December Dallyings

 

The days have feeble sunrays across the hazy veil of misty noons. The sky looks gaping with stupefaction. And the winter ambling its way through December with a proud nonchalance. There is a pair of oriental white-eyes on the small curry-leaf tree. The tree may look small but it seems to be patronizing a lot of birds apart from the honeybees. There is a pleasant commotion defined by delicious preening chimes of these little green birds having a coquettish white ring around their eyes. Earlier they used to come for nesting in the garden but with the cats around they think better of nesting here anymore. They aren’t dumb like the doves.

The Parijat flowers now don’t drizzle like sad tears with the breaking of dawn and stay during the day as the trees have started to retain them to make seeds to spread their progeny during the next monsoon. Hovering with a keenly searching intensity, the purple sunbird couple goes into a tailspin of ecstasy as they raise a cheepish ruckus. They seem to be enjoying the love-bond to the limits under a delicious dose of sunrays on winter noons.

Outside the yard walls, a honeysuckle has crept high into the foliage of an acacia tree. The clinging shrub has spread its shoots pretty luxuriantly. A group of house sparrows roosts there for the night. When they are sitting together during the noon, they fall into a very heated conversation. Given the seriousness, it must be a very important issue. Did some dandy sparrow have a hit on someone’s partner? Then they realize that there are better ways of spending time and energy than peddle into a tug of war over issues related to amorous passions. A communal bath follows in the clay water bowl on top of the wall. The gossipy issue gets sidelined and bountiful play starts.