St. Louis Despatch No 4. 

IF WINTER COMES, CAN SPRING BE FAR BEHIND?

Hi Folks,

A Pair of Cardinals

As most of you have  mentioned, birds & animals  have been central to a lot  my ‘ramblings’. The best quality in them is that they never ever think they are on display (incl PDA!)  and are unpretentious about whatever they do. And unknowingly, we learn a lot from their actions & sometimes, just their presence. E.g. 2 days ago, while getting out of the complex, I saw 4-5 Robins on the grounds. Their sudden appearance told me that Spring is around the corner! Yeah!! Remember what I said in my first blog? “When Nature calls, listen!”

New shoots..heralding Spring!

It’s been a long dreary winter, confining us poor humans to the indoors. Isn’t it uncanny that weather actually ‘influences’ our moods? A dark, overcast sky makes one feel really ‘blue’ (whatever that means), but bright sunshine, birds chirping and a clear blue sky makes us feel so “bright” (nice & comfortable!!) Tiny shoots  have started making their appearance on the trees & officially, the time has been set ahead by One hour from today, (9th) as a change  in Daylight saving!.

Last Tuesday, the temp was in the 50’s (F, naturally) but an overcast sky & cold winds were prevailing throughout the day. Yet, we made a bee-line@ for the World Bird Sanctuary, about 30 mins from home. This place is a haven for birds, especially raptors. And the smaller, wild birds were there in plenty, robbing food from the display cages. The Bald Eagle+ was there in numbers, but what impressed me was the Chilean Condor, what we call Vultures & the N Americans call Turkey Buzzards. It has a wing span of 12 feet & once airborne, can travel upto hundreds of miles in search of food, & mostly riding on the thermals. Wow! 

Bald Eagles

The Chilean Condor

                                         

The Sandhill Crane too was seen, one of the most endangered crane species. And of course, there was a good representation of hawks, kestrels, owls. But what made us feel very very nice was a cage which had the ‘Cochin Bantams’, a short stubby species of the fowl. I have not seen these in India, but the fact that they have an Indian city in their names (& the one to where our son-in-law belongs) was enough reason to celebrate. (Actually, they are of Chinese origin!!)

@-Bee Line- Supposed to be a ‘direct approach’. Have you ever seen a bee fly straight? For that matter, “as the crow flies” is another confusing phrase.

+- ‘Balde’ in olde English means White Haired (That qualifies for me too, either way!)

  

This was followed up by a visit to the Lone Elk State Natural Park, which is a vast expanse of wooded areas,

Our Lone Elk, without antlers

home to the American Elk or Wapiti, one of biggest deer found in the USA. BTW, like a lot of places/’things’ in the USA having names of Indian (Red) origin, Wapiti, means “White Rump”. The photo justifies the name. Since  they shed their antlers each year, (unlike antelopes who don’t) our elk were bare. Presently, the trees are in winter ‘mode’, but yet have a different appeal.


The photo of the River Birch is an example of “the old order changeth, giving way to the new”, with the previous year’s bark peeling off, exposing the smooth new one (in turn, to wither away) . In fact, this is common in animals (skin/fur), birds (feathers) & trees. Exception? Us!!

I could only imagine how the forest would look in summer, in all its greenery, and also in fall, with the leaves donning various shades, from Yellow to Crimson! I leave it to your vivid imagination to visualise the transition from Green to Yellow ..... 

We came across a small herd of Bison, (referred to as the ‘Buffalo’ here), & one of them ‘honoured’ us, if you get me! (see snap).


It was sad to see these magnificent animals restricted to a sanctuary, when there was a time when they roamed the plains here in thousands & were a source of life to the native Indians. But senseless slaughter of the beasts have dwindled their numbers to a few hundred & all in the safety of National Parks.
Thankfully, their numbers are slowly increasing. I hope we can do something  more than similar to our magnificent wild life!!

Sunday was as though God himself had decreed, “Let there be sunshine”! The day started with the  temp starting at 30.2 & gradually going up to 59 (F- of course!). As they say, on a clear day, you can see forever. (Look left!)

48 Poles of Woodhenge.

So a quick lunch & not wanting to waste such a beautiful day, we headed out to East St Louis, to a preserved Red Indian Site, actually in Illinois, known as the Cahokia Mounds State Historic  site. This is an ancient site, dating approx to 1400 AD. Apparently, these mounds had some structures on them, & probably used as Observatories. 

There is a Woodhenge, something like the Stonehenge, comprising 48 wooden poles, placed in a circle, used not only  to tell time, but seasons, climatic changes etc. of sorts. Just proves, like Machu Pichu, that there was a race or races, who had developed scientific techniques, far advanced for their times!! 

'Aso'. I am one of those 'Nature' guys & not necessarily a "freak", i.e. what I write, is for you to enjoy & to add it to your 'info bank', that's all. Of course, it is also written with a view to let all who care to know, that we are not isolated from what we call Nature. We are a part of her & I am not talking about the eco-cycle etc etc. The connection with "All things Bright & Beautiful, All creatures great & small", is more on a temporal level. {B4 some ppl feel this is sermonizing. NO, it's not}.
In our day-to-day 'existence'(?), we are either thinking of the past or 'what will tomorrow bring?'. Nobody thinks of 'today'. Even I didn't, till a young boy told me, "it's what you do today, that will affect your tomorrow"!
So, today, let's talk about what we did 'Today'. The list will not only be impressive, but give a lead ahead, Don't think about 'Kal', as in, "Aaj nagad kal udhar".

Signing off now. This has been written over a couple of days. In fact, the last piece has been written just after we returned from Memphis. Yes, a nostalgic trip for us folks, who say (& heard) the emergence & popularity of Elvis (the 'Pelvis') Presley. And an evening at the BB King Club of R&B!! More of that in the concluding episode.

Till then, TC all of you!
Ashok