*** This post was written in during the Corona Lockdown of 2020***
How to spend time during the lockdown?
Well, GBee and I spend our mornings chasing after dragon flies.
It all started when it was decided that all the terrace space was going waste, so pots have been installed and seeds sown. Luckily for us, Rain God blessed us early on and with regular watering by Mr.Bee, the seeds have sprouted and plants grew in size.
We have climbers of cucumber and bottle gourd, plants of ladies finger (okra) and beans. Little coriander stalks with a couple of florets at the top, wave at us, with the slight breeze that lingers on the terrace, always.
The result of a dozen potted plants is, we now get to see a minimum of 10 dragonflies flying about our terrace at any given point of time, mostly the early mornings. Some 50 dragonflies already zoom around the bigger trees in our vicinity. (Almost all houses have huge trees.)
QueenBee and GBee discussing the dragonflies!
The impromptu meeting of the dragonflies!
To kill time, one fine morning, I showed GBee a dragon fly, resting on a random plant. Boy, was he hooked! Our daily routine now includes selecting a dragon fly and stalking it (out of its wits!), till it escapes from our line of vision by zooming away, above into the sky, probably for a peaceful life!
I, sometimes hum my favourite song, ‘thuneega thuneega’, a Telugu song, about two childhood friends running after dragonfly! (I am into situational songs!)
Now that we see dragonflies on a daily basis, we have discovered there are many varieties of them, which differ in colour, size and also texture. (Some look like they have been polished and some look rough, like they were chiseled by an amateur artist!)
Sadly, we are nowhere near Harry Potter’s amazing skills as a Seeker. He has keen vision which makes its easier to see and snatch a snitch in almost all his Quidditch matches.
GBee and I tried stalking a young dragonfly, which was hardly visible. It was a difficult task, because the fly was so thin and grayish in colour, matching the cement flooring on the terrace. It flew at a height of 5cm from the ground (low flier), and was difficult to perceive. I, now admire Harry Potter even more!
Nope, I and Gbee are not meant to be seekers, but we may get there soon, with practice and a little hardwork, stalking the dragonflies, that is!
P.S:
- This was before KBee was born.
- I hated the lockdown, because that made GBee a silent kid. Luckily, once the lockdown was lifted, we would regularly visit maternal grandparents, because, we didn’t trust any other place during Covid and slowly things came back to normal.
- Incidentally, during PP-2 graduation ceremony in March 2023, all the parents of GBee’s classmates had similar stories to share, about kids being affected due to Covid lockdown. (Parents were asked to speak on stage during the ceremony, impromptu!)
Till the next post!