian members of my family.

Green oasis

This is a picture of the Pryog orchard that we cleaned up this morning.  I love sitting on the benches that we have put up and find it very healing and peaceful.

I can understand why Pierre got so attached to it and wanted to put his house there.

Snaky snake gourd

I was looking for a snake gourd to eat this evening and was amazed at how many of them actually looked like snakes.  This one was one of the best.

I loved the fantastic shapes they made as some of them were very twisted. Unfortunately most people prefer the shorter ones as they are easier to carry home and to prepare for cooking.  

Lovely smell

Yesterday, cycling through the woods to go and see Auroculture I kept smelling this lovely smell. Eventually I found it came from this unassuming flower from a very small tree.  It was really lovely.

Next time I see Auroculture I will see if she knows what it is as she is very good about flowers.