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 that as he chews from the edges towards the centre of the leaf moving to the centre spine or ‘midrib’, it starts to get bitter, inedible, hard for its pincers to cut and difficult to digest as it moves in. I was not aware of it. That’s why he always chose to munch the tender outer portion of a leaf and leave ‘half-moons’ on the ‘eaten edges’.
Just yesterday, when my wife and I were there in the garden, I pointed to her, look ‘our’ hopper is growing well. He felt a little shy and slowly moved behind one stem, like small children hiding behind a curtain when guests arrive.
Mystery began when I couldn’t find the hopper. Where could he be hiding? Knowing him to be the obedient child, he couldn’t have left his place of birth. How hard I tried, Master Hopper was not to be seen even after I left no leaf ‘unturned’. Moment it rained or felt threatened, he used to slip under a leaf. Now he was gone. I was worried.
The obvious came to mind. Some bird must have spotted him and taken him away for a juicy snack. This thought brought a shiver down my spine. Let me think of something better, I told myself. He could have flown away with his mate or a sibling who would have returned. Maybe, Papa Hopper would have found a better perch. How was I to know all that?
One started to look for tell-tale marks. Maybe a silvery trail, like slugs left on any surface they travelled on. That was not the case with Grasshoppers. Eureka! Master Hoppers ‘poo’. One had seen its droppings on the leaves, like tiny brown capsules. I found the poo but not a sign of Mr Hopper.
After a thorough search on that bush I gave up, wished him well for his future and then one more idea struck my mind. That was to look in the adjacent pots. How far could he have gone? If he would have walked then he had to be in the same row of pots unless he had flown away.
A combing operation was launched from pot to pot but it didn’t yield results. Well-well it was time for breakfast. The whole morning had been spent looking for him. It also helped me find mealy bugs which had started to infect plants. Weeds which were waiting to be uprooted were pulled out. A little hoeing was also done. His disappearance became a blessing in disguise.
As I was finally making my mind to walk indoors, from the seventh pot where Master Hopper was born, appeared this fellow. Quietly, he tiptoed to the top of a leaf behind which he was hiding. Probably, he must have thought it was time to end the suspense.
How come on the hibiscus plant? The answer was when I closely examined Master Hopper. He had transformed into Mr Hopper now. His length was about two digits of the finger. From Light green he had turned Olive green. His eyes were now reddish and very prominent, besides his hind legs had grown brownish hairy features. This little one was now an ‘adult’ I suppose.
I breathed a sigh of relief, almost scolding him for doing the disappearing trick. Though we were happy to see each other, language problem and communication between man and grasshopper would always remain.
Will Mr Hopper disappear again? I wonder!!!!!!!!!
JAI HIND
© NOEL ELLIS
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