Inspiration doesn’t come easily. It can often suffocate under the weight of daily chores, commitments, errands, appointments, work – and well, just life in general. On those days when my other muses are M.I.A, I just take myself off to nature. It doesn’t have to be some grand adventure. A walk around the house to look at the flora and fauna would do the job. You might think what kind of flora and fauna could I find around the house? Well, in case you are wondering about that, let me tell you.
White butterflies and bejeweled hummingbirds dart between hibiscus flowers in shades of white, orange, red, gold, pink, yellow and white. They are often accompanied by melodious birdsong from Gray Kingbirds and Tropical mockingbirds that have taken to swinging on our wind chimes and building nests on the bigger ones. If the wind chimes prove challenging for them, they would go in search of better real estate, usually amongst the branches of the plantain trees.
(Photos of flowers by Raj Mituram)
Variegated Hibiscus – one of my mother’s greatest joys.
(View from the lookout on the way to Maracas Bay, Trinidad – photo by the author.)
(Video by author)
On early mornings, rowdy macaws would fly over the village in search of coconuts for their breakfast. There used to be so many of trees in the village. There aren’t many now, just a few defiant ones that remain standing in their singular solitude, their slender silhouettes etched against majestic mountain ranges in the distance. The macaws would land on these trees and continue their quarrels while feasting on coconut water from the young coconuts. Once they were done with one tree, they would fly to another, and this would continue until the mid-morning sun would signal to them that it was time to leave the all-you-can-drink buffet and head off to new exploits.
(View from Mount St. Benedict – photo by author)
But my favourite experience will always be thunderstorms. Ever since I was little, standing outside in a fairly safe, dry space was the best way to witness the high drama of tropical thunderstorms. It started with the rolling in of dark grey clouds that obscured the sun and settled heavily over the mountain ranges in the distance turning them from emerald green to almost black. Then would come the rumbles. The air would change from that heavy, sticky stillness to cool and electric. You could smell the petrichor in the air as the rain would already have started somewhere else. I always felt that thunderstorms, especially tropical ones, were a treat to the senses. You would feel it on your skin as your clothes stuck to you. Then you’d hear the rumbles which would start low, like a soft growl, then they’d become louder, more insistent and accompanied by an early light show.
When I was in primary school, I, along with the kids from my community who also attended the same school, would ‘race’ the rain. We would hear it coming from a distance – fat, delicious drops of rain that hammered corrugated iron roofs as the storm approached. We’d take off, pelting down the street in the direction of our homes. We’d be drenched in seconds because little legs are no match for nature’s fury. I only made it home once, but got caught closing the gate. Had it not been for my diligence in securing our property – yeah, I would have won.
What’s better than thunderstorms during the day? Well, thunderstorms at night. There is something elemental and paranormal about a storm at night. I loved to watch the lightning as it tore through the inky landscape of the sky for an instant, revealing the trees thrashing in the onslaught. Thunder would follow mere seconds after – a sharp crack – as if the sky itself was splintered. The lightning storms in Canada are spectacular – like flashes from the cameras of paparazzi.
There are of course the softer aspects of nature, quieter and less melodramatic. From ruddy skies at sunset to skies that are so blue there’s not a cloud in sight and also skies with large, puffy clouds that make one feel to reach out and touch them. There is the morning birdsong and dewdrops on the grass. There is the sunrise pouring gold over misty mountains. The gentle lapping of waves on the beach complements the calls and the chatter of waterfowl. I could go on extolling the virtues of nature and the part it plays in our existence. What would life be like without it?
(Photo by Marsha Mituram) That little spot in the clouds was actually an eclipse that was captured with her Nikon camera.
(Photo by Marsha Mituram)
(Video by author)
(Photo by author)
It was only fitting that nature became one of my muses. So, whenever I feel like life has beaten the stuffing out of me to the point where my stores of creativity have been depleted, I go outside and walk around or go on a drive with my family or an early morning trip to the beach or the lake just to hear what nature has to say – and that therapy is free and so is the inspiration.
(Featured Title Photo generated by WordPress AI)
Reshma Mituram 