Estranged - Poem by Walter De La Mare

Estranged

                     -     By Walter De La Mare

No one was with me there - 

Happy I was - alone;

Yet from the sunshine suddenly

A joy was gone.

A bird in an empty house

Sad echoes makes to ring,

Flitting from room to room

On restless wing:

Till from its shades he flies,

And leaves forlorn and dim

The narrow solitudes

So strange to him.

So, When with fickle heart

I joyed in the passing day,

A presence my mood estranged

Went grieved away.

The Soldier - Poem By Rupert Brooke

The Soldier

                 - By Rupert Brooke

If I should die, think only this of me:

That there's some corner of a foreign field

That is for ever England. There shall be

In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;

A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,

A body of England's, breathing English air,

Washed by the rivers, bless by the suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,

A pulse in the eternal mind, no less

Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;

Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;

And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,

In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

For A Dead Lady - Poem By Edwin Arlington Robinson

For A Dead Lady

       - By E. A. Robinson

No more with overflowing light

Shall fill the eyes that now are faded,

Not shall another's fringe with night

Their woman-hidden world as they did,

No more shall quiver down the days

The flowing wonder of her ways,

Whereof no language may requite

The shifting and the many-shaded.

The grace, divine, definitive,

Clings only as a faint forestalling;

The laugh that love could not forgive

Is hushed, and answers to no calling;

The forehead and the little ears

Have gone where Saturn keeps the years;

The breast where roses could not live

Has done with rising and with falling.

The beauty, shattered by the laws

That have creation in their keeping,

No longer trembles at applause,

Or over children that are sleeping;

And we who delve in beauty's lore

Know all that we have know before

Of what inexorable cause

Makes Time so vicious in his reaping.

The Moth - Poem By Walter De La Mare

The Moth

     - By Walter De La Mare

Isled in the midnight air,

Musked with the dark's faint bloom,

Out into glooming and secret haunts

The flame cries, 'Come!'

Lovely in dye and fan,

A-tremble in shimmering grace,

A moth from her winter swoon

Uplifts her face;

Stares from her glamorous eyes;

Wafts her on plumes like mist;

In ecstasy swirls and sways

To her strange trysts.

Tree At My Window - Poem by Robert Frost

Tree At My Window

  - By Robert Frost

Tree at my window, window tree,

My sash is lowered when night comes on;

But let there never be curtain drawn

Between you and me.

Vague dream-head lifted out of the ground,

And thing next most diffuse to cloud,

Not all your light tongues talking aloud

Could be profound.

But tree, I have seen you taken and tossed,

And if you have seen me when I slept,

You have seen me when I was taken and swept

And all but lost.

That day she put our heads together,

Fate had her imagination about her,

Your head so much concerned with outer,

Mine with inner, weather.

Orchid Cactus - Care and Growing Tips

The Orchid Cactus, commonly known as Brahma Kamal, Night Blooming Cereus and Lady of the Night, is a beautiful cacti that bores large cup shaped flowers in varied colors such as red, pink, white, yellow and even mixed light an dark colored. With little care and regular pruning, one gets to enjoy a beautiful bloom which would go on for months. Though the plant is known as Orchid cactus, yet it is not an orchid at all but a cactus. The plant must have got it's name because of the beauty of the flower similar to that of orchid and the rest of the plant resembling a cactus. The flowers  do resemble the shape of the orchid but are large and have a lovely fragrance. The flowers of orchid cactus are known to bloom after sunset, as they start out blooming slowly. It takes around two hours for the flower to bloom fully but once it is done, it stays open throughout the night.  And hence Orchid Cactus are also called as 'The Queen of the Night'. In India the orchid cactus is known as Brahma Kamal and is looked upon as a sacred plant. The name Brahma Kamal is derived from the word 'Brahma' which is the name of Lord Brahma in Hindu Mythology who is the God of Creation and 'Kamal' which means a 'Lotus' for its resemblance with the flower. Lord Brahma is usually seen holding the Brahma Kamal in his hand. One is considered to be really lucky if he gets to see a fully bloomed Brahma Kamal. In India, Orchid Cactus are found in Himalayas and now is hugely popular as a house plant.

Care and Growing Tips for Orchid Cactus

Orchid Cactus can be the best hanging plants, as there is not much of tedious task taking care of them. Being a cactus, the plants do not need frequent watering. They can serve as the best indoor plant as they are less messy. Let us learn some care and growing tips for orchid cactus.

1. If planning to grow them outdoors, it is ideal to choose a wall or plant them in hanging containers which can be placed anywhere it gets filtered sunlight.

2. Regular pruning plays a main role in the orchid cactus care. Regular pruning helps the plant to grow as a fuller plant. And once pruning is done,  the plant starts  growing again actively. The ideal time for pruning is Spring. Once the plant is pruned, you should use the pruned stems to propagate by trimming the stem just below the portion where the leaf meets stem, trimming half of the leaf on the stem and dipping the stem in water for a while. Then just plant them back in soil besides the orchid cactus to get more and more of these gorgeous plants.

3. Being a cactus, the plant should be watered sparingly. But during growing stage,the orchid cactus needs water and shouldn't be left to dry out completely. It is best to spray out the stems and root area occasionally to unclog dust and other particles.

4. Instead of nitrogen rich fertilizers, it is advisable to use rich organic fertilizer for growing thee plants.

5. Never do overpotting of the orchid cactus. If you plan to repotting, try it with a new pot and new soil which is nearly dry. Repotting should be done once a year not more than that. Once repotting is done do not water for at least 2 to 3 days, then water sparingly for next couple of weeks.

6. Winter is the resting period, so do not bother them with much watering. Instead water them only as much would keep the stems strong and plump. 

What is Wildfire

Also referred commonly as forest fire, grass fire, bush fire, brush fire, hill fire or woodland fire; a wildfire is a uncontrollable fire which usually occur in wild land ares and tend to cause maximum damage. Though the wildfires usually start in forest areas, yet if not brought under control, spread quickly destroying vegetation or agricultural areas within the vicinity. Usually forest fires happen in those areas, which are with ample dry bushes where once ignited and left unnoticed, the fire spreads quickly.

Causes of Wildfire

There are many causes of wildfires which include a

- lightning

- volcanic eruptions

- heat waves

But the most common cause of wildfire is human carelessness. On an average out of every ten wildfires, eight are caused by people. Few factors like drought, climatic changes may also impact a risk of wildfire. During droughts, wildfire are particularly prevalent, as the dry leaves, twigs, branches etc may become highly inflammable and if a small ignite went unnoticed, could cause fire and read widely throughout the area destroying homes. Wildfire can lead to death of animals and destruction of property.

Wildfire are common occurrence in the wildland areas of United States and Canada. Same is the case with the vegetation areas of Australia and Western Cape of South Africa.