The farmhouse where I was staying in India is a single-story red brick building, rendered in cream, on a plot of about half an acre. Chickens, ducks and a cow roam at large in the garden.
Tall trees shade the house and outbuildings and coconut palms line the fence by the road.
Roses and busy-lizzies bloom under the windows. The largest trees are mangoes, with thousands of flowers at this time of year developing into sweet fruit in the spring. Its leaves thatch boat cabins and make portable screens for shade. Bananas, papayas, pineapples and cocoa had ripe fruit. Bananas come in different shapes and sizes, yellow and red, eating and cooking or plantain varieties.