Littering leaves

A falling leaf....

 Take a leaf from nature. A walk or stroll in the park can be inspiring when one sees a falling leaf.  There are sections in the park where the forest floor or footpath are literally littered with leaves.   These leaves are great mental therapy.  Stepping on them and listening to their rustle makes me feel well at peace with nature.  Fallen leaves are rich at ease.  They decompose and in their wake grew a new garden ecology.  We live once only to die and then leave behind a generation to continue what is left undone.....

View of the park towards the entrance.  Oil palm leaves - good enough for temporary cushion.

Leaves to walk on....

Overtime leaves decompose and help make rich humus..

At Botanic Island Two -  leaves litter are a landscaping element that adds interest and atmosphere to the place..

More leaves cover is better, there is beauty in the litter...

Leaves and a feather....

Fringe of Botanic Island Two

Inside Botanic Island One

Footpath at Botanic Island One

Two Tiongs

 I have been watching two Tiong birds ( Grackle or Hill Myna) that have found  home in one very tall dead tree at the park.  For more than a month now, they have without fail made it a point to return home daily to their nest in a hole up in the tree between 5 - 6 pm.  This schedule is fine with me because during that time I could kill two birds with one stone.  This is because their nest is just about 20 meters close by  the highest viewing point at Zone I which is my favourite lookout point for the Bintulu sunset.  It is my fervent hope that soon , maybe I could see a Tiong chick peep out from the hole in the tree.  In the meantime I would like to share some pictures that that tell the story of these two Tiongs.

Grackle or Hill Myna - Tiong in Malay (Gracula religiosa)

This Tiong just flew out of the nest, which is a hole in the tree.

Tiong in flight to perch on a branch.

Tiongs have immense repertoire of notes, some melodious while others are noisy and raucous.

Tiong peeping out from nest.

Tiongs more often than not are always in pairs and are popular cage birds because they can be trained to imitate the human speech.

Broad leaves in the landscape

 Against the cool and soft green wash of the evergreen tropical forest, broad leaves are a refreshing variation to its profile.  Broad leaves of many plant species are planted to make the park more interesting to look at because big or broad leaves provide much drama, character, accent and scale to the overall landscape.  At the inset is a view of the park looking north-west at Zone D showing the interplay of broad and big leaves of the Traveler's tree and another jungle species.  Below are some more examples of broad leaves that I managed to photograph this morning.

Broad leaves of the Breadfruit (Artocapus altilis) or Sukun in Malay at left and Banana leaves at right.

Calathea crotalifera  - Rattle snake plant

Calathea lutea

Terap in Malay or Lumok in Bintulu Melanau (Artocarpus odoratissimus)

Shrubby dillenia or Simpoh air in Malay (Dillenia suffructicosa)

Pandanus dubius

Traveler's tree (Ravenala madagascariensis)

Agave sepecies