The Periyar River originates in Kerala’s Western Ghats near the Tamil Nadu border and then flows in the northerly direction to the Periyar National Park. The Periyar Lake was created by the British in 1895 with the building of the Mullaperiyar and forms a major watershed for the sanctuary and for both states. The lake forms the nucleus of the reserve, providing a great habitat for water birds such as darters, grey herons, egrets, cormorants and kingfishers. Continue reading
We are working in Cochin and sometimes I feel like I am speaking two different languages. I’m not talking about struggling with mixing English and Malayalam. I’m not talking about scratching my head each time I encounter an Indian head shake/nod (“Wait- was that a yes or a no?”). I’m talking about the client’s language vs. the architect’s language.
This internship really is a “living laboratory.” I am getting a chance to sit on the client side and discuss ideas with the architects that will push Raxa Collective’s vision forward. Crist and Amie have worked with the design team side by side on each project and I am starting to understand how they think, how to make sure my drawings, renderings, and presentations can be clearer, and more. Sitting in on these design meetings in which the architect and clients discuss, propose, discuss, present, discuss, discuss, and discuss some more, I realize…
It’s like talking shop at an auto repair.
I am a week late, but I do not think he would mind. There is plenty to read and listen to with Woody in mind, but my first realization that I had missed his birthday was while listening to a podcast a few days ago. If you are interested in Woody’s life and the context of his music, it is worth a listen. I also do not think Woody would mind sharing the celebration a bit, so after the jump have another go at this song.
Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala
Aralam Wildlife Sanctuary is located in the north of Kerala near Kannur. It is one of the state’s smallest wildlife sanctuaries, with an area of just 55 square kilometers. It makes up for its small size with a privileged location on the western slopes of the Western Ghats, an area famous for a wide variety of flora and fauna. Aralam fauna includes mammals such as elephant, bison, deer, wild boar, jungle cats and leopards. Additionally a wide variety of flora is also found in the evergreen areas of this sanctuary.
Another day, another story of net-freed. Click the image below, which looks like the one in the story here, for the story told briefly by video; yet another hero story we thank The Guardian for:
Scientists free a whale shark caught in a fishing net in Indonesia’s Cenderawasih Bay. Conservation International have completed the first expedition to tag whale sharks with radio-frequency identification making them easier to track and film. Whale sharks swimming into fishing nets has become a problem in the area.
Moottil pazham trees are found only inside the semi-evergreen forest. This unusual tree bears fruits only on the lower part of the trunk, clustered around its base in bunches. The edible portion of the fruits are hard and turn from reddish brown to pink as they ripen. They fruits are a favourite food for forest dwelling tortoise. Continue reading
Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala
For our bird-loving contributors and followers, an interesting story told in a brief video, thanks to The Guardian. (Click on video image to go to the source.)Tim Birkhead, professor of zoology at the University of Sheffield, talks to Steven Morris about his study of Amos guillemots on the tiny, uninhabited island of Skomer, south-west Wales. Birkhead first visted Skomer in 1972 as a 22-year-old PhD student interested in the sex life of the guillemot. His 40-year investigation into the birds is one of the longest-running field studies of its kind.
Photo by Mr. Vijay Mampilly
Silent Valley National Park is located along the western corner of the Nilgris Mountains in the Palakkad District and remains one of the last vestiges of an undistributed tropical evergreen rainforest in Southern India.
Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala
From my recent trip to Switzerland in early June, I took numerous photos of flowers. As my family and I hiked up the Alpine mountains, I was completely taken in by these flowers covered and surrounded by icy snow. This is a story of Alpine flowers.
p.s. Because I am not a flower expert, identifying the names of flowers was a challenging task for me. Thus, I welcome any feedback and hope everybody can help me finish identifying flower names! 🙂
Burnet Rose / Rosa spinosissima
A Sea Shepherd activist cuts a tuna fishing net in the Mediterranean in 2010.
Photograph: Simon Ager/Sea Shepherd
Click the image above to read the whole viewpoint, which we have commented on previously here and here, captured briefly here:
These people are, in my view, heroes. They are stepping in where governments have failed, to protect our common heritage. They are among the few people on Earth who will be able to give a straight answer when their children ask them what they did to prevent the avoidable ecological tragedies we now confront.
Cassia is a tropical plant native to India and Sri Lanka prevalent in the Western Ghats. It is a popular ornamental throughout Kerala due to its year round blooms.
Periyar Tiger Reserve, Kerala
This past week, apart from being the second session of the Bird Club, I was teaching 1st and 2nd graders English, Science, and Art (e.g. bird names, bird biology, bird crafts). I wasn’t quite prepared for the radical change in behavior between 7th-12th graders and 1st-2nd graders in the classroom, though obviously I expected there would be significant differences.
But when on your first day a group of nineteen 6-year-olds spontaneously and simultaneously burst into a song about a little yellow chick in the palm of their hand while you’re trying to teach the basic body parts of a duck you’ve drawn on the whiteboard, you have a good sign that things might get tough. If this song includes mention of a hawk, which scares the chicks into hiding under their desks while the chosen bird of prey stalks the room to catch any straying chick-children, then things are already tough and you have to act accordingly.
Kerala is considered ”God’s Own Country” for a reason, and that is because of its wonderful people, amazing wildlife, and absolutely stunning landscape. If you are looking to experience the natural beauty of Kerala, then definitely sign up for the Chellarkovil Waterfall trip. The mountaintop views of both Kerala and the neighboring state of Tamil Nadu are unbelievable, and looking out over the rolling hillside at the breathtaking waterfall is a truly unforgettable experience.
Malabar gliding frogs are widely distributed in the Western Ghats of India, primarily in evergreen and semi-evergreen forests at altitudes between 500 to 1200 meters above sea level. These pictures were taken at the Aralam Wild Life Sancatury near Kannore.
He did not take the bait (most of us, being called kooky and unqualified, might have) but instead answered the bewilderingly juvenile question with a straight answer. Thanks, Bill!
Organikos 