TIME OFF!
Today is the last day of my
Second Term break. As I look forward to another busy Term, I also look backand wonder about all that I could have done! But holidays have a way of racing
by, especially when your family is with you. I couldn’t agree more with Elbert
Hubbard, when he said, No man needs a vacation so much as the person who has
just had one!
Of course I did the usual
things one does during holidays- watch my favourite TV programmes on travel,
nature and food late into the night and wake up a little late, the next morning! During
one such session, as I was surfing through the limited channels brought to us
by our local Cable Network, I chanced to see the Everglades, the wetlands that
stretch across southern Florida South Florida 's most stubborn alligators. Had it not been
for an interesting memory, I might have given it a miss.
I remember teaching the kids a story, titled,
Trashmasher, from the English text book in my previous school. It told
the story of a baby croc, which lived in one of the many canals in Florida
As time went by, it grew
bigger and bigger. The huge monster now came up to the backyards and upturned
the trashcans for food. But, now it posed a threat and at last a complaint went
out to the Florida Wildlife Officials. Two young uniformed trappers arrived and after
listening to the residents, believed they could release it unharmed into the
wild. They believed they could drag it to the Everglades
easily, really as easily as leading a dog on a leash!
But everyone was in for a
shock as the alligator resisted all attempts to be snared. In a fierce display of
its powers, it kept circling round the tree, up which the men had climbed to
save themselves. They remained there the whole night, planning their next move.
Early next morning, one of them threw down his wrist watch—the shining object
distracted the gator and thus he was trapped.
I enjoy watching these programmes
as much as I enjoy reading about them. They help one to know and understand the
world we live in, they educate, inform and
regale us with the good, the bad and the ugly. To all those who study,
research, and film it all, kudos!
As I was typing out my blog,
I looked out the window, at the solitary crow’s nest.
In my earlier blog, The Twin Trees, I had
mentioned the building of the nest with sad results and then the cutting down
of the trees. But nature bounces back; this time the crow had made his nest on
the tree beside it. It had done a good job, for it had found a faithful mate and
through rough and rainy weather, had raised the chicks. I was delighted to
spot the happy family, the chicks all grown up and almost ready to fly away! I am happy to share the photos with you!
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