January is a month I always look forward to for many reasons. The weather gets warmer, and there is so much happening around that is of interest to me. On the first Sunday of January our city Bangalore hosts a huge art show. This is the only day when art is sold on the street. Artists both big and small artists alike sell their art on streets specifically earmarked for this purpose. This is one day I never want to miss, even if I don't buy anything this walk becomes my inspiration for the rest of the year. I ensured that the hubs and I left home early, I was surprised that our younger son decided to join us on this art walk.

After a bout of illness it seems a rather difficult for me to get my energy levels back up. For me there is nothing more therapeutic than a walk in nature. However, in the city it's kind of difficult to get close to nature always, we could go to the parks, but these places are crowded on the weekends and the hubs and I avoid them at these times. The best choice then is to take a walk down one of these lanes lined with trees. Thankfully my city, Bangalore is full of trees and greenery. Some lanes in residential areas are less crowded than the others and these are the avenues we choose when it comes to taking a walk.

There are those whom we call friends but who act very differently and there are those who look nothing like friends but are true friends, standing by your side and supporting you in every way. Here is one of my friends in the garden who has been hanging around for generations. I am being honest, I have seen a few of his ancestors in the last eight years since I started my terrace garden.

Happy New Year dear Hiveans. This is my first post for this year. Like Rip Van winkle I woke up to find myself lagging behind by twelve days. I've been taken ill for months at a time but I've never really woken up to having little or no memory of what happened during a bunch of days in between.

These days I go to my terrace garden only around midday as the haze and the chill in the mornings is pretty heavy. I wait for the sun to show up victoriously after its battle with the haze in the mornings. I find that there are a lot of creatures who think like me. There are a number of butterflies who show up around midday. This beauty was one of those.

When night falls the world that we know takes on a different hue and character all together. For some nightfall brings a sense of fear and anxiety, for others it is pure beauty and romance. Stepping into my garden when the sun was getting ready to set one winter evening I lay myself on the bench propped up with silken pillows and a warm cashmere shawl lightly covering my body. I watched transfixed as golden rays of the sun transformed my garden into pure gold. The yellow frangipani on the tree nearby looked like it was sculpted out of gold, only it fresh lemony fragrance gave it away.