I chose the path less traveled...

There I am, peering at an interesting find. A tiny delicate lil orange frilly mushroom... :)

And here I've found one of those lovely fat "Pill Bugs", (Armadillium) that curls up like a armoured ball when you touch it...

And finally one of the Std VII kids said, "Moushi, yaavaglu neeva nammda photo tagotirtiri, ivatta na nimmda onda photo tagontenri, pleeeease?"

And I had to given in to that sweet lik kids even sweeter request, and without remonstration or putting up a fuss, I handed him the camera... And lo there you have the Gutter ki Rani...!! Doing what she does best...!! :D

On our walk today, we'd set out to search for monsoon insects and fungus... We were very careful not to harm any of the insects as well as the fungus. I had instructed the kids beforehand and each kid was utterly careful... Of course I had to take the lead to set an example and boy, did I have fun. I was so much at home in those large rain water gutters that line Gulmohar Avenue...

We let the insects climb onto our hands and onto sticks/twigs to get a closer look and the let them back into their habitat... The kids did a fabulous job of spotting a variety of insects and fungus. It was fun, every time a kid/kids spotted something interesting, it was like- "Moushiii...! Moushiii...! Lagoo barripa...!!" Even before I'd reached the spot, there would be another kid yelling in excitement- "Moushiii...! Ille barripa !" And there I was running all over the place, trying to keep pace with their sharp spotting skills, trying to do my own bit of spotting, trying to capture their finds on camera and trying to shoot some candid pictures... But through all this, we unfortunately did not see any of those pretty red Weevils on this trail.

The kids sketched the insects and fungus and jotted down interesting details. And now I'm gonna help them identify their finds and then we're gonna have a presentation at school.

Today it was double mazaa for me as I had the chance to take both my batches on the walk today. And the best part was, we got to get wet in the rain this time too... :) :)

Weevil Weevil Rock it...!

I spot this smart fella dressed in his Sunday best, off to somewhere in a real hurry...

As if the rocky path he had to cross earlier wasn't enough, here he had hurdles of a different kind to cross...

My camera followed him and there I saw him joined by his pals, all dressed as smartly as him, if not better.
Now it was getting all the more intriguing...

Ah, there they are finally. So, it was this rotting seed pod that drew them from all over. This was the feast they were hurrying to... :)

While I was busy trying to capture our guy and his pals, I spotted a patch of red from the corner of my eye. I turned towards the red patch and what did I see...

Whoa man...! A whole colony of the brightest red "Spotted Weevils"
I'd ever seen...

I quickly trained my lens on them and clicked...! Barely had the click of the camera died down that I heard more buzzing and spied more red...

Whoa and double Whoa...!
Where ever I turned I saw red...!! After having my fill of these utterly beautiful red bugs, I shoved my camera into my sling bag and just sat on the grass beside the road, closed my eyes and listened carefully...

The buzzing stopped and what did I hear...
The clear strains of the their Anthem-
"Weevil Weevil Rock You..."

I sat still till the song was done and then opened my eyes, dusted my bottom, picked up my umbrella and headed back towards Mum's school, all geared up to ROCK IT with the kids... :D

Guys, you really really rocked my day...!

Peering over the wall on a rainy day...

The settlers in the background and the brilliant yellow Cassia Spectabilis/Golden Cassia flowers in the foreground on the wall...

Though some seem to have disappeared and a few new ones have moved in, my fav orange truck is very much there... :)

The strong scented eucalyptus leaves find a place on the wall...

A dried twig trying to mimic the wall...

The delicate filigree-like leaves of the silver oak,
with my orange truck looking on...

A yellow drying leaf from the sweet scented Champa has collected some rain water for the birds n' insects that frequent this compound...
How thoughtful...! :)

The seed pod of the Golden Cassia...

The brilliant yellow flower of the huge Golden Cassia growing beside the wall...

A handsome piece of the Silver Oak bark makes a smart holder for the Golden Cassia bloom...

Ah ! What an interesting find...

And where is our fella heading to...?

Almost there...

"Ah There...!! So this is the Giant Snail they were talking about, eh?"

Mark the lovely blue shade of the snail's body... And the burnt sienna of the shell... How Beautiful can nature get...!

And... finally the wall...! :)

This morning when I took a break from school to go buy vegetables, I had a choice of routes. I very instinctively chose the one that passes beside the "Settler Community" (The vehicles seized by the Excise Dept. that have settled there since ages...)

I walked hopefully towards the wall, that was already cloaked in a brilliant shade of emerald green, and peered... The wall did not disappoint me and boy, there was a whole world out there waiting for me to explore...

It felt nice to catch up with my old buddies, "The Settlers." After saying a quick "Hello !" I got busy with the melange of interesting stuff atop the wall. It was only when the phone rang, with Mum wondering where I'd disappeared, that I peeled my eye from the viewfinder, straightened myself and moved away from the wall.

I suddenly realized, I'd walked the full length of the wall and reached the other end of the compound...! I smiled to myself, patted my good old camera for doing a good job, n' hurried towards the vegetable shop... :)

Hungry crocodile in the Nursery...!

The flannel crocodile wall-pocket/knick knack holder in the Nursery classroom, brought down for the regular weekend spring cleaning...

Colour, colour, what colour? At the Nursery...

Shoe flower aglow...!

Flowers don't worry about how they're going to bloom. They just open up and turn toward the light and that makes them beautiful.

Plink...! Plonk...! After the storm...!

 

 

Now you see them, now you don't...
Fairy lights blinking at you from the earth, freshly dampened by the morning rain...

I had fun with these raindrops. I'd close my eyes halfway to see this magical spread of dainty fairy lights flitting mischievously before me. I kept blinking my eyes on and on and the magical game went on...

It's only when a few cold drops of rain fell right on the nape of my neck and rolled down my back to snap me out of my ethereal world...! I knew it was time to move on... :)

It's an upside down world in there...

A huge Ashoka tree and the green fence are reflected in the raindrops...

I know there's a scientific reason for this...

Yet, I can't stop myself from wondering, what it is that keeps these delicate raindrops clinging on...Tenacity, grit, chutzpah, spunk, doggedness, determination, perseverance...

Whatever...! But, one thing's for sure, these raindrops do one helluva job of inspiring me...!!