Another late post. Posting July pictures at the end of August month sounds a little stupid, but what’s better than revisiting memories through pictures. My readers must have noticed the low frequency of blog posts, it’s not due to my lack of interest or lack of content, believe me, I have so many topics to write about. The thing is I recently changed job, so the adjustment to a new environment kept me busy these couple of months.
I was actually getting only weekends to do something other than regular work, that too I utilized primarily for hiking. We covered 2 state parks and 1 Nature preserve during the month. We also enjoyed time at Maha Music Festival held near my neighborhood and also witnessed a storm during the month about which I wrote in my earlier posts. It was a busy but cheerful month.
I had enrolled in a writing course recently. It was an online reading course where every week they used to add new chapters along with interesting assignments. July month’s reading was pretty much from those assignments.
I read 5 classic short stories in digital format and a book from the library.
The Story of an Hour is interesting with a unique ending. It’s about a woman who after finding out about the death of her husband behaves so strangely, that even she is surprised. Her emotions are righteous or not, there is a conflict. What happens at the climax gives the story a unique twist. It’s an impactful short story on feminism and also my Second Pick of the month.
The Gift of the Magi is a classic short story about a loving couple who want to give Christmas gifts to each other and for that, they sell their most prized possessions. It’s a lovely story beautifully portraying human emotions and love.
The Yellow Wall-Paper is a psychological short story about a lady who is living at a place away from her house for a change of air. Her doctor-husband takes care of her and he is hopeful she will be recovered from her depression soon. Social bondages, extreme care, and her mental state are beautifully described in the story. The reader will also find some elements of horror in the depiction.
A Christmas Carol is about Ebenezer Scrooge – a miser who is always bitter and rude to everyone around him. When he gets invited to dinner for Christmas Eve by his nephew, he simply declines the invitation saying that what good is there to celebrate. To add that he also curses the underprivileged people saying they are just burdens. People around him just ignore his meanness. The same night he is visited by his dead business partner’s soul who asks him to be ready for 3 more such visits. Further, he is visited by the Ghost of Christmas past, present, and future. Scared to death he spent time with ghosts and visits different places with them. The idea of all those visits was to give him a perspective about life, about the Christmas spirit, and to see goodness in people around him. This would be my First Pick of the month.
No Beast So Fierce is written in a documentary fashion about a man-eater Bengal tigress who ruled the regions of Nepal and India with kills over 240, more than any other creature across the world, at least in records. The author covered every essential part while telling this story – loss of habitat, reasons for becoming a man-eater, ease of killing humans as compared to animals, the role of Mughals in hunting, the impact of colonialism by British, respect of locals for forest and animals, the background of Jim Corbett and at the climax, a face-off between both hunters. The book is beautifully written, I got completely immersed into it.
The Masque of the Red Death is a short story about a prince who along with his associates hides at a secret place to avoid the plague spreading in his city. Even after having all safety measures, would he be able to defy Death? Situation changes when an anonymous guest breaks into that secret palace. The story is interesting and makes a lasting impression on the reader’s mind.
Let me know if you have read any of them and how much you liked them?
I am not a photographer, I am just a student, learner, and enthusiast. Three years back, I was one of those guys who wants to be in every photo frame, but don’t like to click for others; instead of taking pictures of nature or surroundings, they prefer to be the subject of every picture with a fake devilish smile.
Things got changed when Harmit asked me to buy a camera for our first long trip to Colorado in the USA. We bought Canon PowerShot SX530 HS – a point-and-shoot camera with great zoom and decent features. From that Colorado trip, which soon became my favorite place, I grew my interest in Photography. The icing on the cake was this app called GuruShots where one can participate in various challenges without any entry fee and can win the prize money. More than that people with similar interests see your work and vote for your picture. It’s a great learning platform for a person like me. Basic photographic rules like Rule of Third, Rule of Odds, compositions, leading lines, frames, texture, patterns, and many photography styles were introduced to me through this beautiful app.
Nearly one year after my Canon purchase, Harmit gifted me Sony Alpha 6500 – mirrorless camera on by birthday. I was just awestruck. Now I spend most of my free time with Alpha, let’s say at least I try to. Leaving for outdoors without it is a big no-no for me. Sometimes Harmit gets irritated with my obsession of capturing almost everything without much attention to her, but she feels good when I show her my final work . She started this, so she has to endure it too, not my fault 😛
Today is World Photography Day. For me, a picture is nothing less than a virtual time travel. I hope my readers will also feel the same through my pictures.
DenseGlowing WoodsBarrierGrazing in OpenNap TimeCrane FlockDirectionsSearching PartyThirstJust Blue
Happy Photography Day! Let’s make this world beautiful so that we can get more awesome shots 🙂
What an irony! July is about to end and my monthly post for June is coming now. Without giving any excuses, I am coming to the point. June 11 was Harmit’s birthday and we celebrated it outside Omaha. One more road trip of the year, what’s better than that, that too on your birthday.
The trip was great and we really enjoyed our time there. I got ample opportunities for my photography. Here are some of my favorite pictures from the trip:-
Let me know which one of these you like most and why? Can you also guess which place is it?
I know, I am very late for this post. July is about to finish and I am still talking about June’s Goodreads. Pardon me for the delay, I was really busy these days mainly due to a recent job change.
I read a total of 11 books in June month, this time mostly on Kindle. There is this series available for Prime members called “Nameless” by Dean Koontz, a famous suspense thriller writer. I downloaded it on my laptop’s Kindle app and started reading the stories. Series is a collection of short stories that revolve around a person who is given a mission in each book to do some kind of social justice for those who suffered from someone in the power and are untouchable to the law in some way. The character doesn’t remember anything about his past except the time since he joined this moral team. Who is he? Had he chosen this job willingly, if yes then why? These are some questions that are uncovered in the last book of the series.
I came across Open House through Prime’s First-reads program in which you can download and read a book on kindle with early access to editor’s picks. It was a suspense crime story with an average climax. The plot was good but the ending was just ok. The story is about a girl whose sister went missing a decade ago. Unconvinced by her sister’s disappearance, she tries to solve the puzzle by putting the pieces together.
A Death by Stephen King is a short story about a man who is charged for the rape and murder of a young girl. The plot of the story indicates him innocent, but the local sheriff and public think otherwise. What will happen to him? Would he be able to prove his innocence? Who is the real murderer? These are some questions that trouble the reader’s mind. A very short but interesting story.
All My Friends Are Dead is a graphical dark comedy book that can’t be described in words. The drawings are really funny and totally worth your time. You can enjoy it in just one sitting.
The Snow Child is a story based on a Russian fairy tale. It was the Pulitzer prize nominee in the Fiction category in 2013. I just loved the story. The story is set up in the beautiful wilderness of Alaska where a childless couple settle and one day out of boredom create a snow child which turns alive. Soon they get bonded with her and find the meaning of their life. The story is just beautiful with Faina, their little girl being nature’s child, her domestication, and the turmoil they all suffer in the end. Highly recommended book if you like fantasy. This would be myfirst pick from the month.
My second pick would be Tesla: Inventor of the Modern. Biography is so well written that even if you have little interest in Science or Electricity, you will be overwhelmed by the facts and genius of Tesla. I read about Tesla coils during my schooling, other than that I wasn’t aware much about him. The writer covers everything about Tesla, his childhood, him being born in-between past and future, his spiritual connection with electricity, his personal conflicts with his father, “war of currents” with Thomas Edison, his contribution for AC currents, obsession with wireless technology, personal habits, friend circle, egoistic nature and many more. He was so ahead of his time that he imagined a world with the Internet and mobile phones. He was the primary contributor of Robotics and one of his devices was able to mimic earthquakes! It’s an honor to read about the great scientist.
Have you read any of the above-listed books? Which one of these would you like to read? Leave your comments.
In the last post, I shared our experience with the Storm. By now most of the things are back to normal. As per the latest reports from OPPD this Friday, all power outages from the area are restored. Still, restoration work is going on in various parks and common trails.
2 days after the storm, I went for a walk in the neighborhood. Harmit didn’t accompany me due to some commitments. During the walk, I thought of visiting Elmwood park, which is like 15 mins walk from our apartment.
Elmwood park is one of my favorite parks in Omaha. First due to its proximity from our apartment and secondly due to the lush greenery and beauty of the park. In the 216 acre park, there is a golf course, a decent pavilion for events, a public pool ,and a baseball field. It provides a nice environment for photoshoots. I actually go there often for photography. Overall it’s a popular park among locals.
Park entrance was closed for the vehicles due to the damage done by the storm. Initially hesitant, I entered the park. Traffic cones and barrels were placed there to stop the vehicles and similar signs were in the parking lots of the park.
Generally a delight to eyes, the park was looking too rough and spoiled. There were very few person like me observing the condition of the park. There were also some bicyclists in the area, otherwise the park was almost deserted. I followed the main trail and started taking photographs of the surrounding.
The trees near my apartment were intact, so I wasn’t expecting this much damage. After watching the condition of the park, I really felt sad. Many Big trees, witnesses of my numerous walks in the park were uprooted and were lying down on the ground like carcasses.
Few trees were too huge that they covered the whole area near them with their branches and leaves. The golf course area was super dirty. Now Golfers have to wait for a considerable time as it may take a while to clean all this.
Children’s playground has never been so quiet and deserted. It was actually looking ugly. Mostly covered with toys, it was now filled with fallen tree branches and leaves.
I covered the whole loop trail which took me around 20-25 mins. Park is so big that you can actually go to Memorial park, another famous park in the area from there. Two parks are connected through a bridge. But I didn’t go that far.
The main trail was still in better condition. I believe debris were deposited along the sides of the trail by the workers. You can guess the kind of damage with the fact that even after 1 week, the park is not yet opened for vehicles.
While returning I noticed too many dead trees and captured them through my iPhone. Others were also taking photographs from their cellphones. Since it was not a planned visit, I didn’t have my camera.
Hopefully, the park will be restored soon and it will be crowded once again.
We decided to spent full day in Ponca State Park, Nebraska and were actually discussing about the food items to bring for our picnic on the night of 9th July. In an instant, it went complete dark and only lights available were the continuous lightnings flashing over our faces from outside. It was the beginning of a storm with wind speed as much as 90 mph. Can you imagine ?
We were clueless, first thing that came to our mind were our beloved plants and bicycle which we moved outside very recently. We decided to bring everything inside to avoid any damage. Bike was uncovered by the storm and its cover was ready to go along with the wind before we got hold of it. We had to strongly push our bike inside. Being outside was like being in the storm of Life of Pi movie except the fact that there was no chance of drowning. We were literally being pushed here and there by the wind and threaten by continuous flashes. I asked Harmit to be inside and passed all the plants to her two at a time. We did it as quick as possible and shut the door. What a relief !
Tree adjacent to our balcony was ready to take asylum in our living room. All of them were struggling hard in the brutal storm. After arranging the plants, we searched for candles which we never use except some special days. Harmit’s phone battery was already low, so I asked her not to use it. She used my iPhone torch to look for candles, it took nearly 20-25 mins to find them, we found 3 candles. We also searched for power-bank which was luckily 75% charged.
I dropped quick messages to our families about the electricity and storm and then turned off the internet to save the battery. Picnic was cancelled, to pass our time we played 2-3 games of cards. We already had dinner, else this could have been easily turned into candle light dinner night. After few games, we felt drowsy and It was bit hot too inside, so we prepared bed on the floor near balcony-window in living room, opened the balcony door just a bit for air and slept.
Next day, on Saturday we woke up at 9 AM, still without power. There is almost nothing you can do without electricity. We decided to go outside for breakfast, but were not sure if restaurants are operative after so much chaos. We checked with our friends about outside situation and after their confirmation got ready for breakfast.
From our balcony, weather at least looked okay, but as soon as we stepped out of our apartment, we were welcomed by complete darkness, so much so that we were not able to see each other. There is long corridor with apartments on both sides just like any typical hotel. Only thing visible was the EXIT sign in red.
iPhone torch came to aid again and we used stairs to come down to community garage. It was pitch black there, actually frightening. I started the car and after reaching exit door, found it inoperative. Now that was bad ! But we realized some cars were coming from other entrance of the garage, so we reversed the car and moved toward that entrance. Door was open, finally we were outside, away from the darkness 🙂
There was decent traffic on the road and was actually slow since traffic signals were not working. Everyone waited patiently at the signal and followed the basic rules by yielding to the driver who arrived first.
We reached to a restaurant – Vitality Bowls, parking was hard to find as most of the people were outside due to power outage. I found the parking space 5 min away from the restaurant after circling the area for few minutes. There was a decent line at the restaurant, we waited for 10-15 mins and ordered the food. They asked us to pay in cash as card machines were not working. To our luck, I had cash in my wallet which I generally don’t keep. We paid and waited for the food. It took longer than usual, but meals were worth the wait.
Weather was pleasant, so I insisted to go for a small hike nearby. But Harmit was adamant and wanted to go home. To be honest, I was little furious on this, but with little options, just played along. We came back home and with nothing much to do, slept again 😊. I wanted to read my book, but lazy weather impacted me. We woke up with the sound of heavy rain striking the glasses of balcony-window. So it started again, she was right, hike was not a wise decision. She was giving me those looks. I just avoided the eye-contact, it’s that simple.
We got the power finally at around 3:30 PM and still there are many regions without power. Restoration work is going on in many areas. Many trees were uprooted and nearly 188,000 customers were impacted due to power outages as per Omaha Public Power District. Thanks to the prompt action, our plants are well. We kept them whole Saturday inside and moved them again outside on Sunday once everything looked normal.
Too much chaos was done by the storm, I visited nearby park on Sunday and got the chance to capture some of the damage. In the next post, I will share those pictures with you.
May month was full of physical activities. We went to Lauritzen garden and hiked there which was an amazing experience and then we utilized the Memorial weekend with 2 hikes and 1 decent bicycle tour. We also met with another couple (Manish & Sonam) for one of our hike. There would be more such hikes in coming months 🙂
We witnessed too much greenery and blooming flowers during our outside activities. Even the garden in our balcony is doing great, so much so that we bought some additional plants making the total plants count to 13. Gardening is now our latest hobby.
This month most of the time I took pictures of my mini garden only. Actually last picture of two flowers in my photographs is from my garden. Those beautiful flowers are from Gazania family, I can’t explain the excitement we had watching them flourish. Every day in the morning, first thing I did was to see this plant 🙂 and when it started blooming OMG there were like 6-8 flowers within two weeks. Impressed by his performance, we bought another Gazania of different color who still needs to produce flowers.
Highlights from March :-
Reached up to 6th season of Friends on HBO Max
Read 5 books
Done hiking and biking
Visited Lauritzen Garden
Gardening
Attended Omaha Bonsai group meeting
So how did you spent your time in May and which one is your favorite picture from them ?
Though I read just 5 books in May, each one of them was unique in its own way. My choices are getting better 🙂
I started my month with the last book of the Harry Potter series – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows which needs no introduction. The author kept the plot promising so as to give a deserving conclusion to the series. After uncovering various secrets Harry and his friends finally manage to beat Lord Voldemort. It was a lengthy book of 759 pages, but very interesting and totally worthy of my precious time.
The next pick was The Midnight Library which was suggested by my elder sister (Musings of a Book Savant ). It was so much in demand that there were nearly 142 hold requests for it in my library. I had requested it a long time back, so when my turn came I wasted no time finishing it. The book is about a girl who tries to commit suicide and finds herself in the midnight library (between life and death) and is given multiple chances to choose various possible desired lives for her. It’s a perfect blend of fiction, science, and spirituality.
West with Giraffes was something I really enjoyed. I downloaded this book as part of my Amazon’s First Read. It was in my Kindle account since Feb, but I started reading it now. The book is a historical fiction about two giraffes who traveled from New York to San Diego during the tense environment of 1938 (Hitler’s mess), surviving a brutal hurricane and then the long road trip. It’s a treat for all travel and animal lovers.
Biography of President Trump Donald J. Trump: A President Like No Other was quite impressive. The author gave full insight into Trump’s former life, his business, his entry into politics, his ultimate route to success in the election, and finally his challenges during his tenure as president. Since I am not that active in American politics, many of the personalities mentioned in the book I had to search on Google. Overall I didn’t enjoy it much due to my lack of taste in Politics. Btw this book I chose as per our Library’s monthly theme of President’s biographies.
Last but not least on the list is The Devil’s Highway: A True Story It’s non-fiction about a horrifying incident related to illegal immigration where a group of Mexican immigrants succumbs to brutal death due to the harsh condition of Devil’s highway. It’s the most sensitive and sad story I read in recent years. The author provides an unbiased version of the story covering the role of Border police, Coyotes (human trafficking’s gang), Media, the Government on both sides, and those poor innocent souls.
How fortunate I am to read such great books in May month. Those who read my blogs regularly must be familiar with my Top 3 picks among all read books of that particular month. To be honest, this time all mentioned books are equally appreciable and highly recommended.
But if I have to choose just one title, that would be West with Giraffes
Have you read any of the above-listed books? Which one of these would you like to read? Leave your comments.
This long weekend, we didn’t plan anything. Actually we forgot about the holiday so decided to just go with the flow 🙂
We recently joined a local group for Omaha Hikers where members share their experience and information about the various hikes of Omaha. We met an Indian couple (Manish & Sonam) through the group who share similar interests like us. We contacted through the messenger and planned for a morning hike on Saturday. As there were no other plans, we decided to meet and have a good time together.
DAY 1 –Hitchcock Nature Center Hiking
There were two options for the Hike 1) Fontenelle Forest 2) Hitchcock Nature Center. We have been to Fontenelle before so chose Hitchcock for the hike. Hitchcock nature center is in Iowa (neighboring state), 30 mins drive from our place. We decided to meet at 9 AM at the center. We had breakfast and reached there at 9:15 AM. Entrance fee to the park was $3 per vehicle. Manish and Sonam were already there with their kid, preparing the baby carrier backpack for hiking. After formal introduction and little chat we started the hike. Hike was exactly as we wanted – not the well made pavements, but the rough and uneven surface with nice elevation and surrounded by lush greenery. They had earlier experience with the trail, Manish started AllTrails app and lead us. Since it was our first hiking together so we spent most of the time in chit chatting which was fun. I took few photographs in between. We completed that hike in 45 mins which was actually quicker than expected. Hike was really good and we were little disappointed that it ended so quick. We went to the Overlook tower near the parking lot for the top view and it was just awesome out there. We even possibly spotted a bald eagle at a long distance. After spending nearly 15-20 mins there, we came back to parking lot, chatted for a while and bade farewell. Once home, we rested a bit and spent rest of the day in reading and watching TV.
DAY 2 – Chalco Hills Hiking
Next day in the evening we decided to go to Mahoney State Park for rock climbing but unfortunately we were late and park was already closed. It’s been a while since we visited Chalco Hills, one of the most popular place for hikers. So we decided to go there. It’s like 15 mins drive from our apartment, we reached there at around 6 and started our hike. Chalco hills recreational area is known for its beauty and rich wildlife. It was scenic out there. Trail was running parallel to Wehrspann lake, a man-made reservoir. Chances to spot deer are highest in the region. This time too while returning back to our starting point of hike, we noticed 3-4 deer enjoying their time downhill. People were having good time there, some were hiking like us, few biking and skating and others were involved in boating and fishing. It was a cloudy day so we didn’t wait for the sunset. We gave a quick thought to Biking as there were city bikes available but decided against it and came back to our apartment. It was another good day for us.
DAY 3 – South Omaha Trail
Keystone trail is one of the popular and longest trail (25 mi) of Omaha. It is just 5 minutes away from our apartment. A small trail known as South Omaha trail (3.6 mi) branches out from it in between. We recently started going there but never completed the trail due to shortage of time. Monday was holiday so I thought of covering the trail, what’s better time than this ? Right now there is too much greenery out there. Trail is surrounded by trees with their branches providing perfect shade and creating beautiful atmosphere (like in fantasy novels). It’s actually like being in the lap of mother nature. Trail was easy, good for mountain bikes and with decent elevation. It was a nice workout for me, my calves were actually burning. I came home, drank my protein shake and enjoyed the whatever left of weekend by watching TV 🙂
Next goal is to cover Keystone Trail now.
It was a nice active weekend overall. Below is the bonus video to celebrate World Environment Day.
HarPiyTravel 