Down Memory Lane (ThursdayTreeLove)

I am happy to share that this is my 100th TTL post! I was looking for a special tree for this one but soon realised that each tree is special in its own way.

Hence I settled for a tree from a walk down memory lane. Not mine but my husbands.

Last month, we finally could visit the town where his spent his childhood holidays. Both of us were apprehensive as there were reports that the town had become quite rundown and not worth visiting. But he was not disappointed. To some extent, it felt as if the township was stuck in time. The houses, the lanes, the play ground, guest house and so on were unchanged.. Just older. This meant that my husband could locate every place that he enjoyed years ago. Days spent with grandparents are precious and forever continue to remain bathed in a golden glow.

Here is a tree that was growing near the pool where the kids learnt to swim. It is a Clusea rosea (aka Pitch Apple) of the Clusiaceae family. The tree is also called the Autograph tree because anything scribbled on the leaf with a finger nail remains till the leaf falls off. This species is native to the Carribean.

Clusea rosea (1)

The leaves reminded me of Magnolia but the flowers were different

Clusea rosea (4)
Flower

The plant can grow as an epiphyte which can explain the supporting roots that grew at the trunk base.

Clusea rosea (5)
Look closer to see the aerial roots.

I was happy to meet a new species which made the visit special for me as well. The pool and garden where this tree grew were a special part of his childhood and I was happy to be part of it now albeit via a tree growing there.

Which trees are a part of your childhood memories? A huge Mango tree growing next to our building is a distinct memory from my school days. Sadly no photos of it. What about you?

Thank you all for visiting and commenting my TTL posts. I big shoutout to Parul as well for this fantastic bloghop. Do head over to see some fantastic trees from around the world. Better still, join in!

X for Xmas



Welcome! 
We are with the 2018 April AtoZ Blogging challenge and its my fifth attempt. For those who missed it, here is the link to my Theme Reveal post. Do the alphabets still stand for the same things we learnt about in Nursery school? 

Its day twenty four and the alphabet is X. 



Among the several festivals that we celebrate, Christmas is among my favourites. Technically I do not ‘celebrate’ Christmas but possibly because I studied in a convent school, this festival has always been special to me. We always had a party in schoolwith each class having its own celebration. Sometimes they took us to the chapel and we sang carols. 


Now years later, I still make it a point to listen to Christmas carols. 

Besides carols, the Christmas cake is yet another favourite. I learnt to bake one from an expert baker and it is really awesome even if I say so myself.The recipe calls for advance preparation but the results are worth it.
Most shopping areas in Pune are all decked up right from start of December and its a joy to walk down the streets or in the Mall. Christmas trees are look wonderful with fairy lights and ornaments. Here are some wonderfully decorated trees from homes…

Image credit Rajendra Sonarikar
Image credit Rajendra Sonarikar
Image credit Dr Meenakshi Pande
I am sure there are many more facets to this great celebration – family reunions being an important one. 

What do you like best about Xmas? 
Only two more days to go.. See you tomorrow folks…
Cheers!



The Hidden Life Of Trees

As you may have noticed, its not often that I have posted book reviews. Today I am compelled to write about an amazing book that has accidentally come my way. Accidentally because it was spotted at our library by my husband who immediately brought it home for me! And I have been glued to it since…


Peter Wohlleben, trees, book


The Hidden Life Of Trees by Peter Wohelleben is a book for all tree lovers. The author is a forester from Germany and naturally he mostly describes trees in Germany and Europe. Beech. Pine. Birch. Ash and so on…Tropical trees barely find a mention yet I am sure, the ‘behaviours’ that he has described is quite likely apply to trees in my part of the world too. 

Do trees have emotions? How do trees know when to break out into bud? How do trees defend themselves from pests or infections? Do trees talk to each other? What about competition among forest trees? Who wins and why? Who loses and why? Do trees have a ‘brain’ and where is it? Did you know that forests have a ‘wood wide web’ which is a network of  fungi in the soil and this network is vital for survival of plants? 


These are just a few of the questions on any nature lover’s mind and the author has answers in very simple, easy-to-understand, non-botanical terms. His eloquent words took me on a walk in the German forests as I could visualise the towering tree canopies, the dense dark under story…. Every chapter gives an amazing insight into the apparently silent life there.


Somewhere over the years, trees have never been thought of as intelligent thinking beings. “The Hidden Life Of Trees” puts an end to such ideas. And there is scientific research cited at the end of the book to prove it! 


Our lives are closely interwoven with those of the flora and fauna. We need to understand and protect those if humans have to survive on earth. this book is a step in that direction. 


Take care folks!
🙂


The Hidden Life Of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
Publisher Penguin Random House India

Rest and Recuperation

I expect this is a post that should get me some brownie points and boost popularity with those who find excuses to not exercise. Yes, you are right in thinking that Rest IS important when exercising. 

Why? 

Simply because it gives time for the muscles to recuperate and for broken muscle fibres (they are broken down during when doing resistance training) to repair. Its this repair process that increases our BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) and makes the muscles stronger and bigger (over time). 

Obviously by rest I do not mean sleeping or becoming a couch potato. It simply means a day without your regular workout. For those who have specific fitness goals it can mean exercising a different group of muscles with a different workout or activity. There should be an interval of about six to eight hours between exercise sessions.Obviously I refer to those who exercise to stay fit not high performance athletes or those with specific health goals.

Besides rest as I have described above, one needs to get adequate sleep at night. It is the best healer for our body and mind. Overexercising can cause many problems and in this case more is not always better. 

So go ahead and take a break once a week in your workout. You’ve earned it.

Cheers!

Disclaimer: All
suggestions are general in nature. Readers are advised to exercise
caution before implementing them and seek expert advise about what is
suitable for their specific needs.