Passion: Love for English literature.........

Not a single piece of paper that arrives our house goes to trash without being read..be that a pizza advertisement or that of carpet cleaning....Trader Joe's seasonal news paper or COSTCO magazine...San Diego zoo ZOONOOZ or city water quality report...

When I was new to this country and was getting ready to appear for GRE and TOEFL..and I was honing my English, I pored over every single page of the 'The Wall Street Journal' and 'Times magazine....

Though I am a science researcher...English is my favorite subject...
For its wide acceptance of words from other languages, it has emerged as the most-recognized and celebrates international language...
Some of the beautiful words of phrases...
Balanophagy: the practice of eating acorn
Gordian Knot: an extremely difficult or involved problem....
Logotherapy: the pursuit of that meaning for one's life
Pachycauls: plants with a disproportionately thick trunk for their height, and few branches

Thought: My blog, my window to the elapsed times..

Its been almost six years I have been running this blog..
I hope it dispenses information or at least  entertains the visitors..
For me its has been a digital diary of fond memories, reflections, new discoveries..
Sometimes, I see the blog in Google images, to scratch the gone times..bask in the joys and experiences gathered..it gives a fair, shuffled picture of it..
The first visit to Laguna beach...first of any Pacific Ocean beach...
Springtime mustard blooms by Upper Newport Bay..
Stroll in Fullerton arboretum, among the heavily-abloom narcissus..
Hiking through the ripe wild oat fields in Aliso woods regional park..
And under the big-leaf maples of Monrovia canyon park..
By the abloom yucca spikes in wildwood park..
On the hillocks of Chino hills...

Riding skyfari above the Mission Bay in SeaWorld, ice sculptures in Long Beach, sand sculpture at Ocean beach, zoos, aqauriums, Queen Mary ship, navar war ship,
Thrill of Universal Studio, Las Vegas, Yellowstone geysers, Glaciers, Grand Canyon, drive through the desert roads, snow at Mammoth Lakes, High Sierra, oasis in Anza Borrego desert, corn maze, pumpkin patch, apple picking, Halloween at Old Town, carousel ride, county fair, trolley rides for years, fire works at Qualcomm stadium, whale watch, tranquil time in Tewinkle park,
The joys of rain-soaked ivy and pear leaves carpet, winter rains,

The fun of finding bauble hanging on the red pear tree, stealth towers, owl statues, pink flamingoes, metal sculptures, hanging shoes from electric wires, taxidermy, bonsai, marquetry,

Discovering dead man's foot fungus, monstera fruit, kangaroo paw blooms, myriad varieties of succulents, bright encelia, gazania, cactus pears, tulip poplar blooms, magnolia flowers, carissa, strwabery fruits, salicornia, rose his, mistletoe, silverberry, sausage tree blooms, pepper trees, calla lily, bush lily, bird-of-paradise, coral tree, sea fig beds, sweetgum, sycamore, California buckthorn, Indian hawthorn, azalea, camellia, silk floss show, geranium, sequoia trees, persimmons, purple orchid flowers, trumpet creeper, bristlecone pine, chicken-of-the woods mushrooms on tall eucalyptus, blueberries at Rainier, lanky palms..
Enjoying the vista of napping cats, mallards, pekins, koi fish, barnacles at tidepool, hummingbird, mockingbird, squirrel...
Dabbling with crafts using pebbles...pressed flower...floral arrangement...water color painting..riding bike by the marsh..
And many many more...
Is not that  enriching? Very much for me. Could not have asked for more.. 

Fauna: Big cats at San Diego zoo.....

BIG CATS...........

San Diego zoo hosts a rich abundance of cats...both medium and big...memories from our visits..

Lions..both male and female...we often find the female taking a nap, but this time she was wide awake...

Mountain lions (cougars) Koyama and Yakima...it was heart-warming to see one of them sleeping on the others back, while the awake one kept vigil...it was one of those aww moments!!

Snow leopard!!...though we have visited the zoo at least half  a dozens time, we never had seen this cat from so close...the long, thick, bushy tail was stunning..I can't tell whether this cat was Ana or Everett!...

A Malayan tiger, held its ground and looked at the spectators eye-to-eye...

The jaguar Nindiri, searching the meatballs hidden among the trees and logs...

She is waiting for food in another occasion....

Most San Diegans, almost all San Diego zoo visitors know this jaguar cub of few months...
He is Valerio, son of Nindri...
Here he is taking a siesta with mom on a summer afternoon..

What a cute, adorable face, isn't it?

Fishing cat..........

Here I am with a tiger......

Fauna: Puppyhood is fleeting..........

Puppies...they are notorious for tugging at the heart strings...
Some of my captures...

Knowledge: Pasta varieties.......

I know pasta come in many shapes and sizes.....but this many....I had no idea!
The common varieties include

Alfabeto, Anchellini, Anelli Siciliani, Armonie, Ballerine, Bigoli, Bucatini, Cannelloni, Capelli d'angelo, Cappelletti, Casarecci, Cavatelli, Chiocciole, Ciocchetti, Conchigliette, Conchiglioni, Coquillettes, Creste di galli, Dischi,  Fagiolini rigati,  Farfalle, Fettuccelle ricce,  Fettuccine, Francesine,  Fusilli,  Fusilloni,  Gemelli, Gianduietta, Gigli,  Gramigna,  Gramignoni,  Grano,  Grattoni, Italiana,  Lasagne,  Linguine, Lumachine, Maccheroni, Mafalde, Malloreddus, Maltagliati, Margherita Messinese lunga, Merletti, Messinesi, Mezzani, Mostaccioli, Mparrettati, Nuvole,  Occhi di Passero,  Ondule,  Orecchiette ,  Orzo, Pantacce,  Pappardelle,   Paternoster, Pennine (Penne),  Pennoni,  Perciatelli,  Pizzoccheri,  Quadrefiore,  Quadrettini,  Quadrucci rigati,  Radiatori,   Ravioli,  Ricciarelle,  Rigatoni,  Rocchetti,  Ruotine,  Sagnarelli, Sciviottini,  Semi di Melone, Spaghetti,  Spighe,  Stellette,  Strozzapreti, Tagliatelle,  Tagliati di Ziti,  Tagliolini,  Tempesta,  Torchio,  Tortelli, Tortellini, Trenne, Trennette, Tripolini, Troffiette, Trottole, Tufoli, Ziti..

Among these vast variety I have savored only Cannelloni, Capellini, Casarecci, Gemelli, Lasagne, Linguine, Pennoni, Perciatelli......

#Do you know, these grain-based foods might be delicious, but they are acidogenic...which harm body in multiple ways..which includes, raising tumorigenesis risks..

Achievement: My published books..

By now, I have published chapters in 7-8 books..
I have hard copies of three of them....my prized possessions..

I hope and believe the numbers will increase..

Health: Stay away from wild animals for good health......

The deer, rabbit, squirrel, mallard duck may look cute, cuddly....but they do carry a variety of virus, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, nematode...

Which by mere contact with them can infect humans......result is the long list of zoonotic diseases...

So, watch them from distance...

Do not touch.............you would not want Ebola, anthrax, plague, Lyme disease..

Do not feed......they do not have enzymes to digest your chemical additive-lace chips, bread etc...they will die of diseases..become obese like this ground squirrel..

If you really love yourself, your family, humanity and wildlife keep safe distance...

Observation: Abstract shots from garden........

Some abstracts from my garden...........
Curled tendril of my cucumber plant.........

Thrown one as a lasso to grow on the trellis..

Hairy leaf of tender cucumbers...they exude hydrolytic enzymes...that is why they cause itching on skin contact..

Melanin-rich gills of ink cap mushrooms....

A water droplet on the mandevilla flower tube...

The transition of raw into ripe...early autumn look of blueberry..

Cucumber leaf scarred by feeding trails of a mining worm...proteases secreted by the caterpillar has damaged the leaves...

A cucumber twig  against the night lamp...

A juvenile snail....the exoskeleton has barely started formation.........

I put an arrowhead vine leaf in the vase.........after some days, I saw this.......a strategy to counteract excess water stress........

Taproot of California poppy.........looks like tiny carrots.........

A young and a senescent laf of nasturtium..

A tender root emerging from a succulent leaf pad......

Health: Fulminant diseases...

Do you know what fulminant diseases mean?

It is the medical terminology for fast killer ailments.......like flu, Ebola, dengue, malaria, brain-eating amoeba...which can kill the victims within few days...

These etiological agents provoke immune system so bad, excess of reactive oxygen species are releases...which damage vital organs..causing respiratory collapse and brain hemorrhage...leading to inevitable death......

Educate yourself on such scary pathogens by following guidelines of international health care agencies like WHO, NIH, and CDC.........

Place: Seattle Japanese Garden ...............

Seattle Japanese Garden within Washington park arboretum ...it was our third visit to any Japanese garden...........first two were  that in Long Beach and San Diego (Balboa Park), respectively..

It was early September....so, wisteria had already done blooming...and the maples, persimmon were yet to change colors...the rhododendrons and camellia were yet to bloom..

Despite it, the garden was beautiful...we spend few hours....some shots, as we strolled, watched koi and some freeloader mallards...