NOEL ELLIS' GOOGLE BLOG

 BUTTERFLIES IN AND AROUND  ❤️ 🧡 💛 💚 DIL KHUSH 🖤 💜 💙 💖

  ENCOUNTERS WITH LAPWINGS LT COL NOEL ELLIS   29/VIII/2022   There could have been no better way to spend a Sunday than be on a picnic with friends and family. It was supposed to be overcast for us and that is what the Pastor would have had prayed for, but alas the hide and seek of the sun with the clouds was more of seek rather than hide.   Then there were these workhorses, who quietly worked behind the scenes. They are the ‘food makers. Running against time soon after unloading their Chullah’s and Karhai’s, they got onto the job under the tree screened away from the folks.   The smell of what was being made was enchanting. The temptation to go behind could not be resisted just to have a ‘dekho’ and take a ‘smello.’ Generally, people say, ‘Bhaiya taste kar lo’ but it was a little too early, as the ‘Khaata’ was on the boil and the ‘Atta’ was still taking a ‘goondho’ from the expert hands.   Besides there was someone chopping the ‘Mathania ri Mirchi,’ each more

  THE GRAND OLD TREE   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   26/VIII/2022               Once there was a very fertile land. People were simple though diverse, but all stayed together as a huge family. There were differences but then to keep their land one, they all united.   One day a foreign weed intruded their land and started engulfing everything which came in its way. Still, they were resilient. Their strength was their unity in diversity.               Then a tree which could consume this foreign weed sprouted. It started growing and spreading its branches. Birds and animals started flocking to it. They were attracted to its shade and fragrant flowers. The word spread in the jungle like wildfire to support this plant.   Though it hardly bore any fruits, as all the nutrition was sucked out by this weed. Even if fruits came, they could not suffice for all. However, they were emotionally attached to this new tree. Hunger, famine, floods, and drought took its toll but this tree

  MR HOPPER   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   27/VIII/2022               The rains gave us a little break. Sun came up but was still under a veil of ‘greyish-white’ clouds but it was not as fierce as the summer sun. Off and on clouds would hide. Overall, it was pleasant and pleasing weather in the desert.               It was time to say ‘hello’ to Master Hopper. I address him so because he has grown from the size of a tiny speck to bigger than a digit of a finger and growing. His light green colour is maturing into a darker shade of green. His hind legs, which he uses to jump and sing like a cricket have grown too, earning the title of ‘Master Hopper’ from ‘Baby Hopper’.               The ‘Monkey Tail’ shrub on which he started his life was his life line. Chewing on its leaves and growing bit by bit. I once complained to him that if he chooses to eat a leaf, he should eat it whole, rather than leaving it half eaten.               This little baby turned around and told me

 ELLIS'  GARDEN 💚💙💛DIL KHUSH💜💓💝

  BULBUL VS SQUIRREL   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   24/VIII/2022               Soon there would be another nest in our garden. The Taylor birds were the first one to enter, followed by the Chameleons, then came Grasshoppers and now it is Ms Squirrel. Welcome to our fold my friends. Be rest assured, you and your family shall be looked after to the best of our ability.               From December to April not a bird could be seen venturing in the garden. Now that things have settled down, they are slowly making inroads and beginning to trust us. This morning I met Baby Hopper. He has grown another inch and refuses to leave his favourite pot.               We were sitting in the drawing room, when there was commotion outside. Could it be the cat? My only apprehension was, it should not have caught hold of a chick. A little silence and again Bulbuls went on chirping relentlessly, hopping from branch to branch agitated, raising the danger alarm.               They swooped a couple of times & cam

RIVER FRONT AND KANKANI AREA  22 AUG 2022 💗💘💛DIL 💔💚💙KHUSH💜💛💚  RIVER FRONT AND KANKANI AREA 

  RAMDEVRA FAIR   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   23/VIII/2022   August or ‘Bhadon’ is a very pious month, especially in Jodhpur. The reason is, transients travelling to ‘Ramdevra fair’, which is about 14 kms from Pokhran.   Baba is revered by the folks of the Hindu and the Muslim community equally. He is considered to be an incarnation of Lord Krishna who devoted his life serving human kind by uplifting the downtrodden. At 33 years, he consciously took ‘Samadhi’ and exited his human body.   Devotees from as far as UP, Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, MP and even abroad come to offer their obeisance to the ‘Peer’ irrespective of their caste, creed or religious affiliations. It is sight to see and believe the devotion and dedication of the people and of course the flood of humanity.   Way back in 1985-90, while posted in Jaisalmer, one had the privilege to visit the temple many times. It was a small temple then.   There was a Ramdevra railway station near Pokhran. The steam loc

  THE GRASSHOPPER FAMILY   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   16/VIII/2022               This is the story of a Baby Grasshopper. It was a tiny little speck when I noticed a cluster of them a couple of days back. Their bodies were absolutely transparent. When light passed through, one could see what was inside. No wings, no claws, legs hardly visible. They were just small little dots hanging on to dear life to one of the stems.               Soon the rest of the siblings vanished. A peep into the adjacent pot, then one next to it, then all over where they could have hidden. They were nowhere to be found. I was not sure if they could fly so soon with such dainty and delicate bodies.               Every morning, before the sun would come up, Baby Hopper would be atop the highest branch and on the highest leaf, like a king on his throne. It was for the first time we witnessed the pride of a half a centimetre King. His eyes were now becoming a little prominent and were standing out as