Red velvet and rains - remembering my first attempt towards blogging (in 2012)

Hello dear reader, 

    Thanks for stopping by. This is my first post in our blog Via Tales. A blog started by myself and my husband a year ago, but was in its hibernation mode, with zero posts. Our ideas to change will remain as ideas unless something (external force) makes us take action to implement them (applying Newton's First Law to explain my procrastination).
       My journey to write in a blog did not start a year ago. In fact, it started in 2012, when I was a postgraduate student. After the longest break, when I have decided to be a regular blogger, I feel I should remember and acknowledge the first step taken and be thankful for the one who encouraged me to state blogging in the first place. So here goes my first blog post Red velvet and rains that was posted on Wednesday, August 29, 2012.
Hope you Enjoy!!










"While watching heavy downpour from window, unknowingly I walked down the memory lane. Those colorful umbrellas, paper boats and the little red velvet balls made rainy days during my childhood wonderful. The red velvety tiny creatures were showing their guest appearance only at the beginning of  the rainy season,  made me to think that they fall from the sky along the rain. Yes.. they are red velvet mites. I used to pick them up  and they were  rolling into tiny ball to become motionless for some time, then start to move again.

Velvet mites belong to the genus Trombidium. These red velvet mites appear above the ground only for some time at the beginning of the rainy season and rest of the time they remain underground. They are arachnids (class to which spiders, mites, ticks, scorpions belong to). In india these little creatures are identified by different names at different regions. Gokal Gaay, rani keeda, Bir Bahuti and the names go on. Recently I came across an article in Chicago wilderness magazine, velvet mites appear to play important role in decomposition process and to maintain soil structure. The red color may be the warning sign to the predators. Ecologist Heneghan described  red velvet mite as ‘the ruby lord of love garden’ and said they remain as an under-researched enigma.
So look out for these little creatures during rainy seasons!!! "

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