bounty

I've been birdwatching a bit lately as I am not in the frame of mind to open my computer and work these days. am learning to be still and patient and watch out for sudden movements in the branches of the trees in front of our windows. it's a good spot, with a big gulmohar in bloom right now, a shahtoot tree, and one what I call the mother tree; these three together attract a variety of birds whose names I am slowly learning. I still can't tell their calls from each other. my favorites are the restless butterfly sized sun birds who can barely stay put. I also love to spot green colored ones, so far parrots, brown headed barbets, and the common tailorbird. the other day I was wondering whether birds chart out the flight trajectory before they take off or not. or what range circles the kites want to float in. 

in India in summer you get a variety of melons, juicy and cool, even other than the more-known watermelon. I call all these kharbujas, but there are many, yellow, cream, orange, and green, some striped. I've figured it's best to eat in each season what's bountiful then; so am getting lots of melons while we wait for mango season. and now whenever I cut one of these, I collect their seeds (found conveniently in the center), wash and dry them, and then sprinkle them somewhere on the earth. last time I did this, I went to check the day after and saw only shells of them remaining. these are tiny flat seeds and it's hard for human hands/teeth to shell them, and I'm assuming also for bird beaks. so I think the squirrels have been busy snacking on them after some hard work.