overhead shots

A few shots from the floating camera in DJI Mini 2.

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squirrel picking African Tulip tree bark

There's a squirrel family around our apartment building. I've seen them scamper up and down trees. One morning we had kept a tray of green-gram for sunning, the grains were scattered on the sit-out floor. I knew it was a squirrel's work. Despite sighting them often, I'd never caught them photographed them.

Jan 6, 2024, 9-05 AM. I was standing the balcony waving bye to Pushp on her way to work. I heard a shrill cry of a squirrel barely 8' away on the African Tulip tree. The squirrel was squeaking and waving it's bushy tail, looks like it was alarmed at the sight of a human so close by. I remained motionless, watching it for a minute or so, then it calmed down. I went in, grabbed my Canon 550D aimed the extended lens at the squirrel and got a few shots. Below are few clear ones with the squirrel in different positions.

The cute little creature's is always curious. Eye's watching my movements and it's nose sniffing furiously.

It was biting off something from the bark and swallowing it. So this our little friend's breakfast time.

Squirrels are acrobats, they run on the branches, no matter how slender. They jump across branches without any hesitation. They possess amazing control and sense of balance. Wonderful creatures.

Squirrels were regular visitors to a friend's place. Once he discovered that a squirrel had bored a hole through a stack of bedsheets to make a nest for it's babies. With the ruined bedsheets he also discovered how destructive squirrels are which lead to this quote: squirrels are cute looking rodents.

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Bulbul pair relaxing on coconut tree

Jan 3, 2024. Though a sunny day, it was cold inside the house. May be it was cold in a shaded place. i happened to notice a pair of Bulbul on a coconut tree. The bulbuls look like they are trying to keep each warm.

As I took pictures, one of the bulbuls looked in my direction. I feel it heard the camera's beep or may be it sensed that they are being watched.

After a few minutes they separated, maybe it's time to head home, where ever it was. Another thing, notice how slime the bulbul looks while standing.

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Taking a proper bath

Bathing is as essential as eating food, drinking water, sleep, etc. These essentials are supposed to be carried out like religious rituals in a peaceful manner, without any distraction. However, in this age of fast life, they have been to reduced to a mere routine. Most of us eat in a rush, talking or engrossed in phone or TV, while walking, and what not. When eating itself is a rush, you can imagine what has become of bathing... get wet, apply shampoo / soap and wash them off. Some people are a little more elaborate. I think most people are ignorant or simply neglecting these essential 'life' activities. I realized my mistakes quite late in life and trying to improve. Basically, it comes down to realizing the importance of these 'life essentials'. One needs to be focused & patient. Here are a few points to bear in mind.

Bathe first and then eat. Never take bath within 4 hours after eating, of course the time gap depends on the type & quantity of food. Heavier food & heavier meal means a longer gap.

Early morning bath daily is a good habit. Multiple baths is better provided one has time and resources.

During a hot-water bath, wet your feet first and then move upwards gradually. This way blood rushes upwards towards the head, blood supply to the brain is not disrupted.

For a cold-water bath, pour water on top of the head, wetting the entire body in the process. When cold-water is poured on any part of the body, blood rushes towards that part. So when cold water touched the head, blood flows into the head and neck.

It is said that while bathing one must run their hands over the entire body at least three times. That itself is an exercise. Massaging your scalp with fingers and rubbing your skin with a natural scrub or a smooth-surfaced soap-sized pebble is beneficial. Try to be as vigorous as possible but take care not to hurt yourself. Coming to the feet area, use a rougher surface pebble to scrape your toes, soles and sides of the feet. Or one could do the same on a granite block if your bathroom floor has one. Vigorous massage will help dislodge dead skin, and also improve blood circulation. One might even build up an appetite.

Those are some of the points to start with. One could elaborate the bathing process in a sensible manner by understanding bodily requirements. For example; soaking in coconut / castor oil for an hour and then having a hot-water bath. Or applying aloe vera or turmeric-lime juice mix before a bath.

An active bath is like Dhyana (meditation), it's bound to boost your energy and sharpen your mind. So make the best of your bath-time!

Disclaimer: this write-up is based on personal experiences and opinions, this is not to be taken as medical advise.
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Midnight bicycle-ride

The thought of a midnight ride occurred almost a year ago. The idea was to start the ride before midnight and end it after midnight. The objective of the exercise was ride across the date changeover and then see what date is assigned to the ride in Zeopoxa and Google Fit. A year went by as the idea waited action. The challenge was staying up that late since we go to bed by 9-15 pm and up by 4-30 am. On Dec 31st morning, after a 30+ km ride, while chatting over tea, I decided to complete this pending item, no matter what. An interesting English action movie of 1973 helped me stay awake. The ride started at 11-46 pm, I rode the main streets, went up to KCD Circle and returned, covering 7.2 km in 30 minutes. I went round KCD Circle at a minute past midnight, first half in 2023 and second half in 2024. Both Zeopoxa and Google Fit showed the ride under Jan 2024 which was my guess as well.

Having done this experiment, I literally rode into Year 2024.

BTW, six days ago i.e. on Dec 25th, another long time task was completed- the 100 km cross-country ride.

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