Snails

The Helix aspersa or garden snail is edible. But since A and I have not got around to eating snails yet (or at least not killing them ourselves and then eating them), it thrives in my garden. Wikipedia tells me it is a chief ingredient in skin creams and gels sold within the Latino community and used for wrinkles, scars, dry skin, and acne. It is also served as escargot. In gender talk, it is a hermaphrodite.

In the Shade of the Mangrove

In coastal Andhra Pradesh, I visited a number of villages where the project is doing some work on environmental rehabilitation, specifically mangrove forest restoration. At Polatithippa, we took a boat into the creek to take a closer look at the forest. Our boat was small, wooden but motor-powered unlike some of the others that roam these waters where the strength of arms is all that makes them move.