February 24, 2014

 Jayanthi went back to Colombo yesterday.  It feels lonely without her.

I finally got my lease agreement signed for a further year.  I have a 3 month escape clause, so I am actively looking for another place.  One year goes by rapidly and I know I don't want to put up with my landlady for longer than I have to.  I know that next year she will try to jack up the rent big time, so it is time to move on.  At least now I have some breathing space.

The thing I will miss most about this place is the garden.  The latest is a tailor bird that has set up a nest in the avocado tree.

This is the tailor bird, or to be more precise, the common tailor bird

Here is the nest.  As you can see, it had stitched the leaves together perfectly and then filled up the space with all manner of soft materials.

The leaf at the top is set up to shelter from the rain, while the leaf at the bottom is like a veranda

Here is the front view.  If you look closely to the lower left of the nest you can see that it managed to get hold of some actual thread which it has used to secure the veranda.

Here is the stitching detail

This is a closeup of the nest itself

Here is my Madagascar periwinkle with lots of blooms

We continue to give flowers to the Buddha and the rest of the house every day when Veenitha is here.  Now we have added a small coconut oil lamp as well.  Here are some lovely frangipani that Veenitha gets from her garden along with some jasmine.