Sharing Summer’s Bounty

Asia, Travel Snippets, 128 Comments

Summer, where I live, isn’t the glorious season that most of you look forward to with anticipation. We dread it with a vengeance. Only one thing makes coping with the blistering heat worthwhile…….sweet, luscious, divine mangoes.DSC_4801 copyAnd the return of my parakeets to my mango tree. I was concerned they weren’t coming back this year, but here they are….timed to a T!

Mango stained!
An intruder!

Now off to demolish the last fruits of the season. Have a great weekend you all!

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Madhu is an Interior designer turned travel blogger on a long sabbatical to explore the world. When not crafting stories on The Urge To Wander, she's probably Tweeting @theurgetowander or sharing special moments on instagram.com/theurgetowander

128 thoughts on “Sharing Summer’s Bounty”

  1. Pingback: 15 Signs That You Have A Serious Mango Addiction

  2. Another wonderful post!! 🙂 Making me crave for mangoes now!

  4. Madhu, lovely to have delicious mangoes and beautiful wildlife just outside your window! Do you have any signature recipes that you make with them, or do you enjoy them on their own?

  5. I wish I could find a decent mango in my part of the world! This is a lovely post! 🙂

  6. awww the birds have just started showing up across vedanthangal/pulicat/east coast road for past two weeks after a dry summer. you should try these places out. i saw a jacobin cuckoo near ponneri road roady!

    1. We haven’t been to Vedanthangal in a few decades!! We used to visit with R’s dad when he was the chief conservator of forests for Tamilnadu. I would love to return.

  7. Beautifully caught in action! Parakeets on mango tree..they must have had a divine feast. Never mind we can tolerate the summer:)

  8. I can only imagine how hot it must be there Madhu and I do hope you will stay cool for sure. 😀
    The Parakeets are absolutely gorgeous and you’ve captured them so well! The intruder is adorable as well! You are so sweet to share your mangoes with them hon. 😀

    1. Thank you Sonel. We have had a couple of heavy showers over the last couple of days and they have lowered temperatures considerably. But the humidity will not abate until September at least.

      1. I am glad you had some lovely showers to break the heat Madhu. As for humidity .. that’s something I can’t handle. It gives me headaches and makes me very tired. I think it messes around with my low blood pressure. I prefer the dry heat. 😀

        Take care and stay cool! 😀

  10. Yes, Indian summer is not something I relish – especially coming from Singapore the (notoriously) air-conditioned city 🙂

    1. Not something I relish either Eric, but I don’t have much of a choice. Have been gently trying to brainwash hubby into moving to pleasanter climes, but that doesn’t seem to have had much effect so far! 🙂

  11. Ah, sweet mangoes! Sadly we don’t grow any ourselves here in Hong Kong – most are either imported from Thailand or the Philippines. The best mango I’ve ever had was in a sweltering May in Laos, although I keep hearing reports that the best ones are found in India. I too abhor the summer heat and humidity, but then again it rarely (if ever) gets above 36°C… at the worst times all it takes is a minute outdoors to be sweating buckets!

    1. The humidity is the worst part James. Which means we eschew walking anywhere and outdoor meals are restricted to a few days in late December if at all. I envy my daughter that most of all in Bangalore. As for mangoes, I have yet to taste better mangoes anywhere else. I am sure your stores stock Indian Alphonso mangoes when in season. Don’t forget to look out for them next year.

    1. It is the birds that chase him away actually! i was hoping to catch one of those fights, but they are way to fast for me 😉

  14. It looks like someone else has discovered your luscious mangoes as well. 😉 We were lucky to receive some as a gift from the woman who owns the Thai restaurant that we go to every Friday. They were yummy! Love the photo, Madhu. Good luck in snagging some of that fruit for yourself. 😉

    1. Thank you Judy. I stole some hanging close to my window! They were sweet, but too stringy. Getting to watch the antics of these creatures is reward enough 🙂

  15. How wonderful to have your own mango tree with parakeets and other little critters. Sounds magical (but I’m sure I’d struggle with the summer heat).

    1. Oh believe me, you would struggle Kat!!! We struggle! 🙂 The tree isn’t technically mine. It sits in my neighbour’s yard, but I get to enjoy its residents better from my kitchen window 🙂

    1. I thought rose ringed parakeet populations did exist in warmer US cities. Did you know most western populations, including those in England, were introduced accidentally by escaping pet Asian birds?

    1. You love hot and humid??? Come to Chennai……I guarantee you will change your mind 😀

  18. Mangoes are a good part of my summer too, although from the shop unfortunately. I envy you your trees.

    I don’t like heat or the threat of bushfires at home. Being in Poland in summer has given me a very different perspective. Here summer’s relished: hoses in the street; bodies tanning in the parks; everyone dining out in street cafes. Snatching whatever sun’s on offer.

    1. Considering we would rather hide within darkened air-conditioned rooms during the worst of the summer months, I find the Western love of sunlight perplexing! No prizes for guessing why we are genetically prone to vitamin D deficiency despite the abundance of sunshine, apart from the challenge faced by darker skin to process the nutrient 🙂 On the brighter side is the lower incidence of melanoma!

    1. These aren’t the best variety Shabnam, but they afford me so much pleasure because of the visitors that frequent the tree 🙂 Belated Eid wishes to you. Hope you had a joyous celebration.

  21. wow!! eatable post 🙂 Its awesome post, mangoes are my favourite fruit whenever I see, I couldn’t want to ignore them just wana eat on the spot. hehehe.

  22. Those mangos look absolutely mouthwatering, Madhu. And I’m glad the parakeets came back. ~Chau

    1. These aren’t the best variety Cahu Wu…..sweet enough, but stringy. My feathered friends seem to love it though and that makes me happy 🙂 Thank you for stopping by to comment.

  23. Actually spring and fall are my favorites, Madhu, because as I get older I don’t like the hot heat. So I do understand. I love mangoes, though, and your parakeets are adorable, too. Two lovely things to anticipate and to find balance in the changing seasons…lovely post! Have a wonderful week ahead! xx

    1. Have no doubt nature compensates Colorado squirrels with alternate luscious treats in lieu of mangoes Quark 🙂

  26. Yes the heat would be unbearable that is for sure. I just experienced late May in India and it was sweltering hot! 🙂 But the mangos would be delicious! And you don’t have our brutally cold winters.

    1. True. The mangoes are a great consolation for the heat. And I find extreme cold challenging Nicole.

      1. Yes the extreme cold is hard. But the only good thing is you can bundle up and if dressed properly can still be outside. When it is hot, it is hard to be outside. But extreme temperatures anywhere are hard. 🙂

  28. Awww birdy! Like i heard somewhere “a Sunday afternoon needs a whole mango to be kept entirely for oneself, and eaten in one sitting”

    1. That is my kind of Sunday!! And I think I have just seen the last of those perfect Sundays for this year! 😦 Thank you for your visit and comment Christybharath.

  29. Such a cute intruder! And he timed his appearance to perfection, Madhu 🙂
    I hate to confess that I’ve never much liked mangoes. Perhaps I should give those ones a try. Sorry about the heat 🙂

    1. R isn’t too fond of them either Jo. I find it hard to imagine how anyone can not like mangoes 🙂

    1. I love anything with mango in it Cornelia!! In Mangalore we make a dessert of chopped and gently crushed mangoes steeped in coconut milk sweetened with jaggery (brown cane sugar or molasses) and flavoured with cardamom or roasted sesame…..divine eaten chilled! 🙂

    1. The tableaux of their mock fights is a great time pass Amit. I am intrigued by how they all partake of the single fruit that is first punctured by the squirrel, before moving on to the next! I think there is a lesson there for us wasteful humans.

    1. My favourite is the large yellow Banganpalli from Hyderabad Ian. It is also called Benishan.

    1. The tree has borne a bumper crop Meredith, so it is a free for all! Spotted a very shy woodpecker feasting on the fruit last week!!

      1. Oh, wow! There was a couple who used to attack the windows of my car, back at Gal Katayam, but I never saw them in the mango tree. I love to imagine you (and your neighbours?) with long poles, vying with the monkeys and birds for your share …. 🙂

  35. It’s so interesting to think of wild parakeets. Here they are only in cages as pets. That would be quite nice to have near the house.

    1. I compromise by living in a cold place and eating the imported Alphonso Mangoes.

      However the heat is increasing here and we may soon start growing Mangoes in Canada too 🙂

      Thanks for reviving the memories of Mango trees!

    2. True, they are almost the same shade of green! Yes, this is your kind of post Lisa 🙂
      PS: Caught a woodpecker having a go at the mangoes last week!

      1. that was surely fun to see the woodpecker feasting there! sometimes i think the birds visit the mangoes and lemons for the water-drink during the dry season.. do you have a dry season?…

  38. Do some of your mangoes have lots of strings attached? 🙂
    Many of those we buy here look luscious but have strings from the pip extending almost all the way through the fleshy part of the fruit.

    1. Some of the cheaper and wild varieties do Col. and the strings get stubbornly stuck in your teeth. Those are usually reserved for curries. But the better hybrids are all luscious flesh!! Shall now have to wait until next June for one of those sadly 😦

  39. I’d love to have a mango tree in my balcony garden, but unfortunately I don’t think it will adapt well to the climate here…

  40. Wow I love mangoes it’s my favorite thing about summer

  41. Pingback: Weekly Photo Challenge: SUMMER LOVIN’ | The Adventures of Iñigo Boy

    1. Thanks Shail. There will be few Indians disagreeing. Hubby is one…he is that rarest of rare creatures that is not too fond of mangoes!!! 🙂

  43. Well…How so ever torturous the summer might be, we in Dussheri { the delectable mango variety] growing area wait for it. Aha ! one slurp of that succulent and juicy fruit and all the scorching can be forgotten.

    1. I agree…worth every drop of sweat!! 🙂 We do get Dussehri, but the supply is erratic. My favourite is the Banganpalli (Benishan) from Andhra.

  44. I love mangoes. Your photo brings back memories of home, of how we as children roamed around in the neighborhood looking for mangoes and other fruits, and “picking” from the trees we happen by, and getting shouted out by their owners. ahhh…those were wonderful days. 🙂

    1. We did that too Imelda! And sucked those mangoes without peeling them….tasted so much better that way! Yes..those were the days! 🙂

  45. That parakeet has a sly look about him (her?) Relishing the sweet success of tasting a forbidden fruit! And he’s getting away with it 😀

    1. That is a “Don’t you have anything better to do?” look!. She hopped over to the left just to give me that glare before returning to her meal! 🙂

  46. I’m having trouble getting comments to you today, but will try again. I would love to have parakeets in my mango trees, but, selfishly, I don’t care for the squirrels who prefer to sample and sample and sample. But, our mangoes and pineapple are delicious and we are enjoying our bounty. Stay cool. It is hot and quite humid here. Must use my neighbor’s pool more often. 🙂

  48. I didn’t realize you had “blistering heat” there, Madhu, but I doubt it beats Palm Springs. Was just finally realizing that living hear confounds my lifelong sense of pleasurable feelings about the summer. 😉

    But these shots are gorgeous! And I’m glad your parakeets came back, too. Did I mention I am trying to grow a mango tree in a pot here in my courtyard garden??!!? Oh, and who is the cute little guy devouring that mango?

    1. Oh yes, daytime temperatures are generally a sizzling 40°-45°C between May and June! Being a coastal city, it is the humidity that is more uncomfortable though.
      I had no idea you could grow mangoes in a pot!! Should take a while to bear fruit!! Look forward to seeing the results.

      I am delighted the parakeets are back. The arrival of summer and consequentially the ripening of the mangoes were delayed this year. Amazed by how these birds timed their visit just right!

      And Riba, when do I get to read no.11? 🙂

      1. Oh yes—45 degrees with humidity is terrible! We are having more and more humidity here, too. Our usual dry heat is so much easier to bear. And yes, a neighbor of mine has been growing his in a pot here for years. Mine DID produce fruit this year, but it seems to be ripening oddly. Still, beautiful and amazing, and I am hopeful next year it will be better. (I think it needed more shade.) Oh, and one of these days I will post again! I’ve been at least beginning to return to it, thinking of topics. I thought the mangoes might be one! 🙂

  49. I have said it before, I envyyyyy you your mango three. It looks beautiful, Madhu. we are experiencing a tropical heatwave in Norway at the moment, but I suppose you’d only laugh at chilly temperature of 32°C…
    Keep cool, dear!

    1. Of course! 32°C is temperate by our standards! After sweating buckets through a visit during weather termed pleasant by hubby, my brother in law insists on clarifying “your ‘pleasant’ or ours?” 😀

      1. 😀 😀
        We are sending you a cool breeze 💨💨💨💨💨 hihihihi from the North

        2. I thought it would… Otherwise you can have a look at some of our arctic photos,
          then you put your forehead on the screen and close your eyes, it works too.😄

  50. Mangoes are my favourite fruit! yum! And what a pleasure to have them growing in your garden accompanied by a parakeet 🙂

    1. This tree belongs to our strange neighbours who rarely harvest the mangoes!!! Our security staff happily help themselves to whatever falls into our yard. That leaves a lot of bait for my avian friends, which suits me fine 🙂

  52. I miss mangoes! Your post brought my suppressed feelings back to the surface!.. 🙂 Enjoy your ambrosia!

    1. Ambrosia it is! Wish I could send you all some. Sadly the best varieties are off the market already 😦

  53. Pingback: Photo Challenge: Summer Lovin’ | tnkerr-Writing Prompts and Practice

  54. Your post reminded me that I haven’t had a mango for way too long! Enjoy yours. 🙂

  55. I love mangoes. They are flipping expensive in Spain though. Usually rely on free handouts from next door. Spain’s greenery grinds to a halt in summer and everything turns brown. Unless there is a bush fire in which case it is black. Produces fascinating photos though, especially when the growth returns.

    1. That’s a pity. Wish I could send you some! 🙂
      We get just enough rain to keep our green cover going, but temperatures touch the mid forties in May/June, and humidity levels soar. Bangalore is beautiful right now.

      1. Where I live in Spain is 30s in summer because we are coastal, Sevilla, Granada, Cordoba is 40s, hence we are swamped in summer with people seeking the coast.

        Gib is less extreme, doesn’t hit 40. Don’t tempt me to revisit India, I would love to.

        3. Delhi has extreme weather, very cold in winter and heat waves in summer. This year was particularly bad. Bombay is on the coast and almost similar to Chennai.

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