365 - 15th - Lilies??

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 15th Dec'08

I am not sure if they were lilies but at the nursery where I saw them I could see at least four different shades of them planted in small pots and arranged in straight rows. The owner of the nursery knew the name in Spanish which I forgot even before I left the place. Whatever the name is, the flowers were amazing for sure. Specially given the huge number in which they were present, the view was simply beautiful.

The man gave me one of the small pots, with white flowers for 40 pesos and advised me to keep them away from direct sunlight for most of the day. They are now adding to the beauty of my living room :)

Click here to see the full sized image

364 - 14th - Noche Buenas

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 14th Dec'08

Noche buena or the Poinsettia is a plant which is native to Mexico and often blooms around Christmas time. It has green leaves and the most common version of it has flaming red group of leaves at the top which gives an illusion of a flower. Come Christmas and you can see them all over the place. Poeple buy them and keep them inside their houses, offices are decorated with them and you can find them planted on the road side too.

A couple of days back I bought two small plants, but they are still waiting to be planted in my front garden.

Click here to the full sized image.

363 - 13th - The colorful bird

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 13th Dec'08

It was not the first time that I was seeing a cock, but surely I have never seen such a colorful one before, except the ones which are printed on the "cock brand" cracker packets in India. With amazing shades of blue, orange and red, the bird was a living example of an exquisite color display. I think that it would be second only to the peacock if ranked in terms of the number of different color shades present.

If you click on the image and see the full view, there are two things worth observing. The first is the color of it's eye - an orange eyeball with a black retina while the second being the white rope attached to one of it's legs. No comment on the color of the eye, but the rope seemed to be a mark of ownership for the bird.

Click here to see the full sized image

362 - 12th - Beauty in Death

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 12th Dec'08

As you approach the main hangout of the Monarch butterflies in El Rosario, where you can see almost the entire jungle completely covered in a sheet of orange butterflies, the number of dead ones on the ground and in the bushes keeps on increasing. You can see butterfly wings scattered all over the ground and also hundreds of them lying around; dead.

But even death fails to steal their beauty. Had it not been their unusual way of being scattered around the place, you could actually mistake them to be alive. I found these three dead butterflies on a dry log of wood. As I went near, I could see them from much closer as they would no longer get frightened and fly away.

Click here to see the full sized image

354 - 4th - The pine tree

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 4th Dec'08

I think it was pine but I had a doubt because the branches were hanging really low. I searched for some signboards nearby but couldn't find any. Given that it was a butterfly sanctuary, I found the idea of inquiring about a tree totally out of context. So I just went ahead and took some photos of the sharp green leaves shining against the bright sunlight.

Later when I returned to the base, I saw some local people selling painted pine fruits. Maybe that was a silent indication that the tree was really pine :)

Click here to see the full sized image

353 - 3rd - The butterfly on the vase

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 3rd Dec'08

I had just entered my room in Zitacuaro when I saw this big butterfly perched on a dry branch right on top of the dressing table. Had it not been the size, I would have really mistaken it for a real one. Firstly because of the amazingly vivid and real looking colors in which it was painted and secondly since everywhere at the place one was expecting to spot the butterflies.

Click here to see the full sized image

352 - 2nd - The red rose

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 2nd Dec'08

I was waiting at the reception in a hotel in Zitacuaro when my exploring eyes stopped at this bowl kept right in front of the receptionist. I still dont know what made the water looked green; maybe it was the painted base of the bowl or some color dissolved in the water. But whatever it was, it made a great contrasting combination with the crimson red roses floating on the surface.

I had to bend my camera and my neck at a very awkward angle to get the right shot from the top. When I finished, I realized that everyone around including the bell boy standing right behind me, were staring at me in amusement.

Click here to see the full sized image