Monday, June 20, 2016

Custard Apple in Bloom

Hi there!. Finally monsoons are here. But not in my garden. There were some showers may be in other areas of the city, but my garden is still waiting for the monsoons. Yesterday and today, it was completely cloudy and there were just a few drops of rain. 

I have a Custard apple tree in my garden. It is also known as Sugar Apple. It is a very hardy tree. Requires very little maintenance and grows in any soil. Pests are almost nil. 

It does not grow into a very big tree with huge trunk like mango.

Its fruit are very sweet but with lots of seeds. It is rich in Vitamin C, B and many minerals. It is also known to be rich in calcium. The fruits are available in winter season.

Just have a look at the fruit.


Once the fruit is ripe enough it is very soft to touch. So we can check the fruit and pluck it. It also break opens on ripening.
This is the bud. I never noticed it before, even though I have this tree in my garden for some years now.
Here is the flower. I could not take a proper photograph of it as it hangs down and it was very difficult for me to photograph it. 

This is specially grown in hilly areas by the tribals. Rather they collect fruits from the jungles where these trees grow in forests of certain regions. Since they are grown naturally with out any human interference like adding of chemical manures etc, they are organic and good for health.

When we are travelling in certain areas, by road we can see the tribals or villagers on the road side selling these fruit. They collect these fruit (unripened) from the nearby forest and put they in bamboo baskets or straw baskets and cover the fruit its leaves. So they ripen slowly and naturally few at a time.  We can buy them in dozens, or 50-100 fruits by count or basket fulls. They sell it at a very cheaper rate when compared to our local markets.

We always buy them basket fulls. All our family members love it, so we have to have enough for every one. Moreover when we are travelling and in a group, snacking on these fruits on the road side is fun. Only annoying thing is there are lots of seeds and less flesh. So it is hard work if you want to eat it. Its also messy. But then who is complaining as it is so delicious.

I also love to talk to these people. The men and women are simple and especially the women are so beautiful. But mind you some of them may cheat you.Usually a few bigger fruits are placed on the top and underneath it there may be very small fruits or  raw fruits plucked before they have fully developed, which cannot be ripened. So we have to check the fruits in the basket and bargain before buying.

Even when we are travelling by train, we can find these people selling them on train. They board the trains, with baskets loaded with the fruits on their heads from nearby small stations when the train stops for signals or crossings. We have lots of time on train journeys, and generally people like to buy fresh fruit and enjoy them during the journey. I always feel hungry on train journeys and love to snack on these fruits and other healthy snacks sold on the trains or at the stations.  

Ice creams, milk shakes, puddings and desserts are made using the flesh of the ripened fruits. I prefer to eat it straight. 

On one of my tours travelling by road in Telangana,  we stopped at road side on the high way to stretch our feet. I saw a small group of children and women, sitting around piles of twigs and roasting something which smelt so yummy. I was curious and asked one of the children what they where doing? They told me that the make a pit in the ground, put some dry leave and twigs in it, then some raw custard apples plucked from near by forests, cover it with leaves and twigs and light it. The fruit gets cooked in the fire/coal slowly. After it cools down - may be in  2-3 hours time, they recover the fruits peel it and eat it. 

The custard apple tree in my garden is in full bloom. In a few days time, we can see tiny fruits on the branches. By Vinayaka Chaturthi (in the months of Aug-Sept) we have small raw fruit. We offer it first to Lord Vinayaka-the Elephant God. Then by winter we have the fruits, ready to eat. 

Waiting for the fruits.......



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Friday, June 17, 2016

Updates from My Garden


Half of June month is over. No rains yet. It is once again hot like in summer. We are again facing water problems. 

A few days back we have had some showers. It was a great relief. Here is a small peek into my garden.

Bougainvillea blooms through out the year if proper care is taken. But its blooms are the best in summer. It is a very hardy plant and requires very little care. I have some in pots for Bonsai. A little pruning and some fertiliser is all it requires. It can with stand hot temperatures. But those in pots require proper watering and semi shade during peak hours of the day. 

They look so beautiful when they are in full bloom. They are also known as paper flowers.

This is one variety of hibiscus. The size of flowers is small. But it blooms profusely and almost daily. It is still a small plant in my garden.
Just a few showers can do wonders to the plant life. No amount of water or fertilisers  we add can bring this green colour to the leaves. God's creation is great and has no competition.

Well I am waiting for the monsoon to begin my work in my garden. I have just weeded it out and just keeping it alive somehow. 

Wish rains would be here soon.......

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Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Birthday Cards for Kids

Hi Friends.

Back after nearly a fortnight. I have been busy with my new batch of students. It will take me till the end of the month to settle everything into a rhythm. After a long period of holidays, children will take time to settle down. I also need to work out a schedule and stick to it.

In between I had to attend to my dad's annual ceremony. A few days before and few days after it we have had a lot to do. It is really back breaking with all the work. But then rituals are strictly to be adhered to. 

Here it is hot once again. No rains. Humidity is really unbearable. So I could not spend much time on my crafts. But one of my friends wanted a birthday card for a little one. I had just 4-5 days and with my dad's ceremony in between it was really difficult to create something which would catch  the eye of the child, its parents and the sender(my friend). 

I did manage somehow to make this card. Then I had to mail it to reach on time.

This was what I came up with. 

I used a textured blue card stock, attached some stickers of animals. 

For the tree, I cut brown coloured thin hand made paper for the trunk and glued it. Then I punched out some oval shaped green textured hand made paper for the foliage. I attached some self adhesive red crystals as fruit on the ovals. 

The first layer I glued it directly on the card. The upper layers, I used foam tape for dimension. 

I punched out some green coloured thin card stock for grass and glued it near the base of the tree. 

The sentiment was stamped on thin yellow card stock. I then shaped the edges with a bracket punch. Then I used a brown coloured sharpie to colour the edges of the sentiment as well as the tab, before attaching it to the card. 

This is the inside of the card. I added the sentiment, message and balloons and the cake. I got it printed on a cream coloured papaer and glued a heart shaped puffy sticker.
This is the envelope. I had to use a ready made white one. 

I had some anxious moments when I was pushing the card inside it. I wanted to make a box type envelope to fit the dimensional stickers and punch art I used without squashing them. I didn't have time at all. Moreover, I am not experienced enough in making such envelopes. I didn't even have proper tools or materials to make one. 

Thank God! The Card fit the envelope :) With not much space around it. I attached mini and mickey stickers on the outside. I wanted to stamp it but no time at all.

I couldn't do much as there was no time to even think or shop for material. I had to do with what I had at hand.

I mailed the card and it reached on time. I got a feed back that they all loved it. So everything ended well. Hope you like it too....

Materials used:

Blue textured card stock
Yellow card stock
Green card stock
Green textured hand made paper
Dark brown hand made paper
Animal and cartoon stickers
Red coloured acrylic self adhesive crystals
Clear stamp for sentiment
Black ink for stamping
Brown coloured sharpie
Glue
Envelope
Cream coloured thick paper for inside the card



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