NOEL ELLIS' GOOGLE BLOG

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   30/VI/2025   A visit to the rooftop garden is compulsory in the evening. Reason is to feed the fish and top up water of the tubs which house out waterlilies. Though the summer heat has subsided due to the monsoon knocking at our doors, still they need topping up.   Carrying my camera is also a habit. One never knows a new visitor can surprise you. The best way is to face east and scan the horizon and watch the ‘jamboree’ of birds flying around.   After 6 pm the bird activity is like after the closing of a corporate office. Everyone is rushing home. The only difference is that they are flying themselves instead of taking a bus or a train or even driving their own cars or two wheelers like humans.   The parrots are always in a glad mode. They keep screeching and screaming as they fly by. Probably discussing with each other how their day went by. They dip, dive, and then get back to the altitude they were maintaini...

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   29/VI/2025   Since childhood, one had always been fascinated by fish in an aquarium. One never knew that one day we too shall be keeping them. We started fish keeping not as a hobby but as a compulsion. Let me explain as we go.   It all started with carrying out trails to grow “Lotus seeds”. That too got triggered by two empty tubs which still had life left before we threw them away. In Alibaug, we had used a small tub for growing our portulaca collection. But there was a difference. That was a damaged tub and these were usable. A sort of ‘best out of waste’ was the theme.   Lotus seeds are available both online and off line in any Kiryana shop here. They call it “Kamal Gatta”. Having watched videos on you tube it appeared quite easy. Just ‘file’ the seeds till the white portion of the lotus seed is visible and soak them in water. Within three days, those dry and stone hard seeds come to life. A shoot sprouts and viola. Th...

 

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  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   26/VI/2025   A garden at home generates so many tales. The greenery, the flowers, the frolicking of birds, insects, and reptiles brings smiles, the moment you walkout of the door. There is someone ever so happy to greet you. You greet back and the day is made. The other way round is also true.   As I stepped out of the house the other day, I peeped into the neighbours compound where we keep our ‘out of season pots’. There was something amiss. One half of their Neem tree had dried up.   One portion was green as green could be but from the other half crisp green leaves came flying to the ground. The whole garden floor was littered with neem leaves. This got me thinking.   More leaves have turned yellow and are continuously falling leaving half the tree with just bare branches. I don’t mind as neem leaves make good manure. But, why was only half the tree drying?   On close inspection, I found that there was ...

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   25/VI/2025   Water plants have become a part of our Roof top garden. A variety of waterlilies are the mainstay. Besides, there are numerous floating ones which have been added during our gardening journey.   There is a plant called Water Mosaic. Unfortunately, it could not stand the severe winter. It had to be replaced this year as it had stolen my heart away.   While ordering the mosaic plant, I came across a few more water plants in the catalogue of the seller. One of them is called  Monochoria.  A dainty looking plant with very beautiful mauve/lilac blue coloured flowers which bowled me over. The seller told me that it is easy to grow along with the waterlilies. It had to be planted in the same pot and not much effort or care was needed.   That is what I did. I had no idea how big its flowers would be or how the plant would react. In my mind, an image of ‘water hyacinth’ was how it should grow. It is from the same family. ...

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   22/VI/2025   It was cloudy again today. Rain was hiding within the clouds, waiting for an opportune moment to get away from their clutches. The sun tried hard to show itself, but the clouds were too strong and thick to let it peep. Dark clouds kept circling & engulfing the white ones. The weather stayed cool but humid.   A heavy shower helped new colours of rain lilies to join our garden. We welcomed them wholeheartedly and wished them many more flowers and bulbs in the coming years. Bees and insects could not resist themselves and kept returning for the nectar and pollen. At times, I felt that the lily was getting irritated by their frequent visits like ‘nosy neighbours’.   Leaving the lilies, it was time to take a walk to meet my birdie friends. The sparrows came in a group, so did the Bulbuls. All of them flew together to a tree and kept returning to feed like a swarm. The weather made them happy too.   A...

  LT COL NOEL ELLIS   20/VI/2025   After heavy rains last evening the parched earth got drenched thoroughly. One could see trails of fallen leaves along the road where the water passed by. The drain holes were where the leaves had congregated. Numerous shapes, varied sizes, contrasting colours, all had gathered at one place. A lesson for humans.   At the first glance in the garden, there were two more water lily colour buds which had spouted. Unfortunately, the ones which had bloomed yesterday were battered by the rain. They were hurt and injured badly. Some petals had fallen. I could feel their pain.   After the rains, birds also frolic. A free wash and lowered temperatures give them respite from the torrid heat. They have their day chalked out, foraging, hunting, having a drink, romancing, chirping, and tweeting till evening falls.   Just then I heard the ‘Crow Pheasant’s’ call, “Ghuk-Ghuk-Ghuk-Ghuk”. He had found a tree in the common garden and was excha...

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    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   19/VI/2025   If I say “Zephyranthes”, what do you guys reckon? It isn’t the name of a Greek Goddess or a Gladiator, or even an extinct tribe. Yes, one can call them royal, regal, majestic, grand, dainty, graceful and elegant flowers adorning the Ellis’ Garden.   Let me not beat around the “Bulb”. They are a bulbous variety also called the “Rain Lily”. The bulb is small and fragile but it is like “plant it and forget it”. As the first pre-monsoon showers have arrived, the bulbs have sprung to life, having stayed in dormancy from the fall of the previous year.   This plant has a unique feature. The first sign it hints at that it has not perished is its bud. There are no leaves, just a bud which pops up immediately after the first rain. These bulbs have nerves which can sense the signals that it is not the gardener sprinkling water but a rain shower from the skies. How? Your guess is as good as mine.   Last ...

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    LT COL NOEL ELLIS   15/VI/2025   I am no war or an aviation expert but suffice to say, I was in a profession where war and fighting terrorists was the ultimate test of my very existence in service. Let me leave it at that for the time being.   We all have been shaken by the tragic accident of the Air India crash in Ahmedabad. My deepest condolences to every family affected by the tragedy of humongous proportions. Let the experts do their job and find out the truth. Let us assist in whatever way we can. The best way is to just be silent and keep all the departed souls and injured in our prayers.   Media does not want answers, it only wants to sensationalise the issue by asking questions to aviators based on conjectures and speculations. Like hawks, they are waiting for one slip up from one expert to then go all guns blazing.   Shoving mikes in the people’s mouths, who are broken beyond words and taking their reactions is so h...

  WIRE TAILED SWALLOWS RETURN   LT COL NOEL ELLIS   14/VI/2025   It was just by coincidence or was it my imagination that I saw a very familiar bird fly past over my head. It was small but very swift and agile. Because I was not wearing my specks, I could be mistaken for what it could be.   Birds come to have a drink in the evening from the waterlily tubs on the roof. Besides, there are some water birds like herons and cormorants which fly home at the same time but they fly a little too high for a good photo. Switching from closeups to birds in flight mode takes a little time and adjustment. The birds do not give that much time to change the settings. Never mind.   I met many similar birds at the riverfront during their nesting season last year. They skim over the river to catch worms and insects for their little ones and themselves. There aren’t any fish in the water. Most of it is industrial waste and sewage which drains into it and has turned black. Very...