Insanity

It is hard to believe that so many months have passed.

The camera sits in a corner collecting dust while my quest for dragonflies have been put on hold... at least for the time being.

No, I am perfectly fine in a lot of ways.  I am now.

And yet, I am still learning to get used to some changes to my quiet, laidback lifestyle. 

In the last few months, I have made more visits to Penang than I have in the last five years before that.  Having to be in the "city" on a rather regular basis now, being in places facing crowds of people and traffic snarls do get me rather unsettled in some ways.  And before I can catch my breath and take in more lungfuls of fresh air in Langkawi, I am off again to that other island that's always buzzing with chaotic traffic. 

It is insane!

Just looking at the pair of bulbuls perched on the palm tree does give me some peace of mind. 

It makes me yearn even much more to be out there on walks along trails, listening to the music of the forest and be totally immersed in nature.

To be one with nature.

Healings for the soul...

A Dragonfly And Various Visitors

There was this one morning when a dragonfly flew smack onto my windscreen while I was driving.  And then it got wedged on its back on my wiper blade.  Its abdomen was folded in at a ninety degree angle, perpendicular to its torso. 

I pulled to a stop as soon as I could, hoping to free it and let it fly away.  It did not move.  I picked it up and placed it the right way up on its legs.  Still no movement...

I've got myself a dead dragonfly!

In the end, I brought it home and took a picture.




Anyway, I've had various other visitors over the past few weeks as well...

This moth must have been attracted to the light and flew into the back of the wall light.




Next was this bee who also took a fancy to this very same wall light.




And, other visitors include this pair of bulbuls perched on the coconut tree in the garden...

Vallaris glabra

I will always remember the fragrant scent of these flowers.

This creeper plant had grown quite luxuriantly over the shed outside my bedroom at home when I was a child.  Whenever it blooms, its fragrant scent would waft into the room through the open windows.  And you would always smell its fragrance if you walk near it... particularly in the evenings.

Growing up, we referred to this plant as "bunga nasi".

It was only in recent years that I came to learn that the correct local name of this plant should be "bunga kerak nasi".

For the longest time, this name never did have any significance to me. 
It never did hit a chord because it was one of the "first smells" in the garden that I knew as a child.  And its name was only a name to start with.




Yet, if you ask most people, they would say that the fragrance is like steamed rice.  Sometimes, even being likened to the scent of the pandanus or "pandan" leaves.

Well, is that any wonder at all?  Isn't it? 

After all, the name "bunga nasi", when translated to the English Language, literally means "rice flower", while "kerak nasi" refers to the burnt rice that's stuck to the bottom of the rice pot if you had overcooked the rice.

And "pandan" leaves are also often placed in the rice pot to make the rice more fragrant.

How apt.

But then, I have also recently learnt that its common or given name in English is actually "Bread Flower".

I wonder why?

More Pics of the Ceriagrion cerinorubellum

 

The Ceriagrion cerinorubellum is indeed a colourful and attractive-looking damselfly!

 

 

...no matter how you look at it!

 

 

Hopefully, one of these days I will get to observe a pair in tandem, or in wheel, and get even more pics!

Anyway, it was in the afternoon on a beautiful day when I spotted these beautiful creatures.  And for some reason, even those man-made structures looked kind of "alright" as they stand tall on this hill in their attempt at grandiosity even as they add a finishing touch to the scenery.

 

 

The monstrosity of those towers have been dwarfed by the expanse of the clouds.

I'd say the skies made all the difference!  Wouldn't you agree?

 

 

Libellulidae - Tholymis tillarga

The Ghost Dragonfly

I was walking along the path and looking out for dragonflies but not finding any at all. 

So I started thinking, "This seems to be a quiet season for dragonflies...", when I noticed a red marking on the stem of some low shrubs.  What could it be? 

I sneaked closer for a look and as it turns out, this is the highlight of my walk today. 

The Tholymis tillarga when I spotted it today by chance this afternoon.

 

 

I started walking in closer very slowly and very quietly, each step as carefully as I can and took a few more photos as I approached it.  This dragonfly did not seem to mind my presence at all.

 

 

Once I had taken enough photos, I retraced my steps so as not to disturb it.  Could it be in a deep snooze?  I doubt it.  But I am glad it did not take off.

In previous encounters with this species, the Tholymis tillarga have always been such a relentless flier and would always be zapping up and down over the pond without stopping.  Such energy!  It had always been quite impossible to even try to take a photo of it.

Today, this dragonfly seems to be perched there, just posing for me.

It must be my lucky day. 

 

 

Misty

It had started raining last night. 

The rain had continued the whole of today too.  It was not a heavy downpour but just a constant drizzle.  And it just rained and rained and rained.

I stood outside on the balcony for a long time this afternoon.  To watch the rain.  To take in lungfuls of fresh air.  To feel the cool air. 

To listen to the rain.

And then I was watching this Common Myna that had taken shelter in the palm tree.

 

 

It sat there very still, with its feathers all fluffed up.  The trapped air between its fluffed up feathers provides insulation against the cold and helps keep the bird warm.  And I wondered if he was enjoying the fresh air as much as I did?

When I looked up towards the hills, I could have thought I was up in the highlands!  It was all misty.

 

 

There is a quiet and serene beauty to it in its own way.

The forests will definitely be looking fresh and green tomorrow morning.  How many people would actually appreciate the rain for what it can do for Mother Earth? 

I do realise that it could bring floods in many places too.  But a lot of the causes of flooding have been man-made and had been brought on ourselves by our actions.  After all, for every action, there is a consequence.

When forests are cleared of trees, we lose the canopy that had cushioned the impact of the rain on the forest floor.  Instead of drops of rain dripping off the leaves and slowly dripping and seeping into the ground, we now get a deluge of rainwater on the bare earth.  With the forest gone, we no longer have the tree roots that used to hold the soil together.  The rush of water down the exposed hill slopes then results in mud slides and flash floods in the foothills and valleys below.

Add to that, all the rubbish that had been thrown into the drains and streams and rivers and had caused the waterways to clog up, blocking the flow of all that rush of water towards the sea.

So... do you just blame everything on Mother Nature when it rains and it floods?

 

 

The Setting Sun

 

Now that we are way past the September Equinox and moving into the December Solstice, the sun is clearly in a position heading towards the south.

The setting sun can now be seen from my back balcony and no longer from the front as in previous photos I have taken of the sunsets and dusk skies in recent months.  Instead of a building blocking its view, I now have palm trees in my sunset scenery. 

Nice!

Stuff like this... the position of the sun throughout the year as it moves from Solstice to Solstice... I had first learned about them when I was a kid.  Not at school and not from books but from my father.  He would be telling me about the shadows...

Up till this day, he still observes the shadows cast by the trees by the morning sun or the afternoon sun because that is where the shade is.

And the coolest spot is always under the shade of the tree!

 

 

The Great Mormon

It's taken quite a few trials on several excursions to finally get a butterfly photo like this...  just about right.

This butterfly, Papilio memnon or The Great Mormon, is always just fluttering and fluttering and fluttering all over the place in all directions and barely stops even when collecting nectar.

Times like these, I do sometimes wish I have a DSLR with great continuous shooting speed, yet I am not exactly a serious photographer in this sense and certainly won't be keen to lug all the gear everywhere...

Anyway, will still be trying for more pics whenever I get the chance!  After all, it does have a lot to do with timing and being at the right place at the right time!

That's where all the fun is, isn't it?

 

 

Orthetrum chrysis In Wheel

This is the first time I have managed to get a photo of a pair of Orthetrum chrysis in wheel.

If this pair of dragonflies hadn't been in pursuit by another amorous male, I would not have spotted them from across the pond.

I had to practically run around the perimeter of the small pond as quickly and as quietly as I can to get to them.  I was lucky on this day.  This pair was still in wheel when I got close enough for a photo.

And not just one lucky shot this time, but two!

Based on what I have seen of this species, the Orthetrum chrysis has a very short courtship-copulation period and would usually be in wheel for only a brief moment before they separate.  Almost immediately after that, the pair will fly about to look for suitable egg laying sites before the female begin laying her eggs in the pond by flicking the tip of her abdomen in the water in succession at quick intervals while the male dragonfly hovers over her in close proximity to keep guard and will give chase to other male dragonflies that come too close.

After that, the male will perch nearby in the same vicinity while the female flies away to hide. 

There have been times when the pair gets assaulted by another male before ovipositing is completed and sometimes the female may even be caught by another male before the egg laying can occur.

The whole cycle then starts all over again!