GOA....

After my wedding I came down to Goa to my hubby's home....I was all excited about the place before coming here and as I had seen it before the expectations were quite high...and accordingly..this place proved to be the best...apt to my imagination...and I'm a happy girl now.

God created the whole expanse of the universe just by the word out of his mouth...and still the nature is the most  beautiful thing any person could think of. Just very thankful to God for bringing me to such a wonderful place and allowing me to witness the variety in his creation.

I was walking along the road in green valley with my hubby and this silhouette held me captive for a while,  the birds of the air resting on the leaf less branches of some tree unknown to me is a sight worth capturing

Green valley, Dabolim

My hubby too me to sada, this was the first place we went together after all the trauma we went through...and this place will always remain special in my heart 

View of sada beach from the cliff

 We went to the cliff when it was quite sunny and waited for the sun to set while munching on chat and Gobi Manchuria....captured the glory of this magnificent light..which is destined to rule the day...then how much more magnificent will be the light from the Throne of our Lord when we meet HIM?

Sada

Bogmolo beach is the closest beach to our home, that is the reason we went there together a number of times.

Bogmolo beach 

Bogmolo beach 

Bogmolo beach 

Bogmolo beach 

Bogmolo beach 

Basillica of Bom Jesus

Green valley, Dabolim

 This is the most memorable night of my life, the ride to the Island in the night was the first exciting thing and added to it was te grandeur of the full moon on the rippled waters of river zuari..and the most interesting thing to top all this is sitting by my hubby's side hand in hand and enjoying all f it.

Sao Jacinto Island

So, I decided to do an entire blog on the places I visited so far..hope you will love viewing those places just as I did...

Life....A roller coaster ride...

Hi!

How are you all?

I has been a real long time since I blogged....Lot has happened in the past few months...so much that this post may not be able to hold it all....

But I will try putting in the gist of  various events that happened...

I completed my Maters in Pharmaceutical Analysis from JNTU, KAKINADA, by God's grace.

And the most important event in my life i.e My Wedding took place on 29th december 2011, to the most amazing person in the world....So, let me introduce my Hubby...Mr.Vinod Abraham Kola...my love and my life now.

Ain't he handsome?

My wedding was a wonderful celebration and only GOD MADE IT POSSIBLE...cause we had Cyclone Thane going on..but it rained only a little drizzle after the knot ceremony...just as if He had blessed us...and more over the climate was very wonderful, suiting the venue as the wedding was outdoors in the lawn...it was just the right type of weather we had hoped for..cant tell you how glad we were that God did such a wonderful thing in our lives..Praise God. Very very thankful to my daddy dear and my beloved brother Nani who took all the pains in making it such a grand event in-spite of all the hardships they went through...thanks is just a little word to express my gratitude towards them.

My family

And how can i forget mentioning my dearest mommy and my little sweet sister who did all the feminine stuff...my mom though she dad an hysterectomy done just a month ago...worked very hard for all this and my sissy came all the way from Hyderabad  to shop and did more than what I can mention.

I'am indebted to my wonderful family and I thank God for giving me such a wonderful family..Thank you Lord.

The we celebrated my first New year at my Parents place and in a week we left for my In-Laws place...the journey was a 24 hr one and my heart was all excited and nervous about the new phase in my life in a place away from my home, away from my parents, away from my friends and away from every thing familiar to me.

I was heading towards a new life with new culture and to an absolutely new place which happens to be the hip and happening Goa.

The very first day we came here was my cousin's Vineela's 2nd Wedding anniversary, went over to her place for dinner.

And many more things happened which were good as well as bad...but the very good thing about all that we went through was that we understand each other better now.

Zephyranthes....Rain lilies

Zephyranthes rosea

Look at the stmens and the style

Zephyranthes citrina

I captured these flowers of Zephyranthes in our colony, Powergrid, Nellore.

Rain lilies are the most commonly found ornamental plants in our area, they are also available in white which is not in the pictures though. They spread very easily and the bulbs are the method of propogation, The flowers bloom in the rains and in large numbers which makes it a very wonderful site to look at.

Without the flowers even the leaves are considered ornamental.

Annona squamosa....Custard apple

Custard apple

Custard apple

I captured these Custard apples in my colony,  Powergrid, Nellore.

Custard apple is my favorite since my childhood. We had these trees near our home...and we ate them like crazy, Daddy brought like a basket full of them everytime he went to the fruit market. Always hated those seeds which obstructed my way of enjoying the flavor of the fruit,and wished for custard apple without the seeds, hope they are already available by some biotechnology or they should make them atleast.

The flower of Custard apple is in green color and it is edible too, the fruit is a compound fruit ,it is an Aggregate and soft fruits formed from the numerous and loosely united pistils of a flower which become enlarged and mature into fruits which are distinct from fruits of other species of genus(and more like a giant raspberry instead).

Medicinal uses:
Plant pacifies constipation, burning sensation, anemia, vomiting, cough, malignancy and general tonic. Root decoction is a powerful purgative. Powdered seed kills body and hair lice on external application.  

Syzygium samarangense..bell fruit, Weaver ants

bell fruit flowers



Bell fruit buds



A closer look at the flowers of bell fruit



Captured these flowers and nests of red ants on bell fruit tree at my Uncle's place at Steel Plant-Vizag.

This tree or as a matter of fact the fruit is relatively new to me. I came across this friut the same time last year when I visited my Uncle's family. I saw the flowers first as they hang into the terrace on the 3rd floor and asked my cousin Smily aas to what tree it was..and her reply was GulabJamun fruit....and my reply was...What!!!!!!!!!?

Yeah, it is she said... the name was enough for me to salivate and I was so eager to see the fruit..and I saw it sometime later in my other cousins house...Oh...! It was wonderful to look at..the color, the texture, the shape and the flavor took me by surprise.

And this time I made it a point to capture these lowers when I visit my Uncle's family, and I'm doing it straight away. Cool na...! only problem here is that the fruits havent developed yet...so will add a picture I found on the net.

Bell fruits, yummy ain't they?

This fruit has many synonyms all over the world...  wax apple, love apple, java apple, Royal Apple, bellfruit, Jamaican Apple, water apple, mountain apple, cloud apple, wax jambu, rose apple etc.

Click on the pictures to have a closer look at the ants...the nests were so delicately spun around the leaves and the inflorescence using some sort of thread like material..But  i did not dare to explore into the nest due to security reasons..lolz, The last thing I want now is their stings...:(

The thread like material confused me cause I never saw it in an ants nest...And thought it was spiders initialially but no..they were feiry red ants all over the tree...so I googled and found out many interesting things about these ants.

Green tree ants Oecophylla smaragdina farm aphids for their honeydew.  They are occasionally referred to as weaver ants because they form large leafy nests bound with silk.  Through amazing co-operative strength, they form strings of hundreds of ants anchored at each end only, to forcibly move small branches into position.  Other ants glue the leaves together with silk produced by squeezing their larvae.

They aggressively protect their nests and livestock, willingly biting any intruder and projecting streams of ascorbic acid to excite the sensitivity of wounds established with their choppers.   If bitten, humans can retaliate in-kind and enjoy the health benefits of an abundant source of vitamin C. Eww....hurts a lot but....;)

An ant nest in the bell fruit inflorescence



Look at the conical shaped leaf structure built by the red ants, and observe the white cottony material at the leaf edges



Look the way the leaves are cupped to make a nest



A closer look



A closer look at the ant, gooogled this picture.

white cottony mterial very clear in this picture



Adenium obesum

Adenium obesum

Captured this flower of Adenium Obesum at my college, JNTU-Kakinada.

This plant resembles the plumeria flowers, just a little variation in the shape of the flowers. This plant is most commonly used as a bonsai plant. The flowers are big and showy with their bright color.

Lantana camara...Spanish flag

lucky yellow Lantana



American red Lantana

Add caption



look at the red and orange-red flowers



Most commonly found Lantana camara...called Egg and Ham



Fiery red Lantana

I captured these beautiful infloresences of Lantana cama at my colony, Powergrid, Nellore, Egg and ham at Steel plant Vizag.

I knew these flowers since my childhood, we used to play with them a lot, they served the purpose of confetti(akshantalu) in our toy weddings. Oh! just love the color and the variety in which they were available.

They were weeds in our playground when I was small but now in this colony they are used as ornamental plants and the colors are very bright and intense too.

This plant is considered as a toxic weed due to the presence of terpenoids in the leaves. They have the capacity to poison the animals or the livestock which feed on them.

Medicinal uses:

It has several uses, mainly as a herbal medicine and in some areas as firewood and mulch. The leaves are used to relieve itching. Other uses are against flu, colds, coughs, fevers, yellow fever, dysentery and jaundice. The roots are used for gonorrhea. The use of lantana extracts as potential biocides have been suggested.

Lantana oil is sometimes used for the treatment of skin itches, as an antiseptic for wounds and externally for leprosy and scabies. Lantana repels other plants and other groups of organisms such as insects. Lantana oil is used externally for leprosy and scabies. Plant extracts are used as medicine for the treatment of cancers, chicken pox, measles, asthma, ulcers, swellings, eczema, tumors, high blood pressure, bilious fevers, catarrhal infections, tetanus, rheumatism, malaria and atoxy of abdominal viscera.

Warning: This is for informtion purposes only, please consult a physician before using.

Podranea ricasoliana.....Pink Trumpet Vine,

Pink trumpet wine flowers

look at the stamens inside

I captured these flowers of Pink trupet vine at my colony Powergrid, Nellore.

Pink trumpet vine is also called Port St Johns Creeper, this plant is grown for its ornamental puurposes, has no tendrils but is a creeper. The glossy foilage is also very attractive.

Convolvulus althaeoides...bind weed

Pink convolvulus

I captured these pink mallow bind weed flowers at my college, JNTU-Kakinada.

I came across these creepers..anf the bright flowers caught my attention in a wiff...:)

This plant is considered a problematic weed, but sometimes it is cultivated deliberately for its ornamental purposes.

Manilkara zapota...Chikoo

Unripe Chikoo fruits

I captured these Chikoo fruits at my cousin Pinky's garden at Kakinada.

Chikoo is called sapota...in our language telugu.

I dont really love this fruit but I manage eating it...doesent taste bad though...my sissy loves it 2 pieces excluding the rind though...lol

The leaves of the plant are very leathery and quite ornamental with the glossy surface and the plant grows more than 30 m. The fruits are very hard to touch when young and become soft as they ripen. The flesh of the fruits ranges from light orange to earthen brown. The fruit when eaten unripe can leave a very unpleasent feeling in the mouth as the tanin released has a very high astringent property.

Medicinal uses:

 * It is use in folk medicine as a purgative and as remedy for diarrhea. It is prepared by boiling the young fruits and the decoction is taken to stop diarrhea.
* A decoction of the yellowed leaves is drunk as a remedy for coughs, colds and diarrhea.
* A liquid extracted from crushed seeds is used as diuretic and is found to be effective in removing kidney
and bladder stones.
* A paste made from the seeds is useful for treating venomous stings and bites.
* An infusion of the young fruits and the flowers is drunk to relieve pulmonary complaints.
* A fluid extract from the crushed seeds is used as a sedative.
* A combined decoction of sapodilla and chayote leaves is sweetened and taken daily to lower blood pressure.
* The latex is used in the tropics as a crude filling for tooth cavities

Source:

http://www.friendskorner.com/forum/f26/others-medicinal-uses-sapodilla-chikoo-157202/

Warning:

This is intended for informational purposes only, please consult a physician before taking any herbs.