A rose by any other name

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Welcome to My Garden Journal

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Today feels like the perfect day to start this journal - the beginning of a new month, deep in Trinidad's rainy season, when the natural world is at its most vibrant and dramatic. What started as casual observations of the wildlife around me has become a daily source of wonder, humor, and genuine surprise. It turns out that when you start paying attention, every backyard is full of personalities with their own agendas. Meet the Human Family Let me introduce you to the main human characters in these stories. I'm staying with my niece, Reana , and her husband, Niraaz , who have graciously opened their home to me since February. They're the official property owners, though, as you'll discover, that title is heavily disputed by several other species who've established their own territorial claims. Reana's mother  (Meena) also lives here, adding another layer of family dynamics to our household. She brings her own perspective to our daily wildlife encounters and ofte...
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The Dragon Fruit Hotel and Convention Center

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The Setup: A Routine Afternoon Check The afternoon sun was filtering through the garden. I was with Vishal checking out his dragon fruit garden. Just a casual walk-around to see how things were growing. Nothing unusual – or so I thought. That’s when I spotted them: a cluster of bright orange creatures dotting the green surface of a dragon fruit pad like tiny jewels. They were unlike anything I’d seen before in the garden, their bodies almost glowing against the waxy green surface. The Mystery: What Are These Orange Visitors? *Click.* I captured the photo, my curiosity immediately piqued. Were they harmful? Beneficial? Some new species I’d never encountered? The responsible garden steward in me needed answers right away before I decided what to do about these unexpected visitors. Within minutes, I had my answer: stink bug nymphs. The juveniles of what would eventually become beneficial garden helpers. Relief washed over me – these weren’t pests to worry about, but young beneficial insec...
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My Boring Daily Hydration Routine or So I Thought

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I Notice: My Water Bottle Became a Science Demonstration Every day, I follow the same routine: freeze water overnight in my plastic water bottle, drink it as the ice melts. I do this throughout the day-- freeze, melt, drink, freeze, melt... but today, something caught my eye that I'd apparently been missing all along. I'd just finished drinking my ice water around 8:55am and refilled the bottle, but this time with slightly warm water over the remaining ice (the Trinidad sun warms the water in the pipelines), so, within minutes, I was watching a real-time physics demonstration unfold right in my hands. The phenomenon: Bubbles. Lots of bubbles. Rising up through the water like a gentle champagne celebration, followed by something even more dramatic - the bottle itself began collapsing inward on both sides. I Wonder: What Just Happened to My Humble Water Bottle? Well, bite me! Turns out my daily hydration routine had accidentally become a perfect demonstration of gas solubility ...
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