Rains, Glorious rains!

I am so lazy that instead of going outdoors I captured the rainfall from my verandah!

Jungle Sounds

My jungle has sounds unlike those of Corbett's or Kipling's forest. Only wild animals I have encountered here are monkeys, langoors and wild boar (seen just once in past six years) so the sounds I hear are just birds and cicadas. Here is a sample - enjoy the cicada song and the call of brain-fever bird!



Please overlook the poor quality of video, I only want to relieve you from the tedium of watching the last posting!

Hail Hail!

Hailstorms were common during March-April in Dehradun of yesteryears. The kids had fun playing with ice pellets though the storms completely destroyed the standing crops. Farmers should be thankful to climate change, at least the hail storms are a rarity now. There has been only one major hailstorm in Dehradun in last five years. It ocurred in March 2007 and gave our lawn a snow-white look. The ice took many hours to melt and sweaters and shawls came out!

Poised for Take-off ?

Insects have a really simple life, no euphoria in a booming economy and no worries in recession! Some environment experts claim that insects population will grow multifold as a result of global warming. So it is likely to be boom time for butterflies - that is why they say that every cloud has a silver lining!

Deodar (Cedarus Deodara), देवदार

Deodar or Himalayan Cedar (Cedarus Deodara) is a sacred tree from higher Himalayas. The name is derived from Dev (divine) and daru (wood) or "wood of the Gods". Deodar grows at altitudes between 1500 metres to 3200 metres. Deodar forests can be seen at Mussorie but this picture was taken at Dhanaulti, a small sleepy place 25 kms. from Mussorie.