C for Camouflage

 

 Many creatures resort to camouflage to conceal themselves from their preys or to confuse and confound their predators. The lizard which lives in the crevices of granite rocks has markings of granite. The spider on the plant has a perfect camouflage to catch her victims.

 But the butterfly Euploea core was not so clever. He just changed his name to" Common Crow" to evade his enemies!

 The beautiful Chrysothemis pulchella is blooming in my garden now. It is commonly known as Sunset Bells.

My thanks to Mrs.Nesbitt for the wonderful meme ABC Wednesday.

Our World- Banyan Tree

 The banyan tree Ficus benghalensis isa native of India, which is invariably mentioned in ancient tales. The story tellers of yore used to sit under a banyan tree and spin their yarns.

 The tree sends down aerial prop roots which come down and become trees themselves. After some years, it is hard to say which is the original tree. The banyan is called Vata in Sanskrit and Ala in Kannada. In the olden times, merchants, who are known as Baniyas , used to sit under the tree and carry on their trade. Hence, the tree got its English name.

 This is the Big Banyan from Bangalore. You can see that the tree is really many inter-connected trees.This place is a favourite picnic spot for young people. This picture is from Wikipedia, and the two pictures on top are mine.

I thank the team of OurWorld Tuesday , where you can see great photos from all over the world.

Floral Friday

In spite of the severe drought we are facing, these flowers are blooming in my garden.

B for Breathing Bridge

 I was breathless with wonder when I beheld this beautiful breathing bridge in an Indian village by the border of Bangla Desh.

 Buttressed by bamboo and betelnut trees, the bridge is woven from the roots of living Banyan trees. Flat stones are kept on it so that bicycles and bipeds can pass easily. on it.
There are some Breathing Bridges in the region which have celebrated their bicentennial.
I thank Mrs.Nesbitt and her team for hosting ABC Wednesday.

Our World- Walled City

 This is the five centuries old wall of Bangalore city. It protected the citizens from attacks by invaders .

The doorway for the fortress has a tragic story of the chieftain's daughter-in-law sacrificing herself so that the door would stand strong.That happened centuries ago, and the wall has now disappeared except for the front part.
I thank the team of Our World Tuesday, which gives us a lot of interesting information about our world.

Weekend Reflections- Storks

The painted storks at Ranganthittu are not scared of humans in rowboats.
My thanks to James at Weekend Reflections where you can see fantastic refledtions from all over the world.

A for.....

 At first, the Asclepia attracted the Amphibian, but the asp in the adjacent tree drove him to

 the Aerides blooming near ...

 the grove of Andropogus lemon grass.

 Anxious that a lurking adder might annihilate him, the amphibian made the ancient temple his abode.

My thanks to Mrs.Nesbitt  and the team of ABC Wednesday for the absolutely addictive meme.

Geese at the Guest House

I saw these geese cackling for their breakfast at a guest house in Mumbai.If you go too near them, they will nip you in the leg!
You can see many interesting photos from all over the world at Our World Tuesday.

The Return of the Blue Tiger

The Blue Tiger butterfly Tirumala limniace migrates during the monsoon season. The migratory instinct is more pronounced in the males. In spite of the severe drought we are facing, these butterflies seem to be migrating now . Perhaps they will find succour in the Western Ghats:)

Weekend Reflections

A lily pond in the wilderness brings joy to the heart of the traveller.

Our World - Golden Pandanus

 Last Sunday we had gone for a picnic to a place near the gold fields of Kolar. Although all the gold has been exhausted from the mines, there are some beautiful places to visit in this rain-shadow region. One of them is the curious rock formation at Avani, which looks like an  English lady of the Victorian era..

 This golden girl of present times sells the golden flowers of the fragrant Screw Pine Pandanus odorifer near an ancient temple.

 The fragrant Screw Pine is called Kedige in Kannada, and Kewda in Hindi. Its scented water is used in many Indian sweets. Only the male flowers are fragrant. This pandanus grows in water logged and swampy places.

Herons and egrets and other water birds love the swamps where the pandanus grows.
My thanks to the team of Our World Tuesday, where you can see fantastic images from all over the world.

Floral Friday

 Yesterday-today-tomorrow flowers are aptly named, as they show different colours on different days.

The pomegranate blossom was supposed to be an epitome of beauty, by ancient Urdu poets.
To see more flowers, visit Floral Friday.

Our World- Scary visitors

 My daughter was watching the Euro 2012 football match a few nights ago, when she and her husband heard a growl.. They peeped out from the window and were thrilled to see a huge leopard in their car porch. And this happened in the IIT campus in Mumbai, which is adjoining the Borivili National Park. As they were watching the leopard, a second one sprang down from a tree nearby!

 After a lot of activity for the next two days by the forest guards, the big cats were persuaded to go back to the jungle from where they came.
Leopards, elephants and other wild animals are increasingly coming into cities because their habitat is being reduced constantly by greedy humans.

This is my contribution to Our World Tuesday.