It is visually peaceful to see a healthy garden bursting with the vibrancy of flora. My wonderful helpers, having green thumbs, love to while away their time, pulling at roots, cutting and transplanting, harvesting their vegetables, decorating and redecorating my garden.
I have absolutely no passion for rooting and digging and getting my hands downright dirty everyday; but, their zeal and their blooming achievements have perhaps rubbed off on me. I’ve begun to take interest in their hobby and have bought pots galore, to create some settings.
My garden is still a work in progress; although it is starting to look so much better.
Chestnut Mannikin
To go with the flora, I have the fauna which really makes me more interested in puttering in my backyard. At the hours between 2 -4 pm, I see birds flocking toward the “plaza” as my helpers term it — the green expanse of just grass in the middle. An assortment of birds zero in on that patch of ground and root around for whatever birdie delights worth coming down to ground for.
I had witnessed nest-making one afternoon, one of those simply wondrous delights in life not many people are privy to. I was in my garden with a glass of iced lemongrass tea and a book when I happened to glance up to see a particular couple going about making their nest. Pure quiet heaven!
It is so amazing to see how these birds know instinctively how to make their home. The “newly-weds” work as a team— one does the gathering of dried grass and the other stays atop the chosen tree and “weaves” the material to create their home. These particular birds are Chestnut Mannikins, a species common in the Philippines. They may be a variety of maya but of this fact I am not sure.
The really great thing about these particular birds is that they choose to build their nests at very accessible heights. My garden now has a total of four nests, three of which are high up on palm trees. But this particular one is just about five and a half feet off the ground and so I was able to take a picture of it. These birds have been building their nest at the same spot on the puny calamansi tree for quite some time now. My helpers simply take down the nest when the little birds have fledged. After some time, we discover a new nest in exactly the same place!
Nest on my calamansi tree by Chestnut Mannikins
I may not live in an exciting metropolis with terrific shopping, stimulating events, hip crowds and the latest trends; but little delights like these make me grateful of the privileges of living a provincial life.
March 21 - June 20, 2010
February 1, 2010 - January 31, 2011
November 2008
Splash! Award -- March 27, 2009
Awarded by: 
Jo's BookShelf 
September 6, 2009 at 4:54 pm
This is so nice! Makes me miss home all the more!