And the avrikaayi ballis came down...!!

And finally the day did arrive and my mammoth Avrikayi ballis (All three of them) came down yesterday ! One look at the creepers having spread so well and so full of flowers, I was almost tempted to change my mind. But my resolve was strong. I didn't want my little green patch to be ravaged anymore because of the monkeys. And these Avrikayis were what was tempting them ! Even Rudrappa, (Whom Mum sent for help) asked me a dozen times if I was sure I wanted to bring down the creepers, before starting... But I didn't budge ! I had made up my mind !

I worked shoulder to shoulder with Rudrappa to pull down the avrikayi ballis. We cleaned up the whole mesh and the patch under. Phew !! The creepers were massive ! We were cutting and dragging stuff off of the mesh and there still was so much...!! The place under the mesh had become like a dark cavern and since the past month or so, it had unfortunately turned into more of a store room for my gardening stuff. It took us close to five hours to just clear up every bit of the creepers. Then we had to clean the mesh of all the dried twigs and leaves and the patch itself had to be cleared and cleaned up. And then we had to clear up and rejuvenate the beds.    
We started off at 10.00 am and it was close to 6.00 pm when we wound up. Though at first, my patch that now looked bare as bones it, felt weird. I was happy that now I could get back to gardening inside this meshed portion. I can also get back some of the potted plants inside and save them from the monkeys, Disco's excitement and falling coconut fronds.

Early this morning, I managed to set up some of the pots inside and my patch looked a lot more welcoming that the last evening. I now have to get working and hope to get it back to its former lush green glory. Fingers crossed for me and my patch, dear friends... :)

 A look at the mammoth avrikaayi ballis from outside the compound.

 Another look at the abundance...

A view of the creepers from the backyard side.

 Cavernous and dark.
The creepers had grown so lush, hardly any sunlight entered inside.

 Coming down at last...!

 It was a tiring task indeed, cutting off and dragging away portion by portion of the thicket-like creepers.

 And there we had the sunlight gradually shining through the mesh...

 The thick stems of the creepers !!
The dolichos creeper was loaded with flowers.
I harvested all the lima beans a couple of days back.

 This is just half of the bio mass from the creepers. The other half got donated to Rudrappa, who took it for his cattle.

 The patch gradually getting brighter...

 Ta da !!! And there we have it, my all-cleaned-up, bare-as-bones patch !

 I now have to get working and hope to get it back to its former lush green glory.

 Early this morning, I managed to set up some of the pots inside and my patch looked a lot more welcoming that the last evening.