Snail and Shell

Though the pictures were shot last year, during the season of rain, it was fun following the snail and this is one of the biggest snails I have seen ever. I watched the snail trying to pass through an iron handle of a concrete slab at home and it somehow entered its head and antenna but not the big shell on back. Understanding the hindrance, it reversed the decision and makes a move above the handle and the progress was amuse to watch.

Monsoon or rain brings out numbers of hidden species and we couldn’t have seen a trace of them until there was constant showering. Many a time I have wondered how these stems shoot up only when the earth becomes wet and organise lives nonetheless things are invisible. Though science reveals almost, certain things amazes beyond understanding and I think that makes life interesting.

Coming to the snail, it has a wonderful shell coil that goes in shape of cone. I have seen snails, but mostly bear spiral shells and also smaller in sizes. I observe the snail’s shell pattern and shade was faded somewhere to make it look little aged, but I wasn’t sure it was the snail dead dried and stick to the wall days further from then. 

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Fence across Field

For today’s Good Fences meme, I share a picture from Javadhu Hills – an extension of the Eastern Ghats, near Vellore.

And here’s a fence run across a patch of step paddy fields, adjoining a pool of water near Jamunamarathur – a major village and town that connect many mountainous villages of Javadhu Hills.  I visited this place in 2013.

Once again with downpour!

Once again water entered home last night due to another heavy rain stroke the Chennai city. We didn’t anticipate such heavy rainfall after the second week of November’s downpour – that almost flooded the Chennai city, and met. Dept was also certain that heavy rain is not possible unless there’s a low pressure in Bay of Bengal. But still we received heavy rainfall because of the air circulation or pulling up of air by the low pressure in Arabian Sea (according to the met. Dept), although it had disappeared now, there’s a trace of low pressure in the southern bay which perhaps trigger rain in one or two days if it further moves northeast. It was pretty quick this time that the water level around our home touched the doorstep within an hour of rain and as usual, the sewage was the first to rose inside followed by the footsteps of flood water. Lol

Once again having an holiday at the upper portion of the house, with water receding slowly and food coming from my aunt’s home in next street, it was a feel better situation right now as we used to this already. Just only four days back we climbed down to home and now with another replay waits ahead.  We are in perplex whether to climb down again or not with the weather condition been unstable here, and with the trace of new low pressure and warning of raining throughout the state, we’re yet to decided to do what only tomorrow. Glad there was electric and I was able to connect to internet Wi-Fi to make a post on the condition we go through. Though I really don’t want to write post on this and also not want to make a friend feel bad about declining the invite to home during this time. I just write to let know others what’s happening at this side. Will catch up with blogs once got down... 

Dabchick @ Kukkal Lake

The Little grebe, also known as Dabchick, is a member of the grebe family of water birds that I found in the Kukkal Lake, a pristine water body near Kodaikanal. About 30km from Kodaikanal, the Kukkal Lake sits amid a great ecosystem which includes swamp, grassland and sholas and during my visit to the lake first time in 2012, I was amused to check this little bird species creating lovely ripples across the lake. I initially thought it to be an insect due to it’s smaller in size but only at the maximum zoom length on my point and shoot cam I come to reveal the bird and at that moment also I considered it as a little duck.

At 23 to 29 cm (9.1 to 11.4 in) in length, Dabchick is the smallest European member of its family and commonly found in open bodies of water across most of its range. The little grebe is a small water bird with a pointed bill and the adult is unmistakable in summers, predominantly dark above with its rich, rufous colour neck, cheeks and flanks, and bright yellow gape. The rufous is replaced by a dirty brownish grey in non-breeding and juvenile birds. The little grebe is an excellent swimmer and diver and pursues its fish and aquatic invertebrate prey underwater. It uses the vegetation skilfully as a hiding place, and during my visit too, I checked the bird taking numerous dips on the tranquil lake.

(sources of info wiki)
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Experience with Flood and Rain

We sat watching updates on northeast monsoon’s rain and floods reported from various parts of the city from more than two news channels. Usually rainwater used to stagnant around my home, whenever there’s heavy rainfall and water will recede slowly once it stopped raining. But on Sunday, from the morning the rainwater started to stay around my home in the usual way and from the evening and once in started to downpour there’s no way of receding and the level of water continued to rose as it rained constantly. Our attention from the TV slanted towards our own and what we have seen through all the years during the monsoon has at last reached our destination or we transferred towards it. Though this is not a usual monsoon and the rain didn’t’ last throughout the season, but showered the entire sum within a week time, blocking every waterways and drainage system, and over flowing rivers and lakes and heavy dose of rainfall brought things to standstill. 

Some flood scenes on neighbors and ours, shot from first floor

We don’t’ know what to do when water level touched our floor surface and when our attention was how to block the doorway to prevent water entering our home, the water started to outflow though the bathroom gullies blending rain and sewage water. With constant rain and increasing water level around the home, the flood started to enter our home in all possible ways and with the warning of met. Dept for intense rainfall for next two days, there was no other option than moving out of home. It was a moment perplex to do what next and mom didn’t have a mind leaving the home like that and obviously we are in charge of taking refuge at our uncle’s house in next street, which is of course our native house  and just being an upstairs homes we couldn’t reside there. At that phase mom remind us about the empty portion above our home, which is waiting for a tenant and the key, was also with us. Just informing the landlord, we moved couple of cots to the first floor with the help of my cousin and his friends, who also uplifted me using a chair.

My uncle’s family was very supportive throughout this phase and only that we were unable to stay with them... thinking about that now, mom had took the right decision and moving to my uncle’s home at that time should have been more difficult with water flooded all over the streets and moving upstairs within the building is most easiest. The late evening was spent quite putting things at safest and believing that water won’t raise more than a feet (although it rose only one third of it) we made sure no electric device was exposed and moreover switched off the main for two days until water recede quite. The only thing was we were unable to cook and was also not in mindset to bring stove and utensils above (as we feel it won’t be nice to make cooking at the house that was yet to be rented) so it was my uncle’s family take care of this too. My aunt prepared dishes consecutively throughout our stay above and passed it though my cousin and uncle and what we were doing was just eating and taking rest.

It wasn’t like we were affected by flood, but come to a place on vacation surrounded by water and the weather make feel of staying at a hill station. No televising and internet to connect, though we are glad there was electric throughout, unlike many other places, we can’t play television or interest. But that wasn’t a matter as we have Smartphone’s to connect via mobile data, there was little update about rain and flood in neighbourhood. Though water recedes in two days, we decided to stay upstairs for couple of days to wait and see what the weather condition was, because going back and front is not easy task. But glad there wasn’t heavy rain after the constant downpour and we have moved down this evening after going through couple of water washing the home and used cleaning agents to keep away germs and smells. The recent downpour made Chennai float in flood but when checking other places and esp. the suburbs that was almost covered by flood, what we have gone through isn’t much. And it was an experience and brought things close to explore lives at lowest. Glad things are back to normal now.