Tag Archives: #Nature

A day’s fishing

#Nature, To be excellent, , , ,

It was a warm sunny morning, when we got ready to go fishing with my grandpa at one of the rivers in Goa. I was about 9 years old.

Rods and bait at hand we accompanied him across the fields of Guirim .

I attached the bait of a fresh shrimp to my hook and cast the line into the river .

Then I felt a tug, and was quite happy. Slowly I pulled the line up with my rod and ‘voila!’ The bait had gone and ‘no fish’ .

Again I followed the routine of attaching bait and casting for another fish, with the same result .

By this time my grandpa had caught a couple of fish .

I asked him, “How is it you are able to catch them so easily ?”

“ Vincent, you need to be quick to pull out your rod when you get a sufficient tug and hook the fish up to pull out .”

That was easier said than done .

After some more tries. I caught, first an eel and then a crab .

That was very frustrating. My brother in the meanwhile lost his patience and began hitting the surface of water .

“ Stop it,” softly and sternly cautioned my grandpa ,” You will frighten the fish away .

Subsequently we moved sufficient spaces away along the river to continue fishing .

I was finally rewarded with a catch of a 3” fish called ‘thope’.

Our neighbour, Karidhar, with ease, kept on catching one fish after another from the same river. What a man ! I wondered.

Today I am a keen aquarist. With observation and interest, I have followed their breeding habits and even helped to rear them and increase their numbers. At different times, I have had Siamese fighters, angel fish, blue gouramis, neon tetras, guppies, discus fish, widow tetras and black mollies.

My aquarium today

Have you heard of the Master calling out to Simon, and James and John to follow him. He told them ‘Follow me and I will make you fishers of men.’ ( Mark 1:14-20)

They left their nets to follow Jesus .

They were content catching fish, but Jesus called them to change lives of others.

So they subsequently learnt to share the Good News of Jesus : ‘ God loves you.’

What is your response?

Only as an example /fishing at Betim promenade

Photographs by Vincent

Squirrels ahoy ! ( Fluffy and Duffy )

#Nature, Life, Short Story, , ,

“Hey Duffy , let’s visit the garden below .”

“What’s the hurry Fluffy ? “ responds Duffy .

“Do you realise winter is approaching? We need to stock up our food reserves .” says Fluffy.

“ I think we can manage for the week Fluffy .”

“ Just think. will that last for the long winter months ?” asks Fluffy

“You have a point there , but where will we store our reserves ? “ enquires Duffy .

“Simple ! ! We hide them at different locations in the garden and the bark of trees.” answers Fluffy .

“Another concern is the scarcity of our food type ; buds , fruit and nuts will not be easily seen in the winter days .” worries Duffy .

“Oh Duffy , do you see the bird feeder this human family keeps replenishing ? Let’s try getting some of that . “

“ Listen Fluffy, that feeder can be difficult to reach . It’s meant for birds only .”

“ That’s no problem .I’ll show you the way. You remain on the ground below the feeder .”

So Fluffy went to the top of the wooden frame and accessed the feeder by descending downwards . He began feeding on the bird food . Duffy waited below for any feed dropping on the floor.

“Listen Fluffy. I have an idea. Chew onto the string holding the feeder and let the feeder fall . Then we can have a feast .”

Fluffy chewed the string and down came the feeder. They both enjoyed the feed .

Now what happened next is interesting .

The family took time to restore the feeder to its original position and thus ended the squirrels adventure.

Fluffy and Duffy resumed their search for food in berries , flower buds , and nuts.

They both realised that it’s always good to

‘Save for the times when there may be scarcity .’ ( the saying commonly used – save for a rainy day or the wintry days ! )

The bird feeder provided food for that day , and depended on the compassion of the human family to restore and replenish it.

Do you Perceive

#Nature, , , , , ,

It’s in details that a lot is discovered .

How does one understand this ?

It takes a lot of patience and minute perception to see and then take it forward .

I was not too interested in details : It’s only when doing sugar craft flowers that this aspect became important .

Each flower has so much to see and carve. Just imagine how God has created so much beauty and variety . Just visit the hills in summer and see the wild flowers . I won’t even know the various names , to the extent of the range of diversity .

Artists are good at perception . They look at details around them in nature and human beings too . They can bring out the character of a person so well . Every detail of expression of the face is brought out in the drawing or painting .

Authors do this in words which give a picture in the mind of the reader, when more details are described.

The more gifted the author , the more is the ability to capture a person’s characteristics in words . The reader can visualise and imagine the person being described. This can even permeate into the dialogue and various ways of the person’s speech.

Finally a word of how the eyes and face reveal a lot in real life … what is innermost in a person . The good within exudes a beauty of the individual which one sees . The opposite too happens when a person carries hatred and revenge.

‘ More than all else, keep watch over your heart, since here are the wellsprings of life. (Proverbs 4:23)

Glad heart means happy face (Proverbs 15:13b)

Trust and Be Free

Life, Poem, , , ,

Look at the birds and lillies of the valley

Do they strive?

The tall trees sway in all their grandeur,

Little birds flit across

As the bulbuls guard their nest.
Where is the strife and struggle

To make ends meet?

The pheasant crow sounds deep and low,

But is happy to care for its own

There is daily provision

Blessed assurance free of worry
So why do men struggle for daily needs?

Even the squirrel munches at tender herbs

The ant crawls to tasty morsels

A mongoose raises its head to check for food left over

And happy to tunnel for more
Have you wondered how the trees bear fruit

Without much ado

Save that of some water and air and some extras for manure

They still sway to say

Be happy, and don’t worry

The Master cares for us ALL

“But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you – you of little faith” (Matthew 12:28)