Photo Adventures with Curiosity and Learning

Each morning - I get up about 5:30 or 6 and walk around and watch the town wake-up. Like to start the morning with tea. Here the tea man heats water by charcoal file in a copper pot (like a still), and makes tea by mixing scalded milk and tea from another straining that rests in hot water and adds a little sugar. Then cools the tea by pouring from one cup to another and then hands the finished product to "me". Prices are on the rise - a cup of tea is 8 rupees (60 rupees/US$) - up from 5 rupees 5 years ago

Cooling tea - and watching the tea drops form as the flow from top to bottom

Then off for morning milk - about as fresh as it gets

Patient cow

A team effort he holds the cow while she milks

Back to the rice fields - preparing the bunches of rice seedlings for planting (tomorrow)

A mechanical cow - for final prep of the rice field

Hauling rice straw

Harvesting rice seedlings

Bunches of seedlings placed for planting tomorrow

Taking a rest

Hmm - woke up

At a nearby rice field - high water in the well. Monsoons this year have restored the water table. Sometimes, the water here is down maybe 10 meters (30 feet) and things get tense. Here is the same well in February - almost a year ago Wells with low water level in Feb 2014

Reflections of a water tower. This year, there is running water from this tower that is filled from local wells. No longer must you hand pump water at individual wells (we provided about 10 bore wells maybe 10 years ago).

Off to Gingee for some shopping - in the rain

Vege man and colorful veges, ginger root, chiles

Colorful veges

A balancing act - riding a bicycle and holding an umbrella

Hauling food for the cattle

Not a mechanical cow - real cows for plowing

Texting

Preparing for tomorrow's planting

C. Frank Starmer

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