NOEL ELLIS' GOOGLE BLOG

                         WHAT A FANTASTIC DAY   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   31/VIII/2024   Some days are lucky and some are fantastic. It depends on how you and I perceive it. I feel it is better to enjoy the bounties of nature everyday. That is how my luck works by observing flora and fauna around.   The other day I met Mr Grasshopper hiding in a pot. He has been a good boy. Instead of munching away leaves from our garden, he just sits at his favourite spot. Even if he eats a few leaves, it doesn’t matter.   Same is the case with Mr Caterpillar which makes the Lime Butterfly. All our citrus plants have been invaded by them. I can see them sticking to half the leaves of each plant. I let them be. In the bargain they prune the plant. From wherever they have eaten, new shoots have sprouted. This means that there will be more flowers and more fruits. Plus, butterflies would help in pollination as they are sure to return.   Mr Grasshopper has changed his abode since the last two days. He was found

 

  VIP VISIT   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   26/VIII/2024     I remember in NDA when there used to be a VIP visit. The route from ‘Gole Market’ to the swimming pool used to be lined up with NDA flags hanging on street lights. The whole route used to be lined up with flowering pots and posters.   The ‘Academy Appointments’ would suddenly become extra strict. From behind every bush, a Drill Ustad would pop out, ‘je cadet….’. ‘I-slips’ used to go by dozens. Punishments were dished out like ‘prasad’ for our wrongdoings and sometimes when you did nothing wrong. The VIP visit had to go like clockwork and why not.   Fast forward forty-four years and from Khadakwasla you come to the Sun City. The only similarity was that the weather was Pune type and so is the greenery. So much grass has grown on the dividers that one cannot see the other side.   However, the roads and its berms were dirty. ‘Khudai’ as it is known was all over. Every road and sides were dug up with sand spewed o

  LEAVES VS FLOWERS   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   22/VIII/2024   Flowers have their own story to tell. They make you smile, laugh, feel good, rejuvenated, uplift your mood and are so pleasing to the eyes. There cannot be two ways about it.   However, since the summers have turned to the rainy season, which too is about to go, it is the time when there is a little lull in flowering. Plants are waiting to throw up their best in just about a month from now and our wait is on.   In the interim, rains took some plants away and gave life to new ones. Some of the plants which were shriveling and wilting have now bounced back and spread greenery all over.   Who needs flowers was a thought that passed through my mind today. The garden can say it all with leaves. They come in different shapes and sizes, tints and colours, shades, and hues. Some are green and some variegated. Some are shiny and some with a mat finish. Their shades range in the complete green spectrum. A sight to w

  WEAVER BIRDS   LT COL NOEL ELLIS 21/VIII/2024   There is one bird that has fascinated me since childhood. It is a sparrow sized bird but has amazing skills and intelligence to say the least. It is called a ‘Weaver Bird’ or ‘Baya’. Let me share my experiences and observations with you.   As a kid, I used to accompany my father on his angling trips to a river called ‘Kanjli/Bein’, about four kilometres from our home. Dad and Sunny on his bi-cycle would go at least twice a week. Sunday used to be a special family picnic day at the river side.   On the way, there were many nalas lined up with ‘Sarkanda’ or ‘Reeds’. Dad would collect a few dry ones to make ‘floats’ for his fishing set up. A bird also used to be a frequent visitor to those reeds. It was the weaver bird. Deftly, she would peel and pluck a thread of the sarkanda leaf and carry it away.   Why was she doing so? I asked Dad. She is making her nest. He promised to take me to a place along the river where we