On Our Back Porch

Sunday morning a neighbor stopped by to let us know that the bunch of bananas hanging over the wall were ripe and ready to be cut down. After cutting the bunch, I put it on the little table on our covered back porch. I didn't bring them in the house because juice dripped from the severed stalk. As the bananas ripened during the week, the kids (especially Calla) helped themselves. They weren't the only ones.

Our little back porch turned into a miniature ecosystem. Common mynas and Yellow-vented bulbuls perched on the bunch and pecked into the fruit. The punctured peels allowed ants and fruit flies to enjoy a snack. In the evening, beautiful moths inserted their proboscises into the softening flesh while frogs and geckos feasted on the attracted insects. Meriel happily harvested ants to feed to her "pet" Banded bullfrog.

By simply cutting a bunch of bananas, we were able to enjoy a host of visitors right on our porch. (I was happy it wasn't in the house.) I had thought they might attract ants; which was another reason I left them on the porch. I didn't think about the other creature it would draw. It was fun to spy on the birds from the window. The moths let us sneak up fairly close to actually see what they were doing. After they flew away, we looked carefully to see the little holes they drilled. The children were as thrilled as I to watch this real life drama unfold.

Today Calla snitched the last good bananas and the rest were put in the compost heap. It is nice to have our table clear for a little while, but I'm looking forward to the next time we have some extra fruit to share with those who share our garden. We might even try to purpose attract butterflies, moths, and birds in some way. Hooray for our garden and for science lessons!