Hunter and Prey

No wonder many of us terrified of spiders, all spiders are natural predators. They are nature’s own pest control management, without them we would not survive as we will not have sufficient food to go around.

It is said that if one day all the bees would vanish from the face of planet then apocalypse will soon follow in its aftermath. Some plants depend solely on bees for pollination, if not for the humble bees our green cover would soon vanish, and the Earth will be a barren place. When we see all those colorful flowers and breathtaking landscapes, we completely ignore the hard work of the little fella who averagely weighs 90 milligrams.

Well, what happens when a bee and a spider cross each other’s paths…

Snow & Ice

While we are in the peak of summer days and its relentless heat, we seek for some respite and looking through some winter shots acts as a coolant for the psyche.

A Village called Kabina

Kabina is a beautiful village in Tartu County. Last winter we quite often took this twenty-minute drive to the tranquil setting for some winter activities and photography. Hobbyist fishermen/women frequent the Kabina Lake all year around. This is an ideal place if one wants to quieten the dragons of worry and unease.

People Framed

As I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do. - Andrew Carnegie

You should go about and often as you go for walks observe… the actions of the men themselves and of the bystanders. – Leonardo Da Vinci

Lähte

On a warm Sunday afternoon, we decided to cool off by going for a swim. We did not want to go to the heavily trodden swimming locations; we wanted to have the quite of a Sunday evening all to ourselves. We asked my brother a BMW 3er nomad to suggest a secluded and serene location. It turned out that he had heard of just such a place and he himself wanted a drench down.

We agreed to meet at Lähte, a small borough in Tartu County, at 17th kilometer mark from Tartu town. Even though Lähte is etched in my memory as, I did one year of my schooling at the Lähte High school I could not figure out where this little lake was. Well, no wonder I did not know where the lake was, it was a secluded lake hardly frequented by anyone other than the locals.

To my amazement, the road, which leads to the lake, passed jus a few hundred meters away from my old school. We parked our cars and walked a few yards toward the lush green cove of tall trees, and amidst this verdant greenery was a small and welcoming lake reflecting the surrounding like a huge mirror on the ground. The bank of the lake was surrounded by luxuriant growth, interrupted with a few sandy openings, probably made by the locals, to enjoy an undisturbed outing by the lake.

Upon arrival, most of the sandy banks were occupied, but fortunately, one was very soon abandoned by a young couple lost in each other oblivious to the surrounding on-goings. We soon settled down and hastily made into the water for a much-needed respite from the afternoon sun. The very instant our bodies hit the water, the water seemed almost near-freezing, but it was just what we needed to escape from the sun glaring down at us. We soon acclimatized ourselves to the water, which was a pleasant 27-degree Celsius.

We spent a couple of hours frolicking. We had to cease our fun and games and haul ourselves onto the bank as hunger began to send subliminal messaging to our brains collectively. We dried ourselves up and had our first picnic of the summer amidst a tranquil and serene setting. As we rested after satisfying our hunger pangs, a family arrived with a young German Shepard to our location, soon followed by a group of youngsters with an even younger Wolfhound and all hell broke loose when the dogs began to have a go at each other abruptly disturbing the quiet and peace of the place. Yet, we left the place with our minds at ease and cheerful.

A bell from Lion City

Our beloved relative Bindu happened to visit Singapore, and she presented us with a very beautiful souvenir that symbolizes the Lion City.

The bell embodies the mascot of Singapore - the imaginary creature “Merlion” designed by Fraser Brunner.

Post cards from Tartu

Tartu, an intellectual and cultural town, is not a place renowned for its photogenic nature, but the seeker always finds what he/she wants, be it in the academic quest or cultural or artistic pursuit. To shoot stunning imagery all you need to do is keep an open eye and be ready, for the weather and lighting conditions change in a relatively short time. If you are observant and possess the basic knowledge of photography, the resulting images can be quite dramatic and stunning. Sometimes you need not travel far to shoot eye-catching images, all you need to do is look out of the window.

The image with the white building in foreground and the sun set shots are views from our window, a rather mundane view sometimes becomes quite surreal depending on the atmospheric and weather conditions.

Paris in my Mind

This is a tabletop image of a miniature Eiffel tower souvenir in derelict lighting. This souvenir was a gift from our dear friends the Comas family from France. Though we are miles away, you are in our hearts and minds.

Water

Majority of humankind tend to underestimate the power of water. Approximately 70% of the human body is water while an infant’s body is 80 % water at the time of birth, and 70% of the earth’s surface is covered with water. Fresh water is stored in underground aquifers and the earth never really loses any water i.e. we are probably drinking the same water that quenched the thirst of a dinosaur. We begin to feel thirsty when we have lost about 1% of our body water.

Now something for those weight watchers, after an intense physical activity we can see some weight loss immediately. Well, that is not the fat that has just miraculously melted away through our sudoriferous glands, but the water we have lost from our body.

Marinade Subjects

Our best friend, Andreas Wolfgang Büttner-Land, gave us a huge quantity of Habanero and Jalapeño chilies, and he gave us the ingredients as well as the recipe to marinade the chilies. He saw beautiful fresh red and yellow Habaneros and fresh deep green Jalapeño chilies while on a trip in Belgium and right away, he bought them in bulk quantities. We have collected the seeds to cultivate the chilies ourselves. Yes, the heat rating of the chilies will drop significantly, but considering the Scoville scale units (SHU) of 350000 units for a natively grown Habanero, some drop in the SHU will not dampen the heat of these beauties.

Very unfortunately, we are yet to try the Bhut Jolokia (Naga Jolokia) which has a SHU of just over a million. We are on the look out for these chilies currently acknowledged as the hottest chilies in the world.

Of books and interests

My husband is not a voracious reader like myself, but he does read and these are some of his reads other than his typical computer/software/photography related stuff. The books presented in the image are highly recommended reads i.e. if it falls under your area of interest.

Welcoming 2010

The year 2010 arrived and is more than half way through, we welcomed this year with utmost joy and hope as we had a new member in our family who was almost seven months old when the New Year arrived. It was rather warm on the New Year’s Eve for the temperature was hovering around Zero. Fortunately, we do not have to venture very far to see the fireworks; we simply need to open our curtains. Looking back, the year, more or less has been without any significant hassles. We are keeping our fingers crossed and very hopeful that the year will pass and will be a positively memorable year.