RANDOM THOUGHTS Mar, 2020

The high lights of the month are flowers, as Spring continues. A cloud of anxiety hangs over this Spring, because of corona Virus engulfing the world and damping the pleasure.

CINERARIA

CINERARIAS for YOUR DESK TOP
An excellent flower for urban localities where sun is scarce and shade abounds. Incidentally, the homeopathic remedy for cataract-“CINERARIA MARITIMA EYE DROPS” is derived from this plant. The honey bee in the picture is never going to develop cataracts.

FACE BOOK Mar 3, 2020

GARDEN HUMOR

HUMOUR IN (REAL LIFE) GARDENING
https://metro.co.uk/…/woman-discovers-plant-watering-two-…/…
(Shared from Emma Lockey)

FACE BOOK Mar 6, 2020

GERBERA

SMILE WITH THESE SHINING TRIPLETS
Gerbera-are perennial plants-plant them once and they will yield flowers year round for at least 4 years.Borne on long 12 inch sturdy stems,they are great for a flower vase too.

FACE BOOK Mar 7, 2020

VIRUS FUNDA

ABOUT THE VIRUS FROM 3M
There is lot of technical stuff here, which engineers, at least, with their appetite for why, what & how, might like to read:- https://www.3m.com/3M/en_US/worker-health-safety-us/covid19/

FACE BOOK Mar 7, 2020

TEN YEARS AGO

This picture is from 2009 Holi Album. Looks like global warming was a decade away then!
Eleven Years on 2nd thoughts.
WISH A HAPPY HOLI TO ALL

That’s Me-10 years ago

FACE BOOK Mar 8, 2020

HOLI WISHES

WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY HOLI, &:remember the:
STATUTORY WARNING-no hugging, no kissing, no coughing, keep distance, take plenty of ‘corona’ beer and if you must, practice only protected ‘you know what’.
You can safely enjoy the cartoons below, though,
(stolen from the internet)

HOLI

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC on HOLI

PICTURE FROM NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC

For more National Geographic pictures relating to Holi, please visit: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/asia/india/facts-hindu-holi-festival/?cmpid=org%3Dngp%3A%3Amc%3Dsocial%3A%3Asrc%3Dfacebook%3A%3Acmp%3Deditorial%3A%3Aadd%3Dfb20200309travel-resurftravelholi%3A%3Arid%3D&fbclid=IwAR2XOxGEBH8APrjJP8VBE8y_rZuR4i8ZNBU_WmZtGNMr3xsGFb1RSk1I2Kk

FACE BOOK Mar 10, 2020

BOUGAINVILLEA

wakes up and throws out tender shoots as spring sets in.

Bougainvillea is a genus of thorny ornamental flowering vine, native to South America.It has more than 300 varieties. The picture is of a variety developed in India and named “Dr Rao”. It has deep green and white variegated leaves with red flowers. It is difficult to grow,slow in growth but rewards the grower with its beauty whether flowering

GREENHOUSES & GARDENS 10 Mar, 2020

ON CORONA VIRUS

PRECAUTION IS NOT PANIC
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA SETS AN EXAMPLE
IIT’s had preceded the Supreme Court.
Shut down before the virus shuts you down.
This is how intelligent people work: Hope other departments will follow:

SUPREME COURT SHUTS DOWN-WHILE GOVT DITHERS

FACE BOOK Mar 14, 2020

PICTURES FROM AN EXOTIC PLACE?

A close look at the bottom right of the 1st picture will reveal the back of a very desi truck. Stuck in traffic jam on the NOIDA-DELHI, road,one recent evening,on the stretch between Yamuna bridge and Maharani Bagh, the weather turned cloudy, yielding the pictures below, as I waited, for the truck in my front to inch forward.
Life has its consoling compensations.

FACE BOOK Mar 15, 2020

CLAUDE MONET

INSPIRED BY “THE POPPY” FIELDS” of MONNET:
which is the 1st picture, two photographs of Poppy flowers, growing locally

POPPY FIELDS by MONET
PINK
RED

FACE BOOK MAR 19, 2020

LOVE OF NATURE SPANS GENERATIONS

3 GENERATIONS BONDED BY A PEA COCK:
The child photographing the Pea Cock is the Grandson, The unseen person photographing both is the Son, The publisher, that’s me, am the Grand Father.
The locale is Hawai, the USA on March 11, 2020.

(Edited After 48 Hrs: it is heart warming to get all the likes. Living in the shadow of the Virus-there is 1 girl positive and her Mom, quarantined in our small colony of 400 houses-it is a poignant moment for me & my spouse and also a moment of gratitude to the Almighty for having given to us much more than we could give. Hats off to you all.)

FACE BOOK Mar 21, 2020

APES EVOLVING

LEADING TO THE PLANET OF APES

FACE BOOK Mar 22, 2020

GAZANIAS DAZZLE

GAZANIA IN MY GARDEN:
We may be healthy or hit by Corona,
In our death and re birth alike,
These beauties will bloom with abandon
And stay besides (us).

LUMINESCENT COLORS

FACE BOOK Mar 23, 2020

CORONA LOCKDOWN

LOCKDOWN-A STEP LONG OVERDUE:
The delay reminded of an anecdote from our Hindu epic “MAHABHARTA”
Yudhistra was asked by the Yaksha-‘What is the biggest wonder on earth?’
Yudhistara’s answer: “Everybody dies sooner or later, yet everybody thinks he will live for ever-this indeed is the biggest wonder.”
The lock down could have been ordered the day we had less than 10 patients but “the greatest wonder on earth” was at work. Now it is a case of better late than never.

Non Indians may not follow the context. To them, I suggest a visit to the link below:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaksha_Prashna?fbclid=IwAR363KiksmG2fbLr9bF6g3j00BVWA6EYiz7V4sJ5-KA7HKskqR3aK_ZzFHs

FACE BOOK Mar 24, 2020

STONE WALLS DO NOT……….

ON LOCK DOWN
Stone Walls do not a Prison make,
Nor Iron bars a Cage;
Minds innocent and quiet take
That for an Hermitage.
If I have freedom in my Love,
And in my soul am free,
Angels alone that soar above,
Enjoy such Liberty.

Poem By By Richard Lovelace written in 1642 AD
Picture From Asia News.net FACE BOOK Mar 26, 2020

WORDS MUTATE LIKE VIRUS:
CONDONE>CONDEMN>CONDOM:
This happened years ago. We delayed the execution of an order and requesting favour from the customer, I dictated;”There were circumstances beyond our control and the delay in execution may kindly be CONDONED” .

Passing through my beautiful steno, there was a mutation.What she innocently, sent to the customer was: “……the delay may kindly be CONDEMNED”.The customer, another IIT-ian, doubled with laughter and his good mood worked in our favour.

It is a very timely mutation. It is to remind Modi Ji to include this item in free food distribution lists, without any religious selection. Peter Maddocks has listed multiple uses (101 to be precise) of this item (mask, gloves etc.). Moreover, studies have shown a strong co-relation between power failures and baby booms. Experts say lock down may have similar results. It is feared that the good part of the work being done by the virus may be undone, with long term consequences.

This post is prompted by another post on my time line, where I find this word has undergone a 2nd mutation-this time to CONDOM.

CONDONE>CONDEMN>CONDOM>CONSUME
MUTATION OF A DIFFERENT KIND

For the sake of completeness, the 4th cartoon shows yet another variant where CONDEMNED has replaced CONSUMED- English teachers(of Chinese origin), might have been aware of this lurking mutant, though-I was not.

(Cartoon courtesy: Internet)

FACE BOOK Mar 27, 2020

FRENCH MARIGOLDS

FRANCE HIT BY VIRUS
But these FRENCH MARIGOLDS in my garden dont seem to care, are probably not even aware, showing off their beauty in a kind of fashion parade, seem to say—do your best, what you can, while you can.

FACE BOOK Mar 28, 2020

OF FILM STARS, SPORTS MEN & DOCTORS

They pay millions to film Stars and Cricketers-who dont even pay taxes.The cricketers even cheat you by fixing matches, whereas poor engineers and doctors line up for the post of a peon. The media too, goes ga-ga over the former and cares 2 hoots for the latter.

When a disaster strikes, it is the latter who do all the work. Remember the rescue of kids from a cave in Thailand-a miracle braught about by Doctors and Engineers-it was a football team they rescued!

Even now, Engineers will make the ventilators, Doctors will treat, Politicians will deliver speeches written by others, and collect commissions, Corporate Honchos will make tax deductible donations of the order of <0.01% of their holdings, film stars will lend their made up faces to campaigns and perhaps charge for it. This kind of humanity deserves this kind of virus.

Sharing a great post.
(In this context,”Engineers & Doctors” means all professionals)

FACE BOOK Mar 28, 2020 (Shared from Roy Rillera Marzo.)

WITHER USA?

Is that the USA going up in this explosion of light?
I pray not.
Noticed the vague resemblance, while I put some of my pictures on a slide show and it looked relevant with the tiniest life form ravaging the mightiest country, like no tornado could ever do. And we have a POTUS who thought it all is a hoax!! Wish they had a Churchill today.

LOOKS LIKE IT

FACE BOOK Mar 29, 2020

RACE TO BUY GOODS CHEAP

GREED DOES NOT PAY-A LESSON FROM WUHAN
For years, countries have transferred their manufacturing to China in greed of cheaper goods from a totalitarian state controlled economy, allowing their own manufacturing to disappear. In 1969, we made Integrated Circuits.After 50 years, we dont even make a table lamp.Software wont replace a ventilator.

I hope this virus will teach our people that when a calamity falls, every body is on his own and globalization doesn’t work.I hope the politicians learn that there is no free lunch.China gives goods cheaper as state policy for long term political gains with the aim of world dominance.

Had it been a war, instead of virus, things would have been fatal for countries without their own manufacturing base.-then you wouldn’t have got even sub standard masks.

In that scene, more than lives, you would lose your freedom.

LIVES LOST IN VIRUS WOULD HAVE SERVED A PURPOSE IF THAT LESSON IS LEARNT.

CHINA GIVES SUB STANDARD GOODS

FACE BOOK Mar 30, 2020 ( SHARED THE LINK FROM Pankaj Verma )

A FLOWER FOR SHADY PLACES

There are few flowers which do well without the sun.Yet,there are many places we want to light up with flowers,but dont get any sun, like the space below a tree and around its trunk. SALVIA is the plant for that place. It does well even under a bridge. Notice the right hand picture-the row of Salvias is below a row of trees.Easy to grow from seeds and easy to carry the seeds for next year

SALVIA

GREENHOUSES & GARDENS Mar 30, 2020

SMILE A WHILE

A farmer purchased an old, run-down, abandoned farm with plans to turn it into a thriving enterprise. The fields were grown over with weeds, the farmhouse was falling apart, and the fences were broken down. 

During his first day of work, the town preacher stops by to bless the man’s work, saying, “May you and God work together to make this the farm of your dreams!”  

A few months later, the preacher stops by again to call on the farmer.  Lo and behold, it’s a completely different place.  The farm house is completely rebuilt and in excellent condition, there is plenty of cattle and other livestock happily munching on feed in well-fenced pens, and the fields are filled with crops planted in neat rows. 

“Amazing!” the preacher says. “Look what God and you have accomplished together!” 

“Yes, reverend,” says the farmer, “but remember what the farm was like when God was working it alone!”

GOD HELPS THOSE WHO HELP THEMSELVES

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