Winter's Drum Beats

 #DailyFlowers

 So, the Beating Retreat Ceremony is over for 2022 and I have to say it feels incomplete!   I agree change is the only constant, but sometimes change takes the wrong & long way around. And so it seemed today. The many musicians and members of the bands are to be lauded for their efforts, but one melody didn't into another flow, alas! On the other hand, Covid is still inflicting damage. If they tell you it's mild, that's not an invitation to be careless! Too many are still being lost, too soon, so please do use the mask and follow other protocols! All is, however, not dark and dreary, there are splotches of brightness and vivid color. Flowers, through a myriad blooms inject so much needed color, glory, life and grace into our worlds. And talking of worlds, #Wordle is great fun! The entire Wordle playing world keeps the "day's Word" a secret! Yay! 

That cheery yellow was quite predominant this week
Across Mums, dahlias, roses and others it did peak
A color that always lights up the room
Chasing away the dark and gloom

A hue of blue hitherto unseen
Has joyfully come on the blog to preen
We have met its pinks, yellows, dark blues and white
But this one truly encapsulates nature's might
Keeping it company is a more traditional blue
Together they form a formidable crew

A deep pink with a translucent white center
Another share from Hiway does this blog enter
Freya, a beautiful panel does share
And winter's morn is very much here
From Rachna, getting ready to bloom
Showing a tightly tucked plume
A Dahlia in full regalia

The ever-glowing hibiscus puts on a show
Across people's gardens it merrily does grow
A flower with many new shades
Its beauty & charm never fades

Reds and pinks always do delight
And two felines are enjoying a flowery sight
Their colors are truly amazing
And one of them, towards the sky happily raising

Gardens are oceans of love and peace
In troubled times, to tired souls they give new lease
Flowers to their inherent nature remain true
Grace, lightness, soothing feelings they brew

My Co-Contributors

@Subytweets, Shashi & UdayBaxi; UdayBaxi, Shashi, & Shantha; @AparnaKarthi &Shashi; @Hiway, FreyaS, & Rachna; Yash, @AparnaKarthi & Vivek; @Subytweets, Shalini, Kirti, Kakul & UdayBaxi; June, Rachna, Vivek & Kirti

Shiny Colors, Joyful Blooms

 #DailyFlowers

 And, January marches to its close, but not without creating a few upsets, without ruffling a few feathers! But then, what would be life if it were to be total smooth sailing all through! We would be bored. Mumbai decided the sun should take a holiday and grey should be the sky. Of course, a nice near-chilly breeze dominated the whole day. Temps are low and slated to drop further (no competition here with real winter places, but when your average daily temp that hovers in the 30s dips to 22 and below, yea, it's cold). India marches towards its 73rd Republic Day and it is fraught with tensions that ideally shouldn't have been there, but...

And, one of our regular contributors has taken a hiatus from SM, so she will be missing from here and we miss her.

But then there came these snazzy blues
An absolute array in that wide hue
Pansies and violas came home to roost
Giving all of us and our emotions a massive boost

And if the blues weren't enough
Out marched Dahlia in Pink-pink stuff
Orange-yellow centers did them enliven
Like the morning sun on the horizon

And even more pinks came to the fore
Dahlias, Bougainvillea, roses, Euphorbia upped the score
Udayji's office bouquet added its charm
Shining blooms fresh off the farm

 Not content, some more blooms joined the dance
In multiple colors they did advance
Their frame they did joyously grace
Added massive cheer to the blogger's space
A peach blossom took its rightful place
Hiway's farm it did embrace

Deep hues of purple also reigned supreme
Across gardens they seemed to be one team
Office, gardens, homes did shine
A spectrum of purple fell in line

Whether from far or near
Flowers Shashi does hold dear
June adds cheery yellows in
Flowers are here for the win

 Nasturtium and Ajave Americana are here
Beautiful pix has Udayji shared
Oranges and pale green yellows
Put up a show lilting and mellow

 My Co-Contributors

Freya Snowball; UdayBaxi; Alka, Kirti, Vivek, @Subytweets, & UdayBaxi; Kirti, Vivek, @Subytweets, @Hiway & Vee; Rachna, Kakul, Vivek & UdayBaxi; Shashi & June; UdayBaxi

 

A Plethora of Hues did Sing

 #DailyFlowers

The week that just went by has been kind of slow, kind of fast! Covid is still around running amok, causing issues and people are still being lost! Some people are careful, others are not, but then that's life, isn't it?

Contributions this week have been a little low; Shalini has taken off for a break and Shashi is going through his albums to pull out pix. He has gone to Peru, while Shalini went to Imphal. Of course, Vivek's back from his Netherlands & Europe trip and flowers have welcomed him back with beautiful hues

A plethora of blue-purples has to the fore come
Blue dawn flowers, trumpets and then some
Udayji & Freya contribute beauties to the display
Deep blue lovelies present an astounding array

 Rising in proud glory is the Pink Trumpet Tree
Laden with gorgeous pink blooms that are high and free
Different hues of pink interspersed with wine red and white
These blooms are truly the watchers' delight

Beauties from the world over do gather
Some cheer and color to scatter
Blooms bright, delicate and true
Spreading joy via their multi-colored hue

Whether on plant, pot bouquet or ground
Blooms with their beauty astound
Bursts of colors do hearts gladden
Even as repeat covid does all of us madden

Names that make us stop and give us pause
Of this and that and just because
Fragrant Virgin's bower, Flaming Katy, & Impatience walleriana
Are these flowers or delicate, graceful ballerinas

Nature's palette of colors set for a show
Pinks, whites, violets, oranges smoothly flow
Such cheer do flowers spread
Enable the blogger to create a simple thread

My Co-Contributors

FreyaS, Vivek & UdayBaxi; FreyaS, Vivek, UdayBaxi & @astackofpebbles (pink trumpet tree); Shashi, Shalini, @Subytweets & June; Ranjona, Shashi & Vivek; UdayBaxi; Alka, Rachna & UdayBaxi

Winter's Richer Dressage

 #DailyFlowers

  January has moved into place and Covid has begun its run, yet again! The weather has been playing games, too. Wet, foggy, cold, breezy, weak sunlight, the hallmarks of winter! And yet the winter goodies do delight, the sarson-ka-saag & makke-ki-roti, gajar ka halwa (yes, Vivek I remembered you), gajak, rewdi, chikki and more! This is a time of remembering days gone by, of rejuvenation that will soon come in with spring. But for now, let's enjoy the winter and the deeper, richer hues that nature wears as if to tell the snow that there's much more to life than a blinding white! Not that white, pristine, sparkling white is not beautiful, but... colors bring warmth, caring to the fore.. And Roses... well, here they are!

 Roses speak to the heart
Their colors form wondrous art
Single tones, tinged, multi hued
Nature's majesty repeatedly renewed
With joyful anticipation awaited
Viewed with pleasure colors created
Peace to the mind, heart & soul is brought
Roses in all shapes, sizes, shades are sought 

Roses were not found
But hues of pink did abound
Hibiscus, lilium, and a bouquet brilliant
Blooms individual but so ebullient

Yellows, orange, pinks were found
Soon, bulbs will be safe in the ground
Cherished and nurtured all year round
For glorious blooms again to abound

A lovely orange-red
Put this Hibiscus miles ahead
More orange-reds and pink came out
A wintry day they lit up no doubt

There were nature's beauties telling stories
And more etched in marble creating glories
Flowers! The pleasure they give
Joyfully, their lives they live

Wasn't just the darker colors that prevailed
Lavenders, whites & bees set up a gorgeous trail
Where the richer hues did hold sway
Gentler tones brought fun & frolic into play

My Co-Contributors

The Roses: Shashi, UdayBaxi, & Shalini; UdayBaxi & Shalini;  June, Vee, UdayBaxi & Vivek; Shalini, Vivek & UdayBaxi. UdayBaxi, Vivek, Shalini, & Scharada; Yash & Vivek; Scharada, UdayBaxi, Vivek & Deepak; Shashi, Vivek, UdayBaxi, Deepak & Yash; UdayBaxi & Deepak

 PS: May have missed some flowers out, my apologies for that!

 

Welcome 2022!

 #DailyFlowers

The yearly clock has turned and 2021 is in the rear view and 2022 has marched in! Well, here's hoping for a year that will be: gentler, Covid-free, more empathetic, more filled with kindness towards fellow beings irrespective of birth, caste, color, creed, community, race, religious affiliations, societal standing, and more humane than the last! That the economy will come back on the rails and employment generation will happen soon. That sanity will pervade all spheres of life and hatred be replaced by love and peace. A lesson that nature and flowers give to us everyday! They do not differentiate, it is time humans learnt the lesson and followed it. 

But what do you do, when the rhymes you wrote end up split across 2 frames; you pile them higgley-piggley on one another and hope the words work their magic!

A beauty comes you all to greet
Spreading joy as it meets
Lovely peach out to surprise
Revel in a new day's sunrise
A robust orange-yellow boost
This winter morn has come to roost
Such vividness on display
Adding vibrancy to this Tuesday!
Flowers are constant
Uplifting our moods in an instant
Glowing brighter on winter morns
As a slightly foggy day is born

On one hand were mums going strong for a week
On the other was a hibiscus lovingly framed
Added in were lovely maroons that the eye did seek
Truly gorgeous blooms well deserving of their acclaim

If winter comes can roses be far behind
True gems did Shalini, June and Ranjona find
Pinks & whites did gardens grace
Dark reds, light pinks, lavenders did joyfully embrace

 And Yash's garden with lilies did burst
Their buds she with great care did nurse
A beautiful peach came to glow
Perfectly tinged it stole the show

Vivek is still on his Europe trip
From there lovely flowers he did clip
Lovely deep mauve did Deepak & Shantha share
That pink edged white only added to the air

Whites, blues-tans, deep pinks did pose
Each pix to its fame rose
A starburst with a yellow center
Invited delightful fragrance to enter

Colors, fully bright did in march
So crisp, seemed nature did them starch
As the previous year did draw to a close
Flowers brought forth poetry from prose

The Brahmakamal, a white beauty bright
Seems to mimic stars in sight
Contrasted with oranges and reds
Takes this frame far, far ahead

Pink white flowers and orange bunches
Remind a hungry blogger of delicious lunches
I did ask Udayji if the orange was candy floss
The blooms are quite the boss! 

My Co-Contributors

Alka, Kirti & UdayBaxi; Rachna, UdayBaxi & Kirti; UdayBaxi, AdityaS, Shalini & HippyMallu; Shalini & Ranjona; Shalini, UdayBaxi & June; Yash; Vivek, Deepak & Shantha; Deepak, Shashi, & UdayBaxi; Shashi, Vivek & Miss Dazey; Shashi & UdayBaxi; Shalini & UdayBaxi; UdayBaxi