Monday, August 31, 2009

Aliens in my garden!

I had my first nigglings of suspicion when I saw these fiery balls appear out of the blue in my garden. There were just too many strange things happening in my Mumbai garden. And everywhere I looked, I could spot Them .
You know who I mean ... those Beings whom I've noticed out of the corner of my eye. Look too fast and all you'll see is a blur of motion as they slide out of view.
But they're there. I know it.
Trying for all the world to pass themselves off as innocent Earth-landers but we know better, don't we? Their very appearance signals their alien-ness, don't you think?
See! I knew you could spot it too!

This was the first one I noticed. And I felt a frisson of alarm running down my spine.
What! Don't you see?
Obviously it tried to mimic a dragonfly but it went a little off-course. No dragonfly ever had those clubbed antennae.
Could it be a mutant?
Are those another pair of eyes to see behind its head?
Or worse, it could be the creature's communications centre to beam messages to its home planet! "Earth is filled with giant , stupid creatures, ripe for subduing... they never notice anything even if its happening right under their ugly noses!" ... and the like.

And have you ever seen a dragonfly whose wings drooped straight down like this?
No! I tell you this has to be an alien with a disguise it couldn't quite pull off.
Ha! You can't fool me, Mr. Alien. And it's no use claiming you're a harmless little Owlfly!

My suspicions, thus aroused, led me to take another look at the 'star-ship'. Just as I thought! No living creature in sight, except for a tattered Yellow Orange-tip butterfly which had obviously wandered too close to their secret and had paid the price!
The star-ship had been camouflaged to look like a Haemanthus multiflorus (that's Football Lily if you can't pronounce the other longer name) but the lasers bristling in every direction gives the game away, doesn't it?
Football Lily indeed!


Then, it started! Every time I looked around, I would see another one. In wildly impossible shapes and colours.
In forms designed to excite comment if one would only look at them closely.
But do you think anyone does? Except me, of course!

Red does seem to be a favourite colour among them. Maybe it's out of loyalty to their star-ship, or something? Or maybe on their planet, red is what they wear to blend in !
This guy does look dangerous, doesn't he? And pompous! Just look at those heavy-lidded eyes ...

Then he heaved himself up and started to stalk away stiltedly. If I'm not mistaken, this could be another Trojan Horse kind of contraption. This was no smooth, natural walk... it was being done on wires, I'm sure!

This one was a cutie! Did you see the armour and helmet? What you can't see is the brilliant golden sheen on the armour-disc. Tiny little feet peeped out from underneath while it pattered away.
Maybe it was just a baby. but if you've seen any sci-fiction movie worthy of its name, you'd realise that the cuter a creature is, the more deadly it probably is.

You'd think these aliens would have more intelligence than to look like something that's a cross between a tortoise and a beetle!
A Tortoise beetle?
Naaah! Who on earth would believe it?

That's one of the most alien-ish faces I 've ever seen ! And there's way too much intelligence behind those eyes.
Scrutinising, assessing, taking me apart .... hey! would its look-alike be a Praying Mantis?
Noooo! It looks like a Preying Mantis to me.

Uh 0h! It looks like they suspect I know something .

Run!
But where to? They're everywhere !

"Take me to your leader!"

" That would be me ... Eat-all Sabre Fangs. Say your prayers, Lizard Face!"

"Say, Mistress Two-Legs, you got any more snacks for me? That one was barely a toothful ..."
And the day is saved. Earth is ours again.

Meanwhile, back at the star-ship ...
What star-ship? They've stripped it bare. But why? Except for those funny egg-like thingummies. What would those be I wonder and why ....

Help! we've been colonized!


(Thanks for joining me in this exercise in paranoia ;D
What can I say? Such things are bound to happen when the Monsoons which should be here cooling the fevered brain , are off somewhere in parts unknown, playing hide-and-seek instead! )

34 comments:

  1. nice post. you have captured lots of your enemies on the lens. they all seem to like your garden and the football lily :P

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  2. What a trip! That armored bug was way cool! It almost looks like it is still in a cocoon or something. Alien indeed....

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  3. Aliens are kinda very funny, with jutting eye balls.... huh, scary with close-ups!!
    ~bangchik

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  4. Sunita, This is a fantastic post...I often feel this way about the creatures I see in my garden. Masters of camouflage is what they are! beautiful captures by the way! gail

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  5. Great post. Fabulous photography and witty words. Thanks for the trip through the alien world.

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  6. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhaaahaaa ... uuu hahhaaa ... ooohhhaaoohhh! Lady .. that was one hell of a thriller trip ... I feel your paranoia ... when ever I see them I too find myself looking skywards ... only I am praying for the God almighty to save my labour of love ... and then I have a lightning moment and I send them swatting into outter space or where ever they come from ... ;)

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  7. Sunita, what a great post, and the pictures are fantastic - you really have showed us an alien world.
    K

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  8. I love the pictures too. I've been trying to take a good picture of our lizards - this seems to be a lizard year in California - but yours are better than I've achieved. Thanks!

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  9. Oh Man! Either you saved us all from a hostile take over by those aliens or you should be having an icepack around that big head of yours :)

    But dragonflies with antennae? Why am I getting paranoid here...?

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  10. Oh Sunita, your invasion was just delicious! The colorful insects and fabulous fungi and flowers do all look like they could be from another world. I was once given Haemanthus bulbs for a birthday present. They are not hardy here, but bloomed just like your photos. They need to be purchased again for that otherworldly beauty! :-)
    Frances

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  11. That is the scariest dragonfly ever!! Too funny!

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  12. Ha ha that was one fun trip into the galaxy, it has my head reeling LOL. This is a clever post and of course the gentle giant is always there to protect. That lovely fireball lily, I have been meaning to get some but by the time I remember they have all disappeared.

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  13. LOL That was too funny. It is fun making up stories to go with all the wild things in our gardens.

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  14. Its truly a War of the Lilies...

    Just want to note to you something.
    IF you look again at the red bug which you mentioned - the one which you said that is heavy lidded Trojan horse red bug.

    Look again in a reverse way, you will not a face of a man.
    The black as a hair and the 2 dots at his nostrils...(and a black & white hair)

    Something like those statues in Easter Island?
    Can you see it??

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  15. So did y'all enjoy your inter-galactic trip? :D :D :D

    Muhammad, you'd never believe how secretive I had to be. I had to hide a spy camera in the garden hose-pipe to get those photos. aaah... the things we do to protect our planet!

    Tina, the tortoise beetle (yes, it really is called that!) was way too cute. It was so tiny and way its tiny feet pattered around made me think of a cartoon character. An alien cartoon character, though :)

    Bangchik, I totally agree. That owlfly really gave me the creeps. I had never seen (or rather noticed) one before and all I could think was that it was a dragonfly mutant. Thank God for Google... it really restored my sanity!

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  16. Thanks, Gail! :)
    of course, they're masters of camouflage... they're secretly studying us and trying to find our weak spots before attacking!
    I would love to see the aliens in your garden in some future post.

    Thanks, Mridula :)

    Thanks Stephanie. Glad you enjoyed this post. Be alert! You never know where they'll land next ;)

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  17. Now why didn't I think of that, Rajee? Probably because I was terrified of their laser guns that'll frizzle skin and stink rays that'll pollute our atmosphere, I suppose. Glad to hear that you're immune to them. Maybe we should make you our first line of defence! ;D

    Alien is right, Karen. I could barely recognise my peaceful-garden-turned-war-zone!
    Glad you had fun with this post!:)

    *gasp!* Nancy, you mean you've got them there too? It's a wholescale invasion!
    Photos? Are you sure you wouldn't rather have the services of Eat-all Sabre Fangs? ;D

    Jijo, an icepack sounds wonderful right now! Where have the monsoons gone? Its sizzling hot here! Wait a minute ... maybe They have something to do with this! hmmmm....
    But yes, all medals for bravery can be forwarded to The Urban Gardener, Mumbai.
    I dont know what it was with the antennae. He kept insisting he was an owlfly! Have you ever heard of such a thing?

    Hmmm... Frances, do you know who gave you those Haemanthus bulbs? I mean, would you really, really trust them? Be careful! I think its another attempt to take over our planet! ;)

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  18. Wicked Gardener, that dragonfly who insists he's an owlfly really freaked me out when I saw him! I had never seen one before but I'm told they're quite common around here.

    Thanks, Helen! :) Eat-all Sabre Fangs is being well rewarded for her efforts towards world peace. Do you think she could win a beauty pageant now?
    Yikes! They disappeared? Sounds very suspicious, Helen!

    Jessica, glad you had fun with this post ;)
    But be careful! You know what they say ... the truth is stranger than fiction!

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  19. James, my friend, that is so clever of you!
    Of course! Now that you mention it, it does look exactly like one of those Easter Island statues! You do realise what this means, doesn't it? These aliens landed on Easter Island centuries ago and those statues are proof of it.
    hmmmm.... I wonder whether Eat-all Sabre Fangs had any ancestors who visited Easter Island all those centuries ago...

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  20. Owlfly! Never heard nor seen one before. I believe the first picture of him deserves to be on NG. Really good work.

    I'm happy to have chanced upon your pages. I know what to do this long weekend :)

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  21. Football Lilly looks familiar though. We call her 'May Maasa Rani' or The Queen of May in Kerala. Used to love them in our garden. Am I tasting a tinge of nostalgia in my mouth?

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  22. All I can say is thank God for Eat-All Sabre Fangs. He will protect you from all aliens, or die in the attempt. Thank is true love!

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  23. Neither had I heard of them, Jijo. For a a couple of hours I was freaking out thinking all that neem oil had backfired and created a mutant!
    NG? I wish! That has to be every wildlife photographer's dream.
    By the way, nostalgia is good ... it makes you do unexpected things like going out and buying a Football Lily bulb. Just because ... :)
    Glad you enjoyed this post enough to spend a precious weekend with my blog. When you've finished with this one, you could start on my other two blogs :D

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  24. You can say that again, Deborah! I've got to make sure I keep her fangs well-sharpened.
    Maybe I dont have to worry so much ... she's a bottomless pit where anything remotely edible is concerned! But she's a real heroine with a big heart :)

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  25. You had me in splits!! Wonderful post and oh, the ideas you come up with!!! The pics are out of this world. As for the bugs, some of your species are more alien-looking than mine:)

    I've yet to get a decent picture of the owlfly...loved the post!

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  26. I may have buggy nightmares for weeks to come! lol! But it's a darn good thing Eat-all Sabre Fangs was there to save the day! Thanks for stopping by our blog and leaving us a comment!

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  27. I thought for sure that first alien was a very strange looking grasshopper until the second shot. The bug with the clear-appearing (gold sheen armor) shield is very cool. Well, as long as it is harmless. So many different aliens you have there than here. Good thing the dog helps keep the population of enemies down.

    Hope your monsoons show up soon to relieve the stress. :-)

    Love your photos, Sunita. It is so fun to capture all the garden critters and examine them closely.
    Meems @ Hoe and Shovel

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  28. Kanak, are you sure? That lovely road you had posted about looks like just the place they could land in and no one would even know! Hmmm... maybe I should send Eat-all Sabre Fangs to Assam for a quick recce. You never know!

    Hi Curmudgeon! I just had to stop by and spread the word.
    Buggy nightmares? When I saw that first creature I thought I was hallucinating! Yes, you're right, thank God for Eat-all Sabre Fangs. May her appetite never diminsh!

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  29. Meems, you wont believe this .... it actually rained last night! Somebody up there seems to be getting the hint, I think. That Somebody must've read this post too ;)
    Harmless? I really wonder now. Maybe it was a decoy. But it did look really, really cool!

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  30. I had visited and read this post earlier, in fact several times - it is such a Gem. I wanted to comment but couldn't muster the words that will match up to the standards of this lovely post. Now when I find that another post has come up, I was left with no alternative but to tell you in plain simple words that you have worked up magic there.

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  31. Thanks so much, GT! Glad you enjoyed this post ... I had such fun with it :D
    And please do jump in anytime you wish and say your piece. I love hearing what my blog buddies have to say ... in simple words or lyrical, both sound great to me :)

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  32. That owlfly and tortoise beetle are so cool, Sunita! I have a few in my garden too and I haven't really been able to photograph one the way I want. Your cricketers are arriving here today. Hope you will watch the cricket.

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  33. I wish I had thought of checking with you, Amila... that owlfly really freaked me out! I've never seen one before.
    Cricket? I dont think I'll be able to avoid it. The male half of my family live, breathe and dream cricket. Add to that, my son is an aspiring cricketer. Damn! I can live with him being a scientist or a rock-star. But a cricketer?!
    So yes, I'm sure I'll be watching the matches (whether I like it or not!).

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