Why did this blog go dormant?

It has been almost two months since any blog entires. It was not intentional. We had a great summer beginning when every weekend saw a new hike, nature photos and happy smiling faces. 

Then things changed, in a fraction of a second. My wife went to Windy hill hike with a friend and did the simple common mistake of not looking where she is walking. In a spilt second her shoe gets stuck in a root on the path and her ankle was twisted. She decided it was "just a sprain" and decided to go on a larger hike during memorial day weekend which made matters a lot worse.

After many X-rays, MRI, bottles of Ibuprofen,Voltaren,Icy-hot,dencorub,CBD oil, etc. etc.. (it is actually a long list), ankle braces, doctor appointments, chiropractor visits, even Bikram yoga with me and my MIL later... she is almost walking normally again within the house and on solid concrete floors. 

Every week was "it will get better in three weeks" and almost three months passed. We are still happy with the progress. If the queen is not happy, the kingdom cannot be happy. Given the blog is usually positive, I just stayed away from it. 

My new job also got interesting. A lot more work came up in the last 6 weeks. After being in startups for 15 years, a big company has a very different feel. Some things work more efficiently. There are systems in place for everything and that is great. Some things are incredibly slow which is to be expected and I had to significantly reduce my internal clock speed to set realistic expectations. Think I am reasonably adjusted now, we will know in a few quarters (you expected me to say "shortly" didn't you! have learned my lesson). 

Then things got interesting everywhere else. We had a flying visit from the BIL's family for three days during the July 4th weekend and more sickness around the house. We are all on the mend now and that is why I decided to catch up on blogging.

First for some small things. My co-sister decided to bring us a gift when they visited. We have a lot of hummingbirds in our backyard. So asked her to get us a hummingbird feeder. I had plans to get a regular bird feeder. We recently had a bird hit our window and die right there. Wanted to give back something to our backyard birds for the hours of entertainment they provide when we drink tea on the swing and watch them.

Got a couple of shepards hooks, posted them inside flower pots and set it all up. As an added bonus set up a water fountain as a project, working with my two nieces. It was an instant success. 

Here are some photos and videos..

I have never seen a baby hummingbird.. we all call it "baby hammu" and it is incredibly cute! 

The rest of the sparrows, finches, crows, doves and squirrels are all gathering around this small area and I just watch the backyard as I work. Making powerpoint slides becomes easier when these critters are around!

Never even got to edit all the photos from the July 4th trip. Will spend an hour a day and get back to blogging and the photo editing! My connection to music also got stronger over the last few months. Will write about it later!

For now, I am happy that the blog saw a post!

After a 10 year wait...

There used to be a large apple tree in our backyard when we moved into this house 13+ years ago. It was one of the big draws for us to get the house.. then we went through construction and the construction workers cleaned up their paint brushes under the tree, peed near it and before we know it, we lost the tree to some disease..

It took me some time to get over having to cut it to the roots so the disease wouldn't spread to other trees. Shortly after that I planted another apple tree. It never grew tall and its top branches were always breaking with the weight of squirrels and there were 5 mini stunted apples a few years ago.. we were also going through a drought.

We are having more flowers this year..

and we have apples on the tree. After almost 10 years, we are seeing apples in bunches!

This made my day..

Was searching old blog posts to find a picture of the apple tree.. we used to have a beautiful backyard.. not that the current setup is not pretty, but things change over time and it is a part of life. That old tree must have been 30+ years old at least to have that girth and height. 

At least we have planted new trees and hope they will be around for some time..

Another backyard visitor

Our backyard has seen a lot of different creatures over the years... deers, racoons, bobcat, possums, foxes and a lot of birds.. 

Yesterday we were visited by a turkey! Have no idea where it came from. Landed in our backyard.. spent a few minutes.. and took off!

Did not have enough time to go grab the lens as I was jet lagged.. so a grainy iPhone photo is all we got. 

The backyard animal collection continues to grow..

Navrathri 2015

Golu 2015 went by fast. We are done with the Saraswati pooja already. Tomorrow is "learning day". Time flies!

This year was probably the most hectic Navarathri season in recent times as there was only one weekend to visit our friends golus! We did the best we could from a scheduling stand point.

The photos of the golus are still being processed.. but as usual, here are some backyard shots and "out takes" courtesy of the quirky Jr. 

 Jr. was "humoring" me with Yoga poses .. 

Was tempted to say "switch your right hand the other way.. remember  mama give me money!".. instead, decided to just enjoy the moment and keep clicking. The girl seems to be bow legged just like daddy.. seems to put all her weight on the outer edge of her feet. It took me a year to stay flat footed on this pose.. where were we? These days I cannot stay on the same train of thought for more than 30 words. Backyard pictures.. that was the topic!

Usually we get at least three sets of pictures.. this year we got only two. 

Also Jr. had to go to a dance performance which lasted all of 5 minutes . There was 30 minutes for make up, 45 mintues driving.. have informed the family that going forward they have to submit an ROI spreadsheet and I will review it before going to such "performances".

Remember this Photoshop masterpiece from three years ago? 

Tried to recreate it this year. But got only 4 kids this year instead of the 6. There is still time. If they pose for me tomorrow in another set of fancy clothes just for the photo, we can make a "teen saal baad" (three years later) collage. 

On the plus side, my photoshop skills are still intact. Took me all of 20 minutes to get this picture done. Three years ago, it took me hours. 

Wishing everyone a great closure to Navrathri celebrations. Tomorrow is Vijaya Dasami. A day to start learning new things and a very special day for arts and crafts.. Maybe I will pick up my guitar and play Stairway to Heaven.. who knows. 

Given I am cranky as hell last few weeks, it is time to surprise myself and the family!

Backyard critters

Now that the flu has come and gone, went back to do Yoga after a week. It was one of those classes where your body knows it has been there before, as does your mind, but things have become rusty. You think you are lifting your leg up 45 degrees and the mirror and all those images of your 4th grade math teachers tell you.. "are you kidding?"

Anyways, as usual I meander away from the topic. Things will get better again over time, till the next set of germs come.

Decided that some time will be spent just sitting in one place, camera in hand, to photograph the things that move around in the backyard. Was not disappointed..  

These two are raising a family on that tree. 

This fellow makes quite a racket on the bushes.. 

 These baby robins were playing around. It was a treat to watch.

 I have no idea what this bird is... but he visited us for a very short time.

Then came the bunny.. our new neighbors need to be warned about this guy. 

He has quite a reach!

Sat there for a good hour trying to capture this hummingbird in flight. Not a single shot came out okay. Need to put a bird feeder in the backyard. There are at least 8 hummingbirds in our backyard. Their acrobatics are amazing. Will try to take pictures of them.. has to be easier with a bird feeder.

The bumble bee was too fast to capture too..

While all this was going on in the backyard, my wife calls and says, we saw a deer in our front yard.. come take a picture of that.. It was like all the animals knew that I was ready with the camera!

This one was posing for me!

Feel much better today.. sometimes all it takes is to do yoga, have a good lunch, nap with the little one and sit in one place in the backyard and see (and mostly hear) nature sounds. 

Have put water in a bucket for the critters. The ground is parched because we had shut off the sprinkers. Today, I turned on the sprinklers for some time. The worms are out and the birds are now on the ground. 

The drought is probably hitting them a lot more than it is hitting us. Dry lawns, less flowers, no veggie garden this year to attack for the bunnies.. 

Everything said and done, an afternoon of peace.