I had just opened a pack of vermicompost to feed the plants some manure. These days they seal the ‘kattas’ or bags with an ‘auto stitching machine’. Farrrrrr is how it goes and under a second the bag gets locked and sealed.
Opening such a bag is an art. One has to pull the correct side of the string to remove the thread in one go. You pull it from the wrong side; it becomes a complicated task. The thread was synthetic and very soft and silky but very strong and difficult to break. Having ripped it apart like a professional, I was about to discard it in the dust bin.
A thought occurred. Why not reuse it to tie an adenium seed pod that one had recently harvested. The pod had ‘crackled open’ recently. If it is not tied in time then the dry seeds disperse with the wind. This year one intends to grow adenium seeds and use the seedlings to graft some rosy variety of adenium varieties. Rosy varieties are multi-petal adenium flowers. This thread was ideal for binding the pod.
We keep a tray on top of my old black army wooden box to keep all gardening tools handy and organized. I kept the adenium seed pod wrapped in a tissue paper, just in case any moisture creeps in. To remember why I saved that thread, I kept it in the same tray where the pod was kept.
If you would recall, a Red Bottom Bulbul had chosen one of our hanging pots in the garage to build its nest. She has been collecting items from all over the place and building it twig by twig. Soon, she would lay her eggs.
This girl picked up that thread from the tray and took it to her nest. Probably, she wanted to bind the twigs with it, or use it as a cushion to soften the base of the nest for the eggs. She took it alright, but this thread being light got stuck in the foliage of the plant.
Now, this thread is stuck halfway into her nest and the rest of it is hanging down from the pot. Probably, the bird has lost interest in it as I see it fetching feathers and neem twigs to complete her nest. Or, it might be that she would use it while giving finishing touches to the nest.
For the birds and squirrels, we have planted four cotton plants infront of our house. Some birds utilize it also. But unfortunately, our horticulture team was ship-shaping the plants and they trimmed off all its branches which were flowering. Many had immature cotton buds. The saving grace is that there are still a few pods hidden within the cotton bush which will flower soon.
It was just in the nick of time that I had found one cotton pod split open and cotton was hanging from the pods. I extracted the cotton along with the cotton seeds and planted them in nursery bags. Today, when I checked, a few have sprouted. They shall be transplanted in July in the same row as the mother cotton plants. I hope Ms Bulbul would use the same for cushioning her nest next time.
Plastic has become a menace. We find it strewn all over the place. Birds make use of them. I have seen sunbirds use strings of plastic to build their nests.
Well, the ‘dhaga’ (thread) has been put to good use by the Bulbul. I shall not take it away from her nest, even if she doesn’t use it. Let the thread hang there. It would remind me to be careful while watering that pot. Ms Bulbul has put me in a catch 22 situation by nesting there. How will I water the plant? I shall ensure that no water gets into her nest.
We hope to see her hatch the eggs soon? Will she use the discarded thread? I wonder!!!!!!!!
JAI HIND
© ® NOEL ELLIS
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