The Hilly Solitude - Day 10

As I walked back to the cottage in the dark, I stopped, struck in awe. The moon is crescent shaped today. A thin crisp glowing white outlines the bottom half of the moon. But if you just stare at the moon for a few seconds longer, the entire circular shape of the moon is visible under an uncanny misty dark gray shadow. It’s as if clearly letting you know - that it’s there, the full circle of it and it's keeping an eye from behind the veil. Maybe, this is how it always looks like but I have never noticed before. And I stood there marveling at this moony hide-n-seek whilst the chilly night grew chillier.

While walking on the Camel Back Road,
where a carpet of rhododendrons adorned the path
& I also spotted the blue-throated green barbet..!

It’s amazing the things that you notice when you pause or slow down for a bit. And hence, walking definitely is the slowest and yet the most pleasurable experience. Well, I hate driving (also I can’t drive), so I am biased - I confess. But even then, you can’t deny the magical revelations you have when you walk. Like this crescent moon’s full shape in the dark or the bright green blue-throated bird (blue-throated barbet) at the top of the tree that I noticed when I was walking by the Camel Back road, yet again. I stood by the railing and kept watching the bird as he kept shaking his neck sideways and up and down. A couple walked by, smiling at me sympathetically - like I’m either lost or retarded. Well, I am both, so I don’t mind.

My phone struggling at it's very poor attempt of clicking a snap of the barbet

As I entered the cottage, bidding a goodnight to the moon, Doodle greeted me, wagging his tail rapidly, with his two fluffy hands holding on to my knees. As I walked in, he kept holding on to my legs and got dragged in with my feet. Awh, the sweet thing. I never knew I could get so mushy by a dog’s wagging tail.

Doodle!!

It's the end of Day 10 of my hilly solitude. It’s the first in these 10 days that the snow caps at the far end eluded me with a big blob of cloud shutting them out. Even then, the misty fresh breeze blew, the brown-green creases prevailed, the deep valley caved in and so did the green-blue barbet, the crescent moon and a strong aromatic coffee on the terrace...Let's see what tomorrow brings :)