1-7 September 2011

This post is going to seem idyllic, and that's appropriate.  Our life is like that.

The weather right now, traditionally, has been a sunny period between two monsoons, the heavier coming in October.  But the lesser monsoon that starts in June was late, and it has been raining on and off every day for over a month.  This rainbow came on 31 August (one month in our new home) when the sun came out for the first time in a long while when it was drizzling, as usual.  The picture was taken from our balcony.  sigh

When we left our home on Gray's Hill, I cried for two days because I was unable to have a bird feeder, etc., in our new home due to monkey invasions.  The monkeys also terrorized my flowers.  I was really upset.  Another thing I disliked was the low, ugly building along the back of the house, which we had to look down on all the time.
Well, it turns out that building is a great place to throw bird seed and watch all the birds come to eat.  AND, big puddles collect when it rains, so everybody comes to bathe and drink.  So fantastic!  Here are Spotted Doves.  Aren't they pretty?  (We had ten of them the other day.)

On Saturday, the 3rd, on our daily walk over at the Singara tea estate, this is what we saw late in the day.

The following morning, we found our bison friends grazing in the tea.  (I think they never stop eating since they're so big.)

And today, near the tree temple just inside the forest next to the tea plantation,  I found this guy crossing the road and encouraged him to turn back where it is safe.  Isn't he/she gorgeous?

Oh, and this morning, we saw this guy walking through the tea.  This picture is from the net because, by the time we figured out what he was, we couldn't get a good picture.

This is a Ruddy Mongoose, which had the coloring  of the one we saw.  The Nilgiri Mongoose is black.  Who knows.  But pretty darned exciting, huh?

Anna Hazare's fast has ended!

Anna Hazare has ended his fast!  I want to run out into the street and shout for joy!  He, Arvind Kejriwal, and many others (actually all the people of India!) have achieved a historic victory for India by getting the Jan Lockpal bill passed unanimously through parliament.  Wow!  The whole country rose up in disgust and frustration against the rampant corruption literally running India.  It was wonderful to watch.  Anna Hazare fasted in order to get the government ministers to hear the people.  It kept the pressure on.  He has fasted twice; this time for 13 days.  It was such a relief to watch him end his fast.  The work will now begin on ending corruption here.  

3-19 August 2011

Monkey invasion

Many babies

Sara

Bison 6-8-11 on our walk through the Singara tea estate near our new house

View from the Tantea guest house 9-8-11 where we had dinner with Govindharajan and his sister Rukumani who was visiting from their home village

Govindharajan, Carolyn, Rukumani

Gopal, growing a beard

Govindharajan, Kanakaraj, and Rajendra at the guest house

View of our house from the street

From the front

The apartment downstairs

Sunrise at Singara (5:55am)

Widening our street

Malati, Vanya, Carolyn
On 12 August Malati invited us for her husband Ashok's birthday.  Malati and Ashok now live across the street from us.  Vanya founded Earth Trust in the Nilgiris

The wonderful spread

Ashok, Netha
Netha is a wonderful cook and professional food counselor who cooked wonderful treats for us.  

Carolyn and Sachi, Netha's daughter, who is heading for film school in Paris

We spontaneously decided to sit around the buffet table so we could eat and gab there.
Maji (Ashok's mother), Carolyn, Ashok, Malati, Netha, Vanya

Netha, Vanya, Sachi, _______

More bison at Singara 15-8-11

Found this guy in the geranium in the garden (about 3" long)

Eveniing at Singara 19-8-11

July 2011 - Our new house and a visit from Sushil

Our friend Govindharajan showed us this house, which we decided to rent.  Big decision.  14 July was an auspicious day astrologically for moving in, so we traditionally boiled over milk in the kitchen and did a special puja for our new home.

Our new kitchen weeks before all our stuff arrived  (Besides milk to boil over, we brought makings for a cup of milk tea.)

Our little puja table by the front door

Our friend Sushil from Delhi came to visit on 15 July (just in time to help with the moving).  Here we are on a tour boat on the 24th at Ooty Lake, which I love.  That's Sushil in the black shirt.

From the boat you can see the kiddie train that runs along the lake

We decided to try the little train

That's my faky camera smile

Cutie

A couple days later we took Sushil to Dolphin's Nose, a viewpoint nearby.  Here's a waterfall we could see from the viewpoint.

Here are a couple horses available for riding.  Everyone there is scrounging for a meager living.

The next day, Aishwarya generously came to Coonoor to see  her friends here, including us.  We had dinner with her at the Tantea guest house, guests of her father.  Aishu is studying in London, so it was a particular treat to be able to see her like this.

On 31 July, the day before the move, we brought the plants over.  What a terrible mistake.  The monkeys trashed them, spreading dirt and parts of plants all over the balcony.  Some of the plants were salvageable, but not the gorgeous hanging geranium.

These two pictures are the view from the balcony at the new house.