Today, the last day of the first month of the second half of this year, remains true to the July code of grey skies above and damp, green/brown landscapes below. In the space between the skies and the ground, we have the drizzle/the downpour/the moisture laden breeze/the pale pale sunshine.
The stars emerged on the night of the 26th, the mighty Himalayas blessed three spectacular sunsets and one unexpected sunrise, thunder and lightning shows were up for grabs every week , and meals were eaten with the background music of raindrops. All attempts to gift one sunny July day to Ranikhet were promptly thwarted by the ever-vigilant raincloud factory on the horizon.
No one is complaining though…not the bands of blissful bovines and their busy jaws…not the gangs of gregarious monkeys and their hyperactive brats…not the atypical tourists who drive up to actually savor the rains and mist and foliage. Ranikhet residents just get on with living and utilize their arsenal of Umbrella, Towel, Shoes and the Ever Vigilant Eye to predict the next downpour.
This is where I realized that I am not yet a “pucca Ranikhet resident”. That Ever Vigilant Eye is still missing in my life! We have been drenched mercilessly a million times. Just when the doggies and I would emerge for our evening walk, the clouds would quietly recede and the skies would look benign and dry. Just 138 meters from home, with the tree cover giving way to the golf slopes, there would be a sudden graying of the skies and all the clouds would pour down their rain on this helpless threesome.
I will remember this month for the five zillion sneezes which have exploded in my head….the nasty growls and grumpy face with which Pepper has been greeting food….the daily morning show of big, black, hissing beetles on their backs with flailing legs and the death of all my resolutions to stretch and exercise at dawn, to eat small and healthy, to knit and complete projects and to blog regularly.
This month of broken resolutions and bad colds also had baskets and baskets of peaches and mangoes for my eating pleasure. Huge peaches with velvety skins and succulent flesh, have been gifted by visitors and friends. Tiny juicy peaches have been bought from the women who trek up from village orchards every morning. Stewed peaches with ice-cream, peach slices with tea and biscuits, rum-soaked peaches, grilled peaches and other such recipes on stalk-worthy blogs…I have been eating, living and dreaming peaches this July!
How else can this new hat remind me of peaches and sneezes?! For the mystified reader, let me explain—The cables have been knit with a peachy yarn. The background blue matches the blue mood generated by the sneezes and the sniffles. In spite of the peaches and sneezes connection, I have been a delighted knitter ever since this hat slid out of my knitting needles. 🙂 Pattern from Stitch and Bitch Superstar Knitting by Debbie Stoller, an amazing component of my favorite collection of books by this gifted and edgy knitter. Grab a copy and become one helluva peachy knitter!!