Rippling through my heart

When did this all start

this heady rush of feelings so stout

rippling through my heart

Waves of hope peeping out in part,

hidden behind veils of doubt

when did this all start

Time tries hard to thwart

cascades of joy that pour out,

rippling through my heart

Gushes of pain ink life's chart

even as peace surges in to ease bout,

when did this all start

Like a colorful work of art,

emotions seem to swirl about

rippling through my heart

To revel in the ride and steer the cart;

I just need to find out -

when did this all start

rippling through my heart.

P.S - This poem is my first attempt at Villanelle. A Villanelle is a nineteen-line poem consisting of a very specific rhyming scheme: aba aba aba aba aba abaa. The first and the third lines in the first stanza are repeated in alternating order throughout the poem, and appear together in the last couplet (last two lines).

Picture is  from Google images

Back to babble part 2 :)

Back to babble with a time leap on leap day!!

First a flashback ----
"While babble has always been intermittent, this time the pause has stretched on for quite a few months. During the pause, S and me moved to a bigger apartment. Then there were a bunch of business travel related to S's job. In the midst of all this, we managed to sneak in a rainy Thanksgiving camping trip to redwood forests of California. I still need to upload camera clicks from the rainy adventure. The year end holidays saw get-togethers with friends and all the hustle bustle finally got to me. Being under the weather for a while only seemed to add to my laziness quotient. I became too lethargic to even check out the lovely posts on other blogs let alone post something of my own. And now as winter recedes, as cold is ready to be wrapped up and tucked away, as the flower beds are aching to burst out in blooms, as the birds are out early and chirping joyously as day breaks, I too return to babble (hopefully as a regular)."



These were my thoughts last February and they were promptly relegated to the draft post. Why? Because there was another thought that was engulfing my mind overpowering all of my other thoughts, the thought of getting to hear my baby babble back to me. S and me were blessed with a little cherub just in time for our birthdays making September my most favorite month of the year :)

Since then little R has made me look at life from a whole new perspective. So almost six months into motherhood, I now restart my own babble even as my dear little princess delights me with her's. Hopefully I will resume posting on a fairly regular basis.

Sleep-deprived occasionally but smile-endowed often, motherhood sure makes me leap with joy, smile blissfully and feel blessed!!

Pictures are from google images

Thank you!!

As I had indicated in my earlier post, August meant travel time for me and S. It was time to feel patriotic in part because of the Indian Independence day on 15th August and in part because S and me were back in India after two years. Ah the blissful feeling of walking on the soil of your Motherland is unparalleled, even if this bliss lasted for a very short while. The bliss was powerful enough to override the much detested jet-lag. The mere sight of family after 2 long years was like an elixir. S and me escaped the American summer and savored the Indian monsoon. It was a very memorable albeit short trip and it was time to hop on the jet again. A few days with family and a few more for VISA related work sprinkled with visits to a couple of temples and festive celebrations summed up an awesome August. For the time that we were in India, I felt 24 hours in a day were too less. There was so much that I wanted to do but so little time.

While heading back to US, our flight was delayed and so we were fighting against sleep as we waited for our flight in Mumbai. We caught a glimpse of the King Khan of Bollywood aka Shah Rukh Khan as he was being escorted on an airport buggy. He looked like a regular traveller but the crowd of luggage tugging fans that followed the buggy as it chugged along gave away his cult status. I must add that the multiple security checks in Mumbai were by far the most that I have come across. Luckily, the delay was cushioned by our long layover in Europe and we managed to catch our second change flight to reach Portland safe and sound. Strangely enough while the visit to India was exciting and fun-filled, a feeling of relief and joy was what I felt as we unlocked the door we had locked a few weeks ago. There is no land like homeland and no place like home.

September has also meant many celebrations, both S and me turned a year older and wiser. Cerebral babble too celebrated a silent blogoversary a couple of days ago :) Following in the tradition of a blogoversary, I would like to thank all the fellow bloggers who continue to encourage me with their comments and opinions. I have learnt a lot from all of you, listing my learnings would call for a lengthy post and I do not wish to bore you with my babbling. So I'll keep it short and simple, THANK YOU!! 

August absence.

August happens to be one of my favorite months of the year, the others being the months from September to July :P August has an auspicious touch to it since it usually coincides with the holy month of Shravan in Hindu calendar. For us ordinary mortals, this means puja and 'pet puja' or in other words, festivals, fasts and feasts. Also August coincides with summer here in the US and this translates to outdoor activities and travel. S and me have been soaking ourselves in the festive spirit of August and so my blogging has taken a small sabbatical. I'll be back to babbling by September.

Clear

Fervent pleas unheard,

forecast thunders clear skies, 

farmer sheds dry tears.

Farmer sheds dry tears,

drought, deluge pile misery;

mounting debts to clear.

This post is shared with Haikuhorizons and this week's prompt is CLEAR

Content.

Eyes closed and neck craned;

drinking to its heart's content-

doe suckles her fawn.

*********************************

Ouch!! slurp-fest begins,

drinking to their hearts' content-

merry mosquitoes.

*********************************

Glances turn to gaze,

drinking to their hearts' content-

eyes thirsting for love.

*********************************

This post is shared with Haikuhorizons and this week's prompt is CONTENT

Yellowstone trip- Part 1

The Drive -

John Day Dam, Oregon, windmills on the hillside

Camping trip is exciting enough by itself and if the location happens to be the first National park not just in USA but in the world, then excitement just multiplies. S and me had planned to drive to Yellowstone National Park for our camping trip for the fourth of July Weekend. Our campground reservation in the Grant Village area of Yellowstone meant we had to drive a little under 900 miles to get there. S had taken a day off from work so that we could get two full days at the park apart from the two plus days of travel. So we set off on wednesday afternoon, having loaded our car with tent, sleeping bags and other camping gear, not to mention food supplies and water. 

 

Haystacks and farms, Idaho

With both of us driving in shifts, the long drive would not be strenuous we thought. Our plan was to check into a motel by midnight, catch some sleep and hit the road after breakfast.  While Portland is green and dotted with trees, as we headed towards South-east Oregon, the landscape gradually turned dry and grassy. The zig-zag roads with hairpin curves through the Columbia Gorge soon made way for roads along the dry scrubland of Oregon high desert. 

Potato fields with sprinklers turned on, Idaho

Before midnight we had crossed state lines, and entered the Mountain Time Zone. It was time for a night-stop in Boise which we later realized was the state capital of Idaho. Rejuvenated, we headed toward the western entrance of Yellowstone in Montana. This final stretch was long, straight roads endlessly for as long as our eyes could see. On either side of the roads of 'Potato State' were potato fields. Vast stretches of green fields that were covered with tiny white/purple flowers being watered by huge sprinklers was what we kept seeing for a long time. Finally around 5pm in the evening nearly 26 hours after we had left our home, we entered Yellowstone National Park. Shelling out the entry fee and collecting a complimentary map, we began our drive through Bison/Bear country. Animal crossing signboards greeted us at regular intervals, and before long, we spotted a bunch of cars pulled over and parked off the road.

Day-1 at Yellowstone-

Entered the bison territory aka Yellowstone

It was time for us to follow suit with camera and binoculars. It was like a tea-party on the riverbank for a bison herd, a couple of them  grazing, a couple rolling around in the sand. The brown ones are the calves. A few clicks and closer look later, we were ready to head towards our campground.

First Sighting, Bison herd by the river

Hardly a mile later, we pulled over again, this time for an elk that had stopped by to welcome us.

(w)elk(ome)!! 

Further along the drive,  white mist seemed to be rising from the ground, sure enough the next board read "Fountain Paint Pot". With a name so inviting, we had to take a look. There was a loop trail of around half a mile. So we sauntered along the boardwalk, clicking pictures of colorful geo-thermal features. The odor of sulphur was a constant feature all through the geyser basin.

Lodgepole pines

Silex spring

Morning Geyser

Bacteria mat

Fumaroles

Leather Pool

Our tent nestled behind trees

After a quick stop at the old faithful geyser just in time to see it erupt, we drove to the campground to register ourselves. Grant Village Campground is nestled in a partly wooded area near the southwest shore of Yellowstone Lake. It has over 400 sites on offer including tent, RV and group campsites. Stepping out of the car at the Grant Village Campground, we were greeted by a bunch of over-friendly mosquitoes :P. We picked up firewood and kindle at the registration desk before driving to our campsite. Our campsite had a fire-grate and picnic table while a public restroom was a short walk away. S and me then set up our tent, before settling down to a hearty dinner of a desi style taco, puri in place of the tortillas. The wolves howling in the far-off distance as we snuggled into the sleeping bags was the perfect sign-off for Day-1 at Yellowstone.

To be continued...

Note- Click on the photos to see enlarged images.