NOEL ELLIS' GOOGLE BLOG

  ANIMALS & BIRDS RESPOND   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   31/VII/2022               It is fun to go outdoors, see, observe & absorb nature and its bounties. One tree may bring a pair of birds but a row of trees can bring a flock. Imagine a jungle!               Moment I walked out to the riverfront, the grazing cows got alerted. People feed them Roti. Some roti on stones for the squirrels and birds to relish too.               One cow came very close. I wasn’t carrying a bag which is a hint that there could be roti. My camera did not make any sense to her. She smelt the bag and then smelt me and shook her head as if to say, why was I empty handed. I scrubbed her forehead from in between her horns and to her nose and she loved it. I wanted to move on but she blocked my way to get more rubs and I obliged.   She slid her greyish pink tongue in and out of her nostrils alternatively as she stood at the gate. She 'mooed' twice. A small gap and mooed again. When

  LITTLE BABY DOVE   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   30/VII/2022               There was this Mama Dove and Papa Dove who brought to this world a Baby Dove. Peace was their message. Besides, there were lots of Uncle, Auntie & Cousin Doves, who lived together.               Their favourite game used to be ‘catch me if you can’. From one tree to the other, zip-zap-zoom they would go, manoeuvring branches and obstacles with such grace and finesse, which every pilot in the world would like to emulate.               Baby Dove would hide in a tree. The speed with which it approached it was phenomenal. Just at the right moment it would spread its wings and apply brakes for a soft landing and quickly walk behind the leaves. Cousin Doves in pursuit would miss the spot.               They knew that Baby Dove was there but her camouflage needed a lens and a keen eye to locate. She would coo and Cousin Doves rush to find her. Moment, they spotted her, Baby Dove would take off to an

 A rainy day collection, 27 July 2022.  ❤️ ❤️‍🩹 💝 💗 DIL KHUSH 💚 💞 ❤️ 💜

  REVELATIONS   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   06/VII/2022               Our city is called the ‘Sun City’ for obvious reasons. It is 355 days of bright sunshine. Ten odd days can be ‘Mafi-Galti’. The desert sun is severe & deadly. Once you get used to it and know how to stay safe, nothing like it. We are now well acclimatised.               Slowly, solar power is making inroads everywhere. Many companies have set up solar panels for miles in the vacant desert spaces. Even wind power is gaining steam. Huge wind turbine generator blades keep fanning the wilderness.                         We had open garages in our colony with no roof on top. Our house was vacant as I was working elsewhere. People with extra cars started parking theirs in our space. It was getting intolerable due to the damage they were causing because of misjudgments while parking, thus knocking off corners of the entrance pillars.               To ward off this nuisance, our neighbours installed a solar light at the ledge of

 Rain through my lens, ❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 DIL KHUSH 💜 💙 🤎 💖

  PLANTING TREES   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   16/VII/2022   Surprisingly, it has rained well in the ‘Sun City’. It is a welcome change. Now there is a daily supply of water, instead of two hours thrice a week in peak summers. Torrential rains have created waterlogging & flash floods. People were wading through knee deep water. Cars are floating like boats; motorcycles are drifting like canoes in the city. Feel like getting a BMP ready for flotation.   Within hours it appeared that rain never came. The place became as dry as it could be. You are standing in the sun and it is pouring. You look up, the sky is blue. A passing cloud can do the funny trick. The sun keeps shining and you get drenched.   What if lightning falls close by! That ‘bang’ can scare the daylights out of anyone. Yesterday, exactly the same happened. Having just got up from my afternoon siesta, the bang was so loud, as if it had fallen in the garden.   Wind speeds were high, trees were swaying vigo

  HOPE THEY RETURN   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   23/VII/2022               One got out of the house for the usual morning chore. No, it was not the milkman, no, it was not for watering the plants either. It had rained heavily yesterday. It was to pick up the newspaper. Rain clouds were threatening again, it was bliss.               There was a flurry of activity. A couple of ‘Tailor birds’, came to say hello to me. In one glance I could see four or five chirping with their tails twitching up and down fanatically. They twittered as loud as they could. Something was amiss.               One could make out they were sensing danger. With cats on the prowl, I reckoned that birds were sensing danger. These ‘girls’ hopped and popped from tree to the pots, to the railing, to the roof and then to back to the fence at lightning speed, as if telling me to go away. They were never scared of me. What was unusual today? Could it be a snake?               Yesterday our neighbour’s son

 SILVER LEAF NIGHT SHADE 💔💕💖 DIL KHUSH 💚💘💖

PATROLLING LESSONS   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   24/VII/2022   What a cloudy morning! Sun was totally screened out. Morning appeared to be like late evening. A shower in the night had washed each leaf. Leaves with bright shiny faces greeted me and I greeted them back. What was in store ahead? I took a walk to unravel it.   Next to the Colony Temple there is an old well. A pigeon sat looking curiously inside. It twisted and turned its head side to side as if searching for something desperately. Out flew his partner and he took off behind it. Atta, dal, sabzi, bhaji, doodh dahi are none of their business but daily survival definitely is. Off they must have gone for a ‘peck-peck’ patrol.   As I approached the colony gate leading to the riverfront, a loud call by the ‘Teeter Brigade’ greeted me. It feels nice to be welcomed, as if you are a VIP coming to inspect a parade. Moment the staff car approaches the parade ground, buglers sound their call. The timing is so perfect that as the staff car hal