Ladybirds, don’t go home

Ladybirds on Dill seed flowers

Lovely little ladybirds
sent from heaven above
please watch over my garden
and fill it up with love.
 (Author Unknown)

Born into bondage

Baby Jack with rope tied to his feet, Village Domail Attock

     Last countries to abolish human slavery by law were Saudi Arabia & Yemen (1962), U.A.E. (1963), Oman (1970) and Mauritania (1981). Contemporary slaves through the practices of debt bondage, serfdom, child soldiers, and forced marriages are still estimated at as high as 27 million worldwide (Wikipedia). UN and other opponents are hopeful to eradicate it by the year 2042.

     But would we ever be able to eradicate animal slavery too?

So many galaxies, so many stars

Hubble ultra deep field view

"The Universe, as has been observed before, is an unsettlingly big place, a fact which for the sake of a quiet life most people tend to ignore."

Douglas Adams (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)

Image courtesy: Wikipedia

Let me categorize books for you dear student…

 

Some books are intimate friends, while others dwell on the fringe of mystery. 

A few are builders of consciousness and character and may even change your brain's chemistry. 

Some are wholly sacred ones and good for keeping seriousness and sobriety.

Some may fire an imagination galore and thoughts would gallop beyond frivolity.

Some may works as a whetstone for intellect and cannot be dismissed as a mere triviality.

But a number will dull your sense of creativity and certainly be termed that of a vicious variety.

… unfortunately this last category is also known as text books.

and I hope all this was not an exercise in futility.

Image courtesy: Alizee

"We are here"

         
        This April weather is still balmy and spring is lingering on. Last week during one of my field trips, a noticed a bunch of wild poppy flowers lurking behind lush green wheat fields. I heard them saying “we are here” and stopped by to take a shot. Enchanting fragrance of nearby citrus groves was in the air and I wondered why perfumery waited until 18^th century to turn these mesmerizing aromas into colognes.