I was taking some photos today and was very
surprised to see so many baby jackfruit on one of our trees. They look rather sweet – all little a furry –
although they don’t feel furry.
I wonder how many will survive as quite a lot
of them are rotting away.
Every year I love to see these flowers
again. Its something about the colour I
think as well as them being a magnet for butterflies.
I got this lovely bag today from the group who
have been running the Citizens Assembly on water.
I think the sentiment about integrating local
and global wisdom would be a very good sentiment for Auroville generally. I often feel there is too much exceptionalism
here.
This is part of some research a volunteer is
doing about the best way of mulching pineapples. Here the plants are mulched with glyricidea
and a living mulch of sun hemp seeds have been put down on the paths.
Lets see what happens.
At last all the tomatoes are ripening although
they are doing it altogether which means we have a glut of them at the
moment. After all the rain they don’t
look at all like supermarket tomatoes although I think they taste much better.
I love the red haze that seems to sit on and
around them when they are altogether in a basket as in this picture.
There is still water in the pond and in this
old well.
It makes the place truly magical. It really is the turquoise colour in the
picture.
Went to visit a friend’s farm and was very
unexpectedly bitten by his dog on my right hand. As a result it is very sore and typing is
very uncomfortable.
Fortunately the dog has been properly
vaccinated so provided it doesn’t get sick rabies won’t be a problem for me.
This time last year the lockdown had just
started. This is a picture I took of the
volunteers who were around practicing their physical distancing near Ganesha.
I am enjoying the colouring book that my
daughter sent me very much.
Just what I need right now
This morning we were planting out these sweet
potato cuttings. Made me realise once
again something about the cycle of life in which we are all immersed.
These will produce our sweet potato plants
later in the year.
Emma bought me a lovely colouring book for my
birthday and this is the first picture I coloured. Like my embroidery I find it very soothing.
Whether I will have time for all this remains
to be seen.
At last!
With it getting hotter there are more leaves dropping off the
trees. Which means that we will be able
to make compost very soon.
I love the way these leaves have been swept up
so neatly by Mala.
I went for a very early cycle ride this morning
and loved how the sun shone on my path.
I like to think this includes my life path even
when it feels as if the sun has gone on holiday!
I rushed out to get this picture this morning
so I could put it in the video. This is
a bed in the New Horizon Vegetable Garden which was really hard work to get
ready. The clay soil is starting to dry
out so it is very lumpy and heavy.
I’m glad we managed to get it planted this
morning – bassella spinach which loves the coming hot season.
Even although the rain has gone and its getting
warmer we are getting unseasonal mists and the tomatoes and tomato plants are
still suffering.
Such a pity as I love our tomatoes.
We are picking the last of the lettuce as the
weather starts to get hotter and the lettuce stops growing. These lettuces remind us of punk hairstyles
so we call it ‘punk lettuce’.
I was walking around the farm in the Pryog
orchard this evening and came across one of our pitanga trees absolutely
smothered in the blossom.
I’ve never seen so much blossom on these trees
before and can only assume its because of all the extra rain we have had this
year.
There is a small area of paving in front of the
store room where there is this constant little heap of plastic. I’ve tried clearing it up many times but it
always seems to come back.
I thought it was because this is where the
sweeping up often ends which always includes these little bits of plastic. But
Rajan thinks that ants are bringing it up from their burrows – or bringing it
there from somewhere else to take down to their burrows.
As the picture shows, however, there are no
ants to be seen so I’m not sure that is the explanation. Meanwhile the plastic continues…..
Quite unexpectedly this morning a group of
students from a local ashram project came to help. The students have various challenges and live
together on a three acre plot which they are turning into a farm where they will
grow as much of their food as they can.
They were a joy to have around as well as being
very diligent workers.
This time last year the lockdown was looming
and I started my embroidery and general sewing.
I’ve done so much since then and embroidery has been a life saver during
a very difficult year for me. It always
calmed me down however bad I was feeling.
And I have made some pretty things for myself.
This is our new electric cargo bike for doing
deliveries. So far it seems to be fine
although I think Rajan would like it to go a bit faster.
The good thing about it is that volunteers will
find it easy to ride as its more like a bicycle than a moped or motorbike.
We are – at last – getting some tomatoes but
the condition of the plants and the tomatoes is very poor. Most of the tomatoes have split their skins
because of the heat and therefore deteriorate very fast. And as the picture shows the plants are brown
and dried up after the very heavy unseasonal rains followed by sun.
Today we planted the first of our bassella
spinach seedlings for the new season.
They were wonderfully green.
I saw this kolam just outside Pour Tous at
Solar Kitchen. It seemed to glow and
sparkle in the sun. Like the Light.
I just noticed my shadow while I was out doing
my video clips this morning. I really
like this picture of me!
I went to the New Horizon vegetable garden this
morning to take pictures of yet more sweet potatoes being dug up. As I walked along one of the rows I came
across what I thought was this rather nice still life.
Not quite sure what they were using the shears
for though…..
Very, very heavy mist this
morning. It doesn’t usually come so late
in the year but presumably the heavy rain prepared the conditions for this
heavy mist a few days later.
This is a kolam of light.
It was sent to me by Grace to
shine on a proposal I thought of to try and resolve our gate problem with our
neighbours. It has been taking up so
much of my time and energy so I really hope this proposal will work.
With the heavy rain and
everything else going on in and around me I hadn’t realised that the cashew
have come into flower.
Lovely to see them even if it
does mean there is going to be horrible cashew spraying in the area.
Just after the rain I was walking
around in the cashew orchard and stood within this tree. I loved how the sunshine and shadows made
patterns on the bark.
The pond has not only refilled
but flooded again. It looks very
beautiful in the sunlight.
It rained solidly for about eight hours
last night and this was the result.
Again!
These days more of my energy than
I would like is being used dealing with a conflict with our neighbours. It all focuses on the management of this gate
and the access road which we have to share.
The gate seems to be acting like
a lightening conductor but instead of electricity it attracts all our bad
feelings both about each other and life in general
I love the way these beans look
as if they are reaching upward.
I hope I am doing the same.
They are all climbing much better
now we have put extra sticks onto the climbing frame.
At last! I have got some much needed new crocs.
Uma, one of our volunteers,
brought them to me today from Chennai where she spent the weekend. I am so pleased as I haven’t been able to get
them online as they never seem to have my size.
The new ones look too nice for
grass cutting though.
Rajan and I went to look at the
path he has cut through the end forest.
This meant walking over an area that gets very soggy when it rains, as
it has done exceptionally this year.
At first I wasn’t aware of trees
that had been planted so it was good that Rajan was there to show me. This is a tamarind tree that doesn’t mind its
roots standing in water.
These lettuces are growing really
well. So green they almost glow with it.
The two volunteers who painted
this are going on Tuesday.
I just love this picture which I
have called ‘The Food Woman’ and which I might put on the cover of my new book.
Our first harvest of sweet
potatoes. They are not as large as they
could be, but we can’t leave them in the ground as the rats have started eating
them. Once they start they don't stop until they have all disappeared.
These are our first ripe tomatoes
of this season. Cherry tomatoes which
are a lot smaller than they appear in this picture.
These trees were near the water which
I photographed yesterday.
I think they give an interesting
alternative view of the sunset and the special light around at that time.
I feel I was very lucky to get
this picture when I walked around the farm this evening.
I love the ripples on the water.
