Inspiring..

- It takes a village to raise a child - African saying
- Nature is our best teacher
- we are the world, we are the ones to make a brighter day!..

- Natural farming, food forest

- We dig our grave with our teeth

- Freedom of expression is my birth right

- Freedom of speech comes with great responsibility

- I become what I see in myself. All that thought suggests to me, I can do; All that thought reveals to me, I can become. This should be man’s unshakeable faith in himself, because God dwells in him.

- The Mother said - it is not this OR that, it is this AND that
- Life is for living not to understand
-
‎"Sometimes you can't see the forest through the trees."

Thursday, December 22, 2011

"We are selling AquaGuard water filters"

  Walking to the 1 acre plot, just so you know; we are away from any main road or any civilized village; i bump into 2 men, on a bike, with bright white shirts with ties ~ WHAT?
  'What are they doing out here?!  Who are these people?!' i thought to  myself.  I couldn't help but laugh at this awkward situation :)  (far away, in a forest, early in the morning and out of the blue)
  "What are you doing?" i asked to make them feel a little welcome ;)
  "We are coming from Discipline (community).  We are selling AquaGuard water filters," they respond scared and nervously.
  "Do you have a water filter?" They asked.
  'Wouldn't it be more appropriate to ask me for directions?' i would imagine.
  Off they road off..back to civilization..
  Surely, makes my day.

 

Thursday, December 1, 2011

Compost over here

  Just to say, yes the foresters were right, it did not rain on Friday when we had our regular monthly meeting :)
  Tine, a lady who rides horses through the land and yonder into the cashew trees, gave us 2 loads of horse dung.  Compost by now, as it has been sitting there for quite some time.  Really good stuff for our vegetable garden!
  The thing was bringing it here from not so far away by tractor.  The latest type of tractor; super power, assisted driving, etc.  The people whom we hired could bring the tractor to the spot but i had to do all the reversing and setting up for them to load it with "mumpty and chutty"..hmmm. It has been a long time since i drove a tractor.  When i used to work for the Road Service, then surely i would drive on a regular basis and that too a John Deere, best.
  It is one thing to reverse in a car or tuck but to have a trailer attached is again another thing.  This maneuver required going between granite pillars at narrow right angles..well get the picture right.
  So here, i am doing the thing.  Back and forth.  Again and again, getting closer to the spot.  Attempting to get there forwards..so having assisted steering is great for such maneuvers.  Turning one direction was easy peasy with two fingers, then suddenly when i had to turn the other way it was so hard required lots of force..so that was another thing to tackle :)
  Got it to the spot.  Relieved.  Went off to get tea made for them..on return they were finished and of course they drove it out easy; yeah, going forward is no issue.  Let's seem 'em get it back there for our second load! :)
 

Sunday, November 6, 2011

It's raining again

Yep it is! :)
 All the foresters believe it will not be raining for this Friday's forest meeting over here. Paapum (let's see)
  Truly a relief to have rains even though our balcony roof leaks.  well not really anymore, as we recently changed it..The trees we planted this year are getting a good amount of rain to kickstart a great life! :)
  Come summer, we will still probably have to water them to help them but after that we are one happy family :)
  i have noticed that planting them in the wild grass is actually benefiting them in the long run.  i know, i know, weeds dont help; sorry i beg to differ :)

Thursday, July 14, 2011

traveling to the east coast

Well, for quite some time we will be on the east coast..so you can follow us on "my blog"





Saturday, July 2, 2011

From the Auroville Radio

Life in AV Forest (click)
Just wanted to share a broadcast on Auroville Radio..of Catherine and i blabbing on our lives :)

Wednesday, June 8, 2011

The 'whoosh-er'

Here it is the first time..
  All in one super ready made piece, the tower, arrived to the land on the small 'vandi' (motorized).  Unloaded it. 
  So happy and excited to get cracking on setting up to raise it above the trees.  it came to our attention that a little-big adjustment had to be made in this very specific case. There were 4 guy wire ring holders welded to the tower.  We had specifically..wait one second.  Can you hear that 'whooshing sound'? :) (that's the wind generator) lovely!
  So i was saying that we had already decided to have 3 guy wires and not 4; with many trees around the house it was wiser that way.  The mason had already come a long long time ago to make the foundation to hold the guy wires.
Drawing the tower

All the pieces to be welded

Muddy hinge
  Aureka who does a great job took an eternity to make the tower.  Their list of reasons were endless to postpone it.  I do understand how busy they are but i made sure that they would let me know when they could accommodate this little project.  Not to leave out my own slow time i took to decide what kind of tower we were going to use for a 6kg wind generator.  18 meters height was confirmed.  The higher the cleaner the wind.  A minimum of 6-8 meters above the trees will do.  We are using the house for support.  That helps!
  "you can pick it up, we fixed it." Palani, the supervisor in charge declared.  So, the tower returned.
Arulkumar at work

  Arulkumar nicely painted all the welded areas.  We used GI pipes, as the maintenance would be less.  We lifted it up locked it into the holder attached to the house.  Started to measure all the guy wires with a rope to get an approximate length.  Cut all the GI guy wires pulled them tight, adjusted so that the tower is straight vertically.  Catherine's eye was of great help.  and her master stroke of declaring it was right!
  In the meantime, we bought 90 meters of 6mm.sq.  The artful, creative and genius Akash mentioned that it was wiser to get different colors.  Our budget was short and they only provided in  90 meters batches :(

  I was tightening the flange when it occurred to me that i was not able to pass the cable through the pipe.  There was no hole!  Guess what?  It went back to Aureka to be doctored.  Now, how come so many clumsy mistakes.  Logically speaking there was a hole in the hinge at the bottom so why not in the middle?  I was overtime so happy to just have that post that i skipped the cross verification that is always a must! so i do take some blame..(sigh)
  Pathetic doctored hole done by a gas welder.  It totally burnt the super MRF primer and paint!  All done and returned, the truck driver asks, "On whose name do i put the bill?"  :)
  As i write, the wind generator is spinning to glory.  I can say it spins 80% of the time @ 1.25 Amps..we need to get an electronic ammeter so that we can tell the average.  It is very important the location of your wind generator vis-a-vis the wind capacity of the area.  We are at the top of the water shed therefore more wind available.
  Akash came by Monday morning.  He asked, "how long will it take?"
  i responded, "Ten minutes."  He suspected more..
  It took us the whole morning.  (clearing throat)  We are so grateful he came.  Electronics is not my forte.
  I have been super excited and nervous all along.  So i am more reassured today.  As i see the guy wires are holding well.  Little shake.  Minor.  The LED shines which means that it is charging!
trial run

..magic shop..

It is a matter of how much will it generate over the year.  I mean if you had a solar panel instead which generates much more power then the wind generator, it would be the best option and far cheaper.  In our case, we are harvesting the wind that is available and having a hybrid system is our goal, especially during the rainy season.
  Time will tell.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Mr. Twitter

It began with a beautiful tragedy. Our gorgeous hen and her promising babies attacked by a cobra in the early evening; Mama using even her last breaths to defend her sole surviving chic.


When she passed, Martanda and I took the role of Mamma Hen, our pockets becoming for the chic the safe, warmth typically reserved for under a mother's wing. We hoped and prayed she was a hen. She was the last hope; the last female of a dying dynasty.



And we were thrilled by her. She became more than a pet -- a fragile baby who needed our love and protection, and a fantastic new playmate. She followed us everywhere, worked along side us killing centipedes and termites, kept on our heals as if we really were chickens. Thanks to Monica, we came to call her Twitter.



Slowly, slowly she grew… never quite fitting in with the other hens, enjoying special privileges (like living in a box in our kitchen). It became clear by her behavior -- the way she sat, the noises she made, the way the other chickens were with her, and even her modest crest -- that she was, in fact, a she! We paid no mind to her beautiful colors of the fact that she attacked everything -- including the cats. We celebrated and waited for months for her eggs, even as she became more and more independent.


Five months passed -- the time it takes for a baby to really mature. The lady who helps us around the house insisted that now that Twitter was an adult, there should be no more kitchen privileges. As the size of our babies turds grew, I had to agree.

And then it happened. A visitor called her and a him. We corrected the guest and told of Twitter's storied past.

Then more people came to the house, and they too thought our beloved hen was a cock. But it couldn't be true -- not after five months of being sure she was going to provide us with eggs and keep the country chicken line of Lumière in tact!

We showed her/him/it to everyone who passed by and asked: boy or girl? Without fail, they all said male. We started to look more closely.

Suddenly we noticed she was taller than the other hens… and the crest on her head, while a terrible way to judge hen from cock, was indeed longer than it used to be… and the nail in the coffin: her tail feathers were long, elegant, beautiful curves.

In fact, as I write this, I can hear her coughing out a squeaky, pre-pubescent "cock-a-doodle-do."

Just like a rooster.

So five months later we discover, SHE is, in fact, a HE.

Friday, April 29, 2011

Internet prolonged saga

  I sit and wait for Suresh (BSNL) at the junction box in the forest 783m away from the house.
  Of course, he is not on time.  It is called Indian stretchable time (IST) :)  As i have the computer with me i can write this little note while i wait under the eucalyptus tree.
  What a decision to go forward laying a cable to the house.  We have seen great sides to it.  A good 18 days out of 90 days!  When it did work it worked just fine.  What is the problem?  Where is the problem?
  "Did you call them?  When are they coming?  what does that mean?" i heard many times from Catherine. "usually!…."  i understand where she comes from.  She depends on it for her work.  I wish the internet cable in india specifically Auroville would be
  "hmmmm…" i would respond.  She has taken matters in her hand.  The usual way ;)
  They have taken the modem.  They have checked it.  They are bringing it now.  We will test it at one junction box 783m away from the house.  If that works we move on to the house. 
  So far the issue has always been somewhere between one of the junction boxes to the main box near the exchange.  Phew at least laying the cable was not all waste.  Gotta get the freakin' internet data working!
  So here i wait..
  It is lovely as it has rained quite a bit for several days!  it still smells fresh! :)
  (they have arrived…gotta go)

Monday, April 18, 2011

"twitter" hops her way

  Oh "twitter"!  She sure has healed well.  Her foot is kind alike all wonky now.
  At the time, i was so worried i would be hurting her as i cleaned her wounds and made sure it would not get infected.  I did notice that it was somehow crunched and that she could not move her paws..
  She has adapted sensationally well.  She hops and walks.  She is again normal.  Slowed down sadly when speed is of the essence in the forest with the wild hungry lurking mongoose and civet cat.  The dogs normally do the job to protect 'em.  But you never know at times i would think even the dogs would be interested :)
   She has started to make adult sounds..how can i explain?  maybe i will record the sound one day :)  Expecting her to start laying eggs!
  So, i wished to have put in place her paws so that at least she could place her foot flat on the ground!



Thursday, April 14, 2011

Owl have a great journey

  She has been shitting well.  Conclusion the mother is coming and taking care of her baby!
  5 days ago, in the morning, i went to do my regular check-in and felt the owl. 
  "A little cold, shaking is normal.  Why is she a little weaker today?" i asked myself.  Was last nights attempt to fly away tired her so much.
  Convincing myself that the mother is in charge..i continued my day.
  Sadly, on my return that evening.  It had taken another journey other then being a bird! :(
  Sad i was, why did i not pay more attention to my gut feeling and judgement that something was wrong.  I felt responsible! :(
  Monica sweetly put it.  It is the mother's responsability.  I preferred that..
  I buried her under the chickoo tree hoping maybe the fruits will be round as the owl! :')

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Owl grows..

  Which day are we at?  i believe it is the 4th night, tonight (i prefer nights as they are nocturnal)
  Last night, well better say yester-evening, again the same song different chord and another tone..the baby owl made it up a few steps and hopped onto the mini wall along the balcony and spoke to her mom.
  Her mom kept calling her and responding to her baby.  Slowly getting darker and darker the mom becomes more courageous and approaches her baby.
  I sat on the balcony for easily half an hour silently and motionless.  So sweet and beautiful to watch the song.
  I was afraid the baby would fly off and not make it far enough into a tree.  There are cats and dogs down there!  i trusted and went back inside.
  After an hour or so, for some reason i went downstairs and started to look as i did not hear the song anymore.  The cat had found the owl exactly below where she sat up on the balcony; not so promising for someone who can fly :)
  This time the owl stayed on the balcony.  I trusted that she would stay.  I went to sleep.  But will she behave? i worried.
  The next morning that is today, Thursday, she was still there.
  Has she been fed all these nights?  Is she getting stronger?
  Monica, the bird lover, will go this afternoon to make an analysis! :)

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Owl hops and spreads wings

  "I had the same experience 8 years ago. The nest was in a tree in the middle of the garden. Waking up to go to the lycée, our 4 cats and 1 dog were around it. He had spread out his wings to impress them, but it wasn't going to keep them far for long... I took him (with garden gloves, because yes, the claws are impressive) and put him in my clothes cupboard (wire mesh door). Off to school, and when I came back I took him again under the tree. And hooray he flew to mommy who "showered" him and they went back to the nest!!! Good luck cousin!" - Divya.
  Hmmm. Nice to hear that.
  It was pretty yesterday evening when the sun was setting. A lovely wind.  A serene calm and the sound of birds going home.  Except for the parents of the baby owl.
  A song a dance.  The mama owl hoots her sound with intervals of 'tac tac' then the baby responds with a purr-ish sound.  When the baby makes the sound you have no idea where it is, it is projecting the sound from its ears and forehead; get my point - it resonates all over!  Hops around so the mama can see her.
 I witnessed all this on the balcony sitting quietly.  I thought they were the size of a coconut but actually much smaller.
  The baby has more energy and spreads its wings to scare.  She has even grabbed my finger as if i were a prey.  Makes me smile to see this beautiful lump of feathers with big eyes that wink at you! :)
  This continued for a long, very long time into the dark.  I am assuming that the mama is feeding her!
  I am keeping a watch out as  Aurosylle mentioned that if it does not go all naturally then we might have to feed it.  
  "yeah yeah, feed it some meet and put hair on it; even arm pit hair or something," Monica straightforwardly shared.
  Not reached that stage as yet.  So far so good.  I want to help it with some flying practice; going to pick it up and throw it in the air! :)

Monday, April 4, 2011

Beautiful baby owl

  "Oh what's that?" looking down on the floor in the kitchen.
  I turned away to look right back, what could it be a bird, really?
  It was dark, all i wanted is to feed the dogs and go to sleep.  Of course, i noticed some how the fluffy feathery grey lump right by the door.
  A baby grey owl on the ground with ants starting to get to it :(  i picked it up.  So sweet.  Wow, does it have claws.  It is hardly the size of my fist.  Beautiful big eyes!  Little feather horns above its eyes.  So sweet.  They have a nest in the "keet" where it meets the cement roof.
  How did it get there?
  Will the parents come back for it.  Who do i call?  I tried Aurosylle, Mirabelle and Monica to no avail.
  Hmmm..What do i feed it?  if only i had a syringe i could nourish it with water or some vitamins.  is it sick why is it not flying away?
  Getting all the little ants off its beautiful feathers and going through a thorough check up..nothing seems to be the problem apart from some feathers missing on its neck!
   I call back Monica, yes she picked it up and gave me super instructions on what to do.
  I have put it in a basket with plenty of cloth.  I marked around it with chalk so no ants get to it.  Placing it on the verandah, right below their nest, hoping its parents will show up tonight..
  I wish it will survive and return to the wild healthy, strong and safely!
  Good night :)

Sunday, April 3, 2011

Hopping "Twitter"

  An evening we came just before dark.  We spot "twitter" sitting on the stool outside the kitchen door.  Unusual.
   She has been used to staying in the kitchen as she grew up in there.  Otherwise, we had started to put her in the chicken pen with the other adult hens.
  I wondered why would she be there.  She got off the stool and started to limp!
  She had a cut on her paw.  Ouch.
  The next morning i wanted the vets opinion, "Hi.  You got a problem with your cock again?!"  the vet joked seriously.  "is it your hen or the cock that needs attention?" and so i explained the story.  As per her orders i went to get ointments and medecine for "twitter"
  I still could not put the pieces together as how the chick was hurt and not put in her place.  According to the watchman, he says Saedi was after it; and she hurt "twitter" Do i beleive that?
   And then that he could not catch her to put her with the others. hmmmmm..
  Well damage is done.  After dressing he for several days and giving medecine she continues to hop.  She is unable to place her foot down :(
  Truly wish her foot gets better, after all she grew up in my pocket!


Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Where does Saedi go?


  I was doing the rounds; making sure the drip irrigation was working.  Picking up the drips and opening them to make sure nothing is blocking the circulation.
  Who pops up after hours of absence? Saedi.  She had already disappeared this morning when we walked the last field.  Ready obedient followed me back.  i believe she visits our neighbor Iyyanar further up in the cashew fields.
  After disappearing again, she shows up in the evening sunset with a funny head shake!  She ignores Ready completely comes straight for me.
  Head shaking and jerking strangely, i thought she was playful and excited to see me.  i started to play and stroke her neck under.  Her mouth was dirty with red earth.  Uhmm...curious.  She continues to shake her head and open her mouth.  "Saedi, what is the matter?" i query.
  Of course she does not respond with words :)  but she does come to me again asking for help.  
  i look in her jaw and what do i see?  "A band of angels coming after me.." just kidding that is a song that came into my head.
  It was a bone stuck transversely between her teeth!  It was stuck!
  We get a long very well.  she listens to me and is very obedient if not scared :)
  So i pulled it out and of she goes trotting to drink some water.  "Hello, where is the thank you?!" :)

Sunday, March 27, 2011

"twitter" is grown up

  She does not fit in my pocket anymore.  She still does come to you for attention, food and a little chat once in a while :)
  She has lost her chip chip voice.  She carries a red hood hat.  She sleeps with the adults; no more kitchen cupboard special suite.  She is slowly integrating into hen-hood :)
  She is beautiful, smart and a little of a bully.
  "twitter" goes after our cats like anything.  She pecks them, even pulls out fur.  She steals their food..
  She is a product of the land.  She has survived and is around! :)

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Squirrel finds its way back

  Ever since we brought the squirrel quickly to Mirrabelle in Sharnga; i have always been thinking how is the squirrel doing.
  The other day we visited her as she said she had 2 cocks to give away and knowing that Windarra Farm desperately needed; i felt this is an opportunity to satisfy.
  She was busy as ever with her restaurant Balarama; did not taste the food but it sure looked good.  She managed to squeeze 5 minutes in between serving to go catch 1 cock.  Sadly the other one the night before had been eaten by an animal!
  She has this trap to scare away mongoose and rats.  A mongoose and a "bandicoot" were inside when we came...aagh.
  She went in the pen to catch the lovely cock but he was too quick; so one of us went in to help.
  "BTW how is the squirrel doing?" i inquired.
  "i just let it go this morning!" she answered happily :)
  I am glad and grateful that the squirrel has returned to its natural habitat! :)

Saturday, March 19, 2011

..Our toilet..


  Our toilet!
  Our toilet upstairs does not want to flush correctly.  Every time you pull, in this case :)  Normally one pushes, right?  As i fabricated a new device (nylon rope) that goes from the top ~ through a hole i drilled, you pull..
  Anyway.  It is scary to see the water fill the toilet and not sure if it will overflow..:)  So far it does go down but slowly :(
  3 bottles of acid down ~ we thought would do the job.  I hesitated as it is not friendly environmentally but it worked for a few days..
  Some advised me to check the pipe maybe there are roots blocking the way.
  Next step.  Believing that maybe the overflow tank does not percolate fast enough we could pump out the water..
  I wanted to share all the gory details but i will spare you :) shit. lol :)

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Our watchman Suraj

  I walk the land almost everyday.  Walk the fence to see how it is growing.  Is it breached?
  Since i have this watchman who works part-time, i am more relaxed and reassure :)  I have asked him to do a few things..even i forgot what i had given him to do; to my satisfaction the fence is looking better and better.  He gives good attention to the land.
  The Nepali have a sense of work and aesthetic very deiffernt to the souther folks :)  For example, we have to put sticks for the tomatoes to be held up; he instead put a branch with many smaller branches,,so the green beans looks like a shrub now :)  Of course, with our broken tamil and my broken hindi..i told him, "do it just like in Nepal."
  It is a fine balance between giving freedom to a worker and to control..
  He is happy.  I am happy and the land is happy.  Thank you :)

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Twitter our hen

  "Call her Twitter," Monica emphasised with her spanish accent.  She is a bird lover!
  Even an iphone application called birds gets her going :)
  Twitter was born with a few other siblings.  Her mom sadly one day defending her babies was bitten by a snake; my mistake.  I did not follow my instinct/intuition to put another basket over the one eaten by termites which i was using ~ means that it was holier and more vulnerable! :(
  The hen was our last standing one.  Sadly, until her passing, she protected her last surviving chick ~ twitter!  Just writing this saddens me..
  Twitter grew up with us.  She adopted us.  She spent a lot of time in my pocket; warm and cozy just like being under her moms wings.
  We could not tell if it would be a hen or rooster.  Well, i think i already gave it.  She is a hen. Yes.  Our country chicken dynasty can live on.
  In the meantime, our cocks were getting cocky and going bananas.  NO hens!  Our cats were targets.  They were each other's target.  Nope.  We need to get hens fast, Twitter will take longer to grow up.
  Windarra was so nice to give us 4 white hens.  Bigger eggs.  We call them the Gandhi family, as they were handed to us by the lady there called Gandhi :)
  Today, Twitter cheeps no more.  She is brown-red and happy!  She has had many visits..people are always surprised to see a chicken in our kitchen and amongst us.  Our family in the making.
  

Friday, March 4, 2011

Rediscovering her roots

  She has rediscovered her roots.
  She has started her vegetable garden!
  Coming from an interior design/architect background - she finds today nothing more rewarding then sweating in your vegetable garden!
  She is exhilarated.  She is motivated.  She is full of energy.  She can hardly finish her sentence she is so moved by her joy of work :)
  We visited her work place; home.  Lovely to see her site.  Papayas growing galore.  Pineapple in the hundreds; she says, "i am trying to get a 1000!"  All beds lined up, weeded, a variety of vegetables growing happily.
  All this maintained by her and watered by a drip irrigation system installed by her.
  Even the Farm Group has to say if she can grow so much in so little space, why can't she be a farmer? :)
  To our suprise, she made us a meal that night with home grown veggies!   Excellent!
  oh, yeah,  beans hanging from the sky she collected and ate straight from the vine - our advise - she thought it better then cooked! ;) Thank you Ilona.
  People, edible landscape!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Leaking tap

  Behind the house we have a leaking tap.  It has for a very long time.  A lot of water is "lost".
  When i discovered drip irrigation for my convenience and started applying it here on the land; i figured that i should install for the coconuts too.
  So i added a system to the leaking tap.  I wondered if it would work.  Well, to my surprise, each drip is dripping nicely all from a leaking tap.  and i can tell you the leak is minimal.
  So with the pressure of air and little water it makes a perfect system.
  Avocado and Coconuts are happy! :)

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

A squirrel that has found a new nest

  "hey, can you come over to the pony farm..some people have been cutting trees and we have to do something.."
  "See you in 5," i respond.
  Reaching the spot where the tree cutting is going on.  Catherine and Jonah are there working out some money story that an Aurovilian had created to make some cash.
  i saw something move in the thorny bushes; i stared at it thinking it was a snake eating something.  Gave it a few seconds to be sure. It was a bunch of ants going after a baby squirrel.  I pocked my hand in the thorns to pick it up and shake off the ants.  That became my world.  Catherine and Jonah disappeared.  Forget the wood cutters.
  I was just saying, "there might be others like stuck in the air"  Looking up in the thorns towards the nest above; i spotted another but it was too late :(
  This happened all because a tree cut fell on the bush where the mama squirrel kept her babies.  They got shook out of their nest..
  "Don't touch it," i was told.  Later, i discovered from @Mirabelle that it is a myth.  She was kind enough to take care of it.  She knows what she is doing.  She rescues plenty of animals..
  I jumped on my cycle and went home.  No milk.  Actually i was advised to give it baby food like we did for the rabbits.  So, leaving the baby squirrel in a drawer with plenty of clothe to keep it warm and safe, i jumped on my cycle..
  The time i returned after my lunch, the squirrel was getting cold.  I was delighted when Mirabelle picked the phone.  She asked, "Does it have fur?  is its eyes open?"
  "Yes," i replied.
  "Ok, bring it."
  Phew.
  so i speed on Dhruv's bike praying it would survive the last league to her rescue.  A new nest.

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

2nd walk in the forest by non residents

  There are walks in Auroville being organised by the Green Centre.
  We graciously accepted as we feel a need to share and express ourselves in regards to what we are doing and being here in Lumiere and there is nothing better then actually coming in person :)
  So this Sunday, a good 20 people, walked from Dana (1km ~ 15 minutes walk) to the land that we renamed from Fertile Field.  It is open, there is a lot of light, wind and space to breath hence the name Lumiere which Ange actually suggested once upon a time.
  Everything that is here is because of Perumal.  He started the place in 1999.  We took the relay several years back..
  Tlaloc, a pioneer and returned Aurovilian, so happened to be on the walk and had lived in the area back then :) so he briefed us on the area..the Fertile dynasty of the past.  i.e. Dana used to be part of it..
  Interesting to have people over and ask questions.  I am a young forester and when fancy questions are asked and i dont know the answer i bluntly said, "i dont know."
  Barnabash, a Hungarian child, actually to be precise Bogi and Zsolty's son, trotted along with his newly learnt whistle.  it is their family tune that he practiced all along :)  sweet.
  i hope it was of interest for the walkers.
  Catherine gave a little talk on Carbon Initiatives..where a few did generously donate towards planting in all forests in the greenbelt for this year 2011!
  It is raining as i write this.  What a pleasure and a gift for the plants.  It will be a great boost for the passage through the summer..

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Friday, January 14, 2011

It's been a long time

  Now, that has been a long time since we wrote anything on our blog.
  So much i have wanted to share and express..our last story has been our new hens.
  Our hen's have perished.  Three cocks are standing alive and flying!
  There has been 2 workers digging a trench.  I asked them if they could get me some country hens.  They willingly brought us 2 beautiful ones.
  1 week in the storeroom to get used to the place.  Yesterday, our lady Padma, from Bommayarpalayam, decided to leave the hens go and enjoy our roosters!  The day goes by she has to leave to get home..the dogs are running after the hens..one is in the tree another she has no idea.
  Over the phone, talking to her from Quiet made me nervous.  Luckily, Catherine was close by, we made it in record time to save one hen that was under the grass unreachable by the dogs and the other was simply not traceable..good camouflage.  By nightfall, the hen flies down to go up a tree with our cocks! phew..(sigh)