We have had the most amazing weather today – thick cloud cover and barely a scrap of sun seeping through all day! I know, I know, it sounds crazy doesn’t it, that I should be shunning blue skies and all day sunshine for a bit of Britain-style cloud. Last night the intense heat was punctuated by the first monsoon rains we’ve experienced since being in India and I must admit that the cooler weather this has brought today is much welcomed by myself and also Maya I’m sure, who often announces as we leave the house in the morning ‘I can’t like the sun’. Oh dear…wrong country to not like the sun, Maya.
But to explain the title of this blog – our apartment, as well as being home to our Family, is also playing host to thousands of ants since last week. They are nasty little buggers, for not only do they munch their way through the dates, cereal, biscuits, Bombay mix, bananas, mangoes, cardboard and just about everything else, but they also bite. And they hurt! After returning from a weekend away, we also found our bedside water glasses swimming with dozens of them, all dead, so I only wish more of them would go ahead and commit suicide because they’re making our lives jolly difficult. Maya now heads up the ant police team and can often be scouring the floor for the little critters. Andy and I are trying hard to moderate our language (but often failing) when the latest trail is uncovered.
From ants to creatures of another kind, we returned last night from a glorious two days at a place called Georgia Sunshine Village in the middle of palm fields and forest between Bangalore and Mysore. Maya called it the jungle and it certainly felt like being in the jungle because the trees and land around our small cottage were fantastically alive with frogs, bats, lizards the length of Maya’s arm, butterflies, squirrels, long-legged spiders, hundreds of varieties of birds and even monkeys.
The sounds from our cottage (temperamental, clanking old fan aside) were incredible – we heard squeaking, squawking, trilling, whooping, hissing, croaking and so much more. Possibly one of the most curious sounds to be heard was when we’d be eating our dinner peacefully, only to be interrupted by the most enormous SPLAT sound (yes, you could well ask, what on earth is a splat sound, but I guess you know what I mean…) which made us jump out of our seats. We became very used to this over the course of the weekend as it happened frequently (though only at night time) and our wonderful hosts, Georgia and Leonard Hatherell (and no they’re not American as their names and hotel name may suggest, they’re Indian through and through) explained that it’s a type of fly hurling itself against the wall. So, another insect with suicidal tendencies.
Georgia Sunshine Village was a small slice of paradise and Maya spent the whole weekend swinging in hammocks (there’s my girl – many of my important life decisions have been made in hammocks – seriously…must be something to do with the swinging motion…), experiencing new trees, plants, flowers and creatures and - probably most importantly - swimming. The pool was a godsend because it was pretty darn hot (29 degrees at night to give you an idea) and we are delighted that since we’ve been in India, Maya has become a little fish. The temperature of the water and the air outside have definitely helped her confidence with water (We tried several times to get her swimming in the Cam last summer like her mummy and daddy but she wasn’t having any of it), as have the arm bands. The look of sheer and utter delight on her face when she realises she is buoyant and can do her own thing in the pool is fantastic. Maya also tried her hand at fishing with bamboo rods for sandfish, though I must say she was less than impressed with this activity and kept getting freaked out by the dogs barking at the naughty monkeys creating havoc in the trees above us. Her daddy stubbornly persevered however, refusing to leave the river until he had caught a fish (which, I’m pleased to say, he did! Two in fact.)
But to explain the title of this blog – our apartment, as well as being home to our Family, is also playing host to thousands of ants since last week. They are nasty little buggers, for not only do they munch their way through the dates, cereal, biscuits, Bombay mix, bananas, mangoes, cardboard and just about everything else, but they also bite. And they hurt! After returning from a weekend away, we also found our bedside water glasses swimming with dozens of them, all dead, so I only wish more of them would go ahead and commit suicide because they’re making our lives jolly difficult. Maya now heads up the ant police team and can often be scouring the floor for the little critters. Andy and I are trying hard to moderate our language (but often failing) when the latest trail is uncovered.
From ants to creatures of another kind, we returned last night from a glorious two days at a place called Georgia Sunshine Village in the middle of palm fields and forest between Bangalore and Mysore. Maya called it the jungle and it certainly felt like being in the jungle because the trees and land around our small cottage were fantastically alive with frogs, bats, lizards the length of Maya’s arm, butterflies, squirrels, long-legged spiders, hundreds of varieties of birds and even monkeys.
The sounds from our cottage (temperamental, clanking old fan aside) were incredible – we heard squeaking, squawking, trilling, whooping, hissing, croaking and so much more. Possibly one of the most curious sounds to be heard was when we’d be eating our dinner peacefully, only to be interrupted by the most enormous SPLAT sound (yes, you could well ask, what on earth is a splat sound, but I guess you know what I mean…) which made us jump out of our seats. We became very used to this over the course of the weekend as it happened frequently (though only at night time) and our wonderful hosts, Georgia and Leonard Hatherell (and no they’re not American as their names and hotel name may suggest, they’re Indian through and through) explained that it’s a type of fly hurling itself against the wall. So, another insect with suicidal tendencies.
Georgia Sunshine Village was a small slice of paradise and Maya spent the whole weekend swinging in hammocks (there’s my girl – many of my important life decisions have been made in hammocks – seriously…must be something to do with the swinging motion…), experiencing new trees, plants, flowers and creatures and - probably most importantly - swimming. The pool was a godsend because it was pretty darn hot (29 degrees at night to give you an idea) and we are delighted that since we’ve been in India, Maya has become a little fish. The temperature of the water and the air outside have definitely helped her confidence with water (We tried several times to get her swimming in the Cam last summer like her mummy and daddy but she wasn’t having any of it), as have the arm bands. The look of sheer and utter delight on her face when she realises she is buoyant and can do her own thing in the pool is fantastic. Maya also tried her hand at fishing with bamboo rods for sandfish, though I must say she was less than impressed with this activity and kept getting freaked out by the dogs barking at the naughty monkeys creating havoc in the trees above us. Her daddy stubbornly persevered however, refusing to leave the river until he had caught a fish (which, I’m pleased to say, he did! Two in fact.)
I cannot express what a welcome break it was from the chaos of Bangalore. It wasn’t cheap but worth every penny and I have a feeling Georgia and Leonard may be seeing us again. Back home, we have the same old nursery problems (Maya still cries every morning which is awful for her but I’m persevering) and also our first day with the new Ayah we’ve employed, a very lovely lady called Deepa, a mother of two herself. More of Deepa in another blog….The final thing to tell you about on the creepy crawly note is that when I was unpacking our weekend bags last night I discovered we’d brought a family of spiders back from the jungle with us which gave me quite a fright. However, if spiders eat ants (I think they do, don’t they??) then I’ll give them board and lodging any day!
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