EXPERIENCES IN THE US - 2

                             OH! WHERE ARE THE BIRDS?

I feel my morning rendezvous incomplete and empty if I don’t see and hear the birds fluttering, chirping, twittering, pecking, prancing, romancing and  fighting above in the sky or on the ground, in my yard or in neighborhood yards  or during my walks. Strange but true, bird watch is a rarity here.  

My all weather friends the sprightly squirrels always cavorting in the vicinity back home, are conspicuously absent  here. I remember their frolicking and childlike teasing movements, infecting me with the carefree abandon which they display all the time.  They always help me to relax and unwind. The desire to see their joyful antics would frequently drag me out  for the walk and allowed me to define myself in the real world of senses.

But here in CHESTER SPRINGS near PHILLY, in spite of abundance of plant life , birds are missing. I sometimes see a pair of kites through the window, sailing with the wind in a floating motion high up, but they neither fly, one behind the other  nor parallel to each other, as if not on speaking terms with each other. They take a couple of circles and disappear suddenly. What about their families, I wonder? Or perhaps the trend of not having offspring among the few young Americans (according to an article in TIME magazine’s August 12 issue) has already been lapped up by the avian couples. I purposely sit outside to check on birdy presence and also to have some sunshine on my body as a bonus. But I draw a blank except for one day, when I sighted a couple of tiny birds flying in sprints for a minute or two, before vanishing abruptly. 
However, I do hear the intense buzzing of insects while passing by some trees. Looks like, the sprawling lawns meticulously maintained, bereft of weeds and chaos or may be of seeds or grub don’t have any attraction for birds. Agreed. But even amongst the thick cluster of trees they have no presence. With breathtaking natural beauty all around their absence is palpable.

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A PIANO CONCERT

The other day my daughter took me along for watching a piano recital.  It was no high fi social event. It was simply a recital by kids and our granddaughter was part of it. There were a few teens also. It was held in the house of the teacher, a smart Korean lady who gives private lessons in piano playing. Her husband anchored the program.

Interestingly and surprisingly, not only was I thrilled by the felicity and confidence of the children while performing but also by the fact, that out of the twenty participants, eighteen were of Indian origin, and only one American and a Chinese. Almost all the children were chaperoned by both their parents. Indian parents are so very conscious of giving their children the best of everything available. Thus in this race, I’m told, children get hauled after school  hours or on weekends for music lessons,  karate , basketball, swimming, dance and drama classes. Parents take keen interest in these activities and children are doing quite well. Though it is tough but parents vie with each other to enroll their children in the maximum number of classes.

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 NEIGHBORHOOD WATCH

Today while on our 'exploration of the area' walk (the little one’s school has reopened and we are having long walks now), we crossed our community houses to follow a trail which took us to some farmhouses, which are fairly renovated in the modern style now. Built on huge plots of land, surrounded by lush green trees and generous spread of various kinds of bushes and shrubs, the houses give hints of the old world charm and vastness of landed properties of the original settlers. Falling in line with the changing times, these farmers seem to have struck deals with builders and sold part of their land to the developers for housing and clubs etc. Chester Springs’ housing community is built on the land which is still named as ‘Eagle Village community.’

On one side of the wide road are farmhouses and on the other side, fenced by thick trunked assorted trees and sundry vegetation, one could see and admire the ram rod straight stems of perfectly healthy looking corn in the fields. America produces tons and tons of corn. Here corn is fed to the cattle; poultry and some confectionery preparations also use corn meal. Mexican tacos which are very popular here are made with corn flour. Sweet corn cobs for roasting, baby corn for salad and soups, packaged and tinned corn grain for sautéing and all-time favorite popcorn are hugely popular here. 

the flower bush in the side area of a farmhouse

greenery at the far end of the front compound of a farmhouse

thick bushes at the left side of the compound of another farmhouse

More next time.
Friends: Pl. tell me how do you like these vignettes.   

images with the i pad