Whenever I am tired of reading or working especially on my computer, I would go on the green escapade to relax my eyes. Fortunately I have just to open my clinic window and look at my favourite green especially when there is a beautiful breeze caressing those leaves, making them move ever so languidly. My mind seem to be rejuvenated just looking at the green things in my surrounding. I would like to share some of my favourite views.
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| The Dancing Trees |
The view of green against a clear blue sky is very soothing. I just focus on those leaves and feel my eye muscles relax. The light breeze adds a kind of musical tune as the leaves move from side to side and around the air currents. It was indeed a peaceful sight.
I have to imagine the interaction of leaves,breeze and sunlight as they present a picture of peace,harmony and beauty. Let my mind soar as it strives to derive simple joy by just being with nature. My escapade is complete as tranquility overwhelms me with surges of pleasurable sensations coursing through my body. Reminds me of a poetry by Lord Byron.... How do I love thee... Let me count the ways....In my case, how do I love Nature... Let me list the ways..
I have some favourite green around my house. Take a look at my curry tree just outside my kitchen window. It also dances beautifully in a breeze. The curry leaves are used, well, in curry to create that sweet pungent curry smell. I have also seen people boil nuts such as chickpeas (
kacang kuda) with curry leaves to bring out that
oomph flavour.
Next to the curry tree, I have a mango tree,
Harum Manis, given to me some years ago by my favourite Health Sister Theresa. The tree has been bearing sweet mangoes without fail all these years. I thought of Theresa whenever I eat the mangoes. Such is an enduring memory! There is also "
limau purut" tree which I planted using a sapling bought from an old lady at an open Sunday Market. It also bears fruit continuously. Besides using it for cooking, I also use it as hair shampoo. And there is also a henna tree next to the lemon tree. I have yet to use it to color my hair in a natural way. And close to it is a "
Belimbing Buluh" tree given to me by my retired Rural Nurse, Angela. The fruit is used to add that sourish flavour to some dishes and I have used it to relieve an early sore throat. Thanks to Angela!
Often at nights when it is breezy and quite, I could hear the leaves of my mango trees rustling by my bedroom window.
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| Trees that I planted |
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Yes, I also planted some
pandan shrubs for cooking purposes. Oh you can really add lovely fragrant smell to your "
nasi lemak", cakes and porridge using this herb and yes when I am sitting on a lazy chair just outside my laundry waiting for my clothes to be washed, I could smell the exquisite scent especially in the evening or when it just stops raining.
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| The Fragrant Pandan |
The
pandan plant grows exuberantly especially when you just let it be so every now and then I have to prune it otherwise it will march right into my neighbour's fence. Ever once my exasperated neighbour asked our gardener to prune the marching
pandan as he said there could be snakes under its convoluted roots!
But I can tell you that the plant is actually a mild natural insecticide. No cockroaches will come near when you put
pandan leaves in the vicinity.
My neighbour only likes to grow flowery plants. His house is full of colorful bougainvillea, roses and hibiscus while mine is full of green. There were times when his wife asked my amah for some pandan leaves to add fragrance to her cooking! during festive season, the pandan leaves are sold in a small bunch for RM2 at the market, it used to be RM1 but the increase in petrol price has shot up transportation cost of these market produce. So my nurses would troop to my house to help me prune this plant and they get their share of pandan for free.They also prune my "limau purut" plant as they need the leaves for festive delicacy, the rendang!
My favourite vitamin C source is the guava. I used to have two of this wonderful trees. They were given to me by my Hospital Assistant Joseph some years ago when I moved to my present bungalow. One of the trees succumbed to insects' infestation. It used to produce rather longish fruit but less sweet but this surviving one produces rounder fruits and are much sweeter.
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| Sweet and Succulent Guava | | |
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The tree has never failed to fruit several times a year and they are in abundance. Unfortunately, at times the fruits are infected by the nasty fruit flies when I forget to cover them at an early fruiting stage. Well, when you have this fruit almost everyday you tend to forget that the tree needs tender loving care.
On the flat ground at the end of the hillslope at the back of my house I have banana trees and pygmy
pandan coconut trees. You have to drink the coconut water from my tree to taste the exquisite
pandan-scented liquid. Actually I did not know that I had this kind of coconut species till one day we bought a couple of coconuts, noisily advertised, as having sweet taste with
pandan smell at a stall. It was lovely so the next day we returned to the same place where the stall was but the vendor was no longer there! We went everywhere looking for the rare coconut but no one else was selling them. Then one day my gardener got hold of some coconuts from OUR TREE and hey Presto! It was the
pandan genus. Fancy that ! All those years we just watched the coconuts falling to the ground untouched.
Well, that is my green escapade, covering most of the senses, visual,audio,taste and smell. I derive great pleasure with GREEN around me.
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