Mama and Joey

We saw emu's, grazing kangaroos, wallabes, a swimming platypus and several birds in the Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. Just as we were driving out, we got to see this lovely kangaroo mama with her joey peeking out of the pouch. 

I learnt that ..
* Kangaroos usually have one young annually
* The joey is born the size of a jelly bean
* It crawls several inches up into the pouch after birth
* It latches on to one of the four teats inside the pouch
* It stays this way drinking milk for several months
* After a few months its eyes open and it looks out of the pouch
* At 8 months the joey can leave the pouch and stand on its own.
* At 10 months it gets too big for the pouch and stays out all the time
Nature never ceases to amaze! :)

Hidden gems : Places to visit around Toronto

I am a nature lover and a lover of good food. I find myself drawn to parks, farms, nature trails, vegetable/herb gardens, cooking classes and the like. If you live in (or visiting) Toronto, you may enjoy these little hidden gems.
Parks/Garden's 
* Mill Pond Park
* Toogood Pond
* Phyllis Rawlinson Park
* Evergreen Brickworks
* Riverdale Farm
Farmer's markets
* Top Tomato Foods
* Reesor's Farm
* Forsythe Family Farm
* Village Market
Inspiring places
* Richters Herbs
* Hill Potter's Guild
* The Depanneur
* Kavanah Garden
Local websites
* ManningCanning
* Not Far From A Tree
* Life With A Baby
* Corin Pinto

Cruelty of our Reality : Crime against our own kids?

The summer is over and the kids are back in school. Full-day kindergarten started in my daughter's school this year.

I reach school at 3.15pm to pick up my daughter and watch as the kindergarten teachers have a hard time lining up the kids against a wall inside the enclosure. There are a handful of fortunate kids that go home, usually picked up by a stay-at-home-mom or by a grandparent. Majority of them are herded to the "after-school" program.

Everyday my heart aches for these little children. Their frail bodies stooped from a long, tiring day carrying a heavy backpack way too big for them. A feeling of helplessness engulfs me. The feeling was echoed by the kindergarten teacher who told me that the kids are way too small for such a long day. Some are dropped off as early as 8am and reach home after 6pm. The schools have no facilities for an afternoon nap. Some kids are too tired and just doze off on the hard floor. She was dreading winter when it gets even worse.

Are we pushing our kids beyond what they are ready to handle?
"This is the cruelty of our reality" to quote verbatim the kindergarten teacher.

The Tug At My Heartstrings ..

A few months have passed since I suffered a second trimester miscarriage. My heart is still raw from the loss. The sight of an infant, a family of three children, a pregnant woman, soulful music, the sunset .. the smallest of things can tug at my heartstrings and flood me with tears.

No one will understand. My heart is still raw... still raw.. 

Yin and Yang

I have sometimes wondered at the contradiction of things. How can so much hardship be tied with so much joy?

Raising a child involves endless work, constant attention, sleepless nights and exhaustion. But  some of the sublime joys of life are tied to being a parent. Very few things can give you the same sense of joy and satisfaction as seeing your child grow.

Gardening is another example. You spend the whole of spring and summer tending to the garden,weeding, watering the plants, nourishing and protecting them. It involves a lot of time and effort and in most cases simply uneconomical. But the feeling of seeing the bounty of Fall when you reap the fruits of your labor are incomparable.

This is the philosophy of Yin and Yang I learnt. Yin-Yang are two opposite principles of nature that cannot exist without each other. To skip the hardships seeking an easy path means to skip the joys too. Spring only comes when winter is over!!

To Kill A Crimson Rosella Bird

I couldn't contain my excitement as I aimlessly wander about the city of Canberra. Canberra is a birder's paradise with a stunning variety of local birds.

The loud and fearless Magpies, large numbers of Crimson Rosella's,  Sulphur-crested Cockatoos, Red wattlebirds, tiny Blue Fairy-wrens, the Black Swans on Lake Burley Griffin, Australian Wood ducks, a large flock of Black Cormorants .. the list goes on and on. The most beautiful of all I thought are the colorful red and blue Crimson Rosella's. They were all paired up and busy building nests preparing for the mating season. Spring is in full bloom here.

Picture courtesy:australianmuseum.net.au

My cousin was driving me around the main landmarks of the city. We were on the highway and going fast when a pair of Rosella's flying very low crossed our path. To our shock, the bird in front bumped hard on our windshield several times, went over the moving car and fell on the road. It all happened in a split second. There was nothing we could do. From the side view mirror I saw the two birds on the road. The injured one's fluttering body and its mate standing next to it on the busy highway.

Shock, sadness engulfed me! I shudder to think what happened to the birds.

What is it with Brits and Books ..

You will never find people of English origin without a book in hand. On buses, trains, while waiting... anywhere and any place seems appropriate to immerse oneself in reading. It seems to be awefully important to them.

I got to observe two vacationing families on a boat sailing along the coast of Rhodes Island off mainland Greece. A English family of four sitting directly opposite me was rather quiet. The father was immersed in his book, the mother in hers and two barely teenage kids also busy reading thier own books. They spent most of the journey in silence except for an odd comment here and there asking for water or sunscreen and an occasional glance at the far away horizon.

The Greek family of six on the opposite side of the boat on the other hand seemed to be having a lot of fun. The little kid running back and forth from mom to grandma, spoilt with a lot of kisses. They were loud, laughing and poking fun at each other, enjoying the ride, chatting and eating.

As I watched them it became clear to me that Life is to be lived first hand. Life simply cannot be experienced by reading a book devouring someone else's second hand accounts.

Red cardinal and Green grasshopper

The weather was very mild yesterday with a cool breeze blowing and the sun showing up occasionally from behind the clouds. Yes, it is September and Fall is here. Looks like the red cardinals love this weather. I spotted atleast four of them today nicely camouflaged among the red leaves and berries of Sumac.

Suddenly one cardinal leaped out of the bushes to catch a green grasshopper right in front of me. The grasshopper tried to escape several times only to be caught again by the cardinal. After a few attempts, the cardinal flew away with the grasshopper firmly held between its thick red beak.