Bhagwan jab deta hain...

"Bhagwan jab deta hain to chappar phaad ke deta hain !!"

I couldn't resist using this phrase that one of my good Organic Gardening friend Srikant Kapuganti uses. Just that in this case, it mera green patch that's giving me Kaakdis/Cucumbers, chappar phaad ke...!!

Believe me, these cucumbers grow an inch or two overnight and turn from gaunt to rotund even before you've tried to remember where they are located. And just when I think I've finished spotting them cucumbers, there's one peering at me tantalizingly... 

Earth laughs in flowers...

 Earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson

And aren't our vegetable patches a part of the same earth ? If the earth chooses to laugh all over, it chooses to chortle with a full throat in our green patches. Giving us more than enough reason to get joyous over the sight of so many pretty flowers, in a variety of sizes, shapes and shades.

Here's presenting the very elegantly beautiful Alasandi/Yard long bean flowers from my green patch...

Yipeee, the first cucumber !!

 “You have got what it takes to live your dreams.”

And well, this evening I lived my "Savatikaayi kanasu/Cucumber dream" with Rohan, when we harvested the first cool cucumber from atop the mesh roof...

Each one of us gardeners, has got what it takes to live each of out organic gardening dreams. Whether it's just growing successfully and harvesting a small sprig of coriander or being triumphant with an exotic vegetable like a patty pan squash, or cucumbers as in my present case, it's a beautiful dream. And the joy working towards finally living that dream is unsurpassed, unparalleled...

Raindrops and John Muir in my green patch

“The world's big and I want to have a good look at it before it gets dark.”
John Muir

My green patch may be small, but it's my world for me. And I want to have a good look at every little nuance before it gets dark.

Pretty little pearl-like raindrops perched precariously on my cabbage...

Cucumber and yard long bean trail with Rohan and Bhuvan...

It's so much fun trailing these tender little savatikaayis/cucumbers. After spotting the first two cucumbers from under the mesh, I spotted three more. And then, we couldn't resist our temptation and had to clamber up onto the mesh roof. For most of the creeper has sneaked out of the mesh and is growing wild all over the mesh.

We had so much fun looking for these sweet looking, tender little cucumbers that are hiding under the huge leaves. The moment one of us spied a cucumber, we'd shout out loud in excitement. And boy, we ended up finding close to seven cucumbers, apart from the five we'd spotted under the mesh.
After growing and harvesting loads of cumbers as kids on our farm, It had always been my dream to grow among many other vegetables, a cucumber creeper and harvest loads of cucumbers. After quite a few failed attempts in my earlier little green patch (In the small balconies), The creepers this time, have the fortune of growing in the ground. The vines look sturdy and healthy and the leaves are super large and green. Considering that, I am now wishing that these little cucumbers don't get attacked by any pests, they grow healthy, and I am able to harvest some beautiful looking, tender juicy cucumbers.

 The vines are choc-a-bloc with flowers. Hoping at least fifty percent of them turn into fruit...

 The creepers have simply gone haywire all over the mesh roof and are now threatening to even clamber onto the terrace parapet wall...

 The excitement and happy shock of spying a cute little cucumber !

 Can't have enough of gazing at them lovingly...

  Can't have enough of gazing at them lovingly...

 If I am busy admiring the little cucumbers, and Rohan is busy taking pictures, Bhuvan is busy at his antics...

  If I am busy admiring the little cucumbers, and Rohan is busy taking pictures, Bhuvan is busy at his antics...

  If I am busy admiring the little cucumbers, and Rohan is busy taking pictures, Bhuvan is busy at his antics...

  If I am busy admiring the little cucumbers, and Rohan is busy taking pictures, Bhuvan is busy at his antics...

 A couple of Alasandi/Yard long beans that the monkeys had chewed up !

But then, the creepers are full of new flowers and tiny little alasandi/yard long beans...

 But then, the creepers are full of new flowers and tiny little alasandi/yard long beans...

 So many more young alasandi/beans, that we need to keep an eye on and harvest before the monkeys do...

 Wondering about the purple tinged tips of the alasandi/beans...

 Posers both...!!

 

 Posers both...!!

The first cucumbers !!

“Happiness is a gift and the trick is not to expect it, but to delight in it when it comes.”
Charles Dickens

And I am more than delighted to have spotted these two sweet little Mulla Savatikaayi/Cucumbers !!! Ah, happiness comes in so many surprise packages...