A little of this and a little of that ...

Warning : Long post ... no food. :-)

What happens when you take a break from the routine? You make use of the time as well as you can knowing it won't last for long.
But what happened when I took a break from blogging? Well ... I knew it will last for as long as I would want to. So no extra enthusiasm to arrange dishes, to click, to write a post and then .... post.

It is not that I am not cooking at all ... I just don't feel like going through the whole process of making a post.
But visiting other blogs is giving me a push. Yes, I have been visiting all your blogs on and off ... but have not been leaving comments very diligently ... and I do hope I'll be excused for that.

Today I thought of compiling a lot of snaps that I have clicked over a span of time.

These little things that I click or make are usually meant for my other blog. But since it has a very limited number of visitors, am sharing these here.
There are lots more .... will make a few other posts again soon.


This Crane was clicked on our way to Shirdi ... a farmer was sowing his field and a lot of these were following him for seeds. It was blazing hot in the sun ... I ran out, clicked and ran back into the car.


This little Kingfisher used to come over to have a leisurely dip in the pool everyday. Afterwards, it will sit and dry itself ... shaking all over ... this way and that. Now, with the onset of summer, the pool is cleaned up and is now filled with kids of all sizes. All this little fellow can do now is sit on the wire above the pool and look wistfully.


This Bulbul sits here every morning and sings. I caught it just as it opened its little beak to sing out. Every morning ... very early in the day ... this place belongs to this singer. Later it will be taken up by the kingfisher, then the sparrows and then the crows.


I had a very funny time trying to click this graceful lady ( I really do not know if it is a male or a female ... it just looks so delicate I think it has to be a lady ). I was on supermacro and needed to be real close to her. The more I moved in on her, the more she ... very gently ... moved away. There was also a very strong breeze .... and at one point she very delicately brought out a 'finger' to move away the lens from her face. Unfortunately could not click that ... was too busy jumping away. :D


Clicked ... like all other snaps here except that of the crane ... from my balcony.

My bird bath is not used only by the birds for water. This wasp has been visiting this place regularly ... it was not before the fourth day at a stretch that I realised that it is coming here for water. And this is how it drinks. Everytime.


Mr. Busybody had no idea he was being watched. Squirrels are abundant here ... and noontimes are filled with their shrill barkings.


This Bee Eater had just finished a bath. These birds are a wonder to watch ... they catch live insects from the air .... sit down and beat the insect against their foothold to stun it ... and then gobble them up. Hope to make a recording of them in action one day.



This Kite had come following something and made a rare landing. See how it merges with the dead branches.


The Striated Heron .... again from my balcony.







Tried my hand at gardening. Threw some mustard seeds ... see the seeds along with the saplings?


Got some wonderfully sunny flowers within a fortnight.


I was more interested in the leaves ... wanted to have Sarson ka Saag. Nothing doing. The plant straightaway went on to bear fruit.


Needless to say ... I did not have the heart to chop off a single leaf. :-)


I had just stepped out into the balcony to hang some clothes to dry. Froze when I saw this handsome guy sitting there. Very sombre, very quiet. There was no restlessness in him.

He was not bothered by my presence ... kept on contemplating whatever was on his mind. I hung the clothes with very little movement and went inside to get the camera. I could not believe my luck ... he was still stting there.

Clicked a few snaps and left him alone. Checked out after a good 20 mins ... he was still there.

And oh, while on our feathered friends ... an update. After Quasimodo, another Ma and Pa Pigeon had a baby ... but this time it was on our balcony ledge. :-)
For those who came in late, you will find Quasimodo here and here.


That will be all for now folks.

We are been having a difficult time staying in this flat ... the society committee is hell bent on doing something illegal on our roof ... and we are fighting a losing battle.
We are quiet people and no match for hoodlums. So in case we need to move out, these will be our memories of this flat ... that looks out into a small wood ... where we get to see so many wonderful wildlife.

I thank you all who have cared to keep in touch and have enquired after my health. Hopefully I will be back with some food posts soon.

Take care all ! :-)