Tuesday, April 13, 2010

First flowers of the gulmohar

I've blogged about the gulmohar (delonix regia) many a time before, but have never managed to get a close picture of its flamboyant flowers. The tree right outside of my balcony offered an opportunity this week though, with its barren branches bursting into tiny leaves, buds and two little flowers - the first ones of this spring!

Monday, April 12, 2010

A visit to the aquarium in Bangalore

Did you know that there are fish that can climb trees? Yes, there are. Unfortunately i have not seen these climbing gourami, but i did see some of their cousins, the golden gourami at the aquarium a while back.


Apparently, gold is a popular colour for fish. We saw the vail tail gold and the parrot fish.














Lots of angels!

the taxido angel and the black angel also swam by









a couple were n't all that angelic to look at ....



No prizes for guessing which one is the long nose gara fish!





The sucker fish kept at its cleaning, quite assiduously..


The thilapias looked well fed..





as did the blue akara











there were some others with beautiful blue colouring..


the flower horn (left) and a fish whose name i forgot to note down, seemed rather shy









And finally, these little tiger loaches flitted past, refusing to keep still.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Nature's tight rope walkers

 The Three-Striped Palm Squirrel (Funambulus palmarum)
For a comprehensive local article on this animal, do read this article in Citizen Matters, Bangalore.

LJ's spring blooms

From charlotte, north carolina
pink hyacinths

pansies and grape hyacinths

double tulips

tulips - a pink and a white one from the same bulb!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Images from the tree park

Almost every morning i walk towards the tree park in the neighbourhood -- a large park divided in two -- one side almost entirely covered with trees,  the other a well sculpted garden with the prettiest of flowers and bushes. A little earlier in the year, the roses where all in bloom, but alas, i did not have a functional camera then!
I walk around the park, as do many others from the neighbourhood and beyond, a km covered in every round. The squirrels, birds, dogs and insects do their morning rounds as well.

I love looking up as i walk around, and sometimes am rewarded by beautiful sights... blue jacarandas and many other mysterious flowers...

There is a play area for the kids amidst the trees.

There are epiphytes and lichens of many shapes and sizes..


Every day is a new day in the park, every moment truely enchanting!

Friday, April 9, 2010

Lavender



If the neighbourhood wasnt colourful enough with the yellows and pinks of the trumpet trees, this blue jacaranda (jacaranda mimosifolia) decided it was time to bloom. Little lavender trumpet like flowers appeared, not just all over the tree, but carpeting the ground below as well.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Pink!

the pink trumpet tree (tabebuia rosea)

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Purple and white

pretty little lantanas in Bangalore's neighbourhood parks