Our little bungalow in High Wavy's was the last on the tea estate, and very remote. Built in the 1950's, when no one had an inkling about elephant routes, this one sat squarely in the middle of one such elephant route to the plains.
Our gardener had been busy the past week, sprucing up our ready-for-harvest kitchen garden.
Early next morning, I woke to hear the now familiar sound of cracking branches. Elephants!
I shook Ashok awake, and we rushed to our bedroom window to see a humungous tusker lumber majestically up our driveway. Right behind him, a large female and her little calf walked oh-so-quietly. Behind them an aunt and another female brought up the rear. A very small herd.
The tusker turned into the patch of garden directly in front of us. He couldnt see us, thankgoodness, but he was just a few feet away. If the window had been open, we could have reached out and touched him, he was that close!.........The little family walked by our window, and on, around the wall, and up into our veggie patch.
They were there the entire night, and when Angu, the gardener rolled up next morning, his face was mournful. We checked the garden to find ALL the veggies had been chomped up clean. Not a green leaf or stalk to be seen. Just a healthy patch of rhubarb, (which has poisonous leaves, - they never touch it! ).........As for us, we had rhubarb for dessert for weeks to come, - that was all we got out of that kitchen garden!
I was always amazed at the intelligence of these elephants............they rolled up as our guests each year for seven years in a row, JUST when our vegetables were ready to harvest!!
Our gardener had been busy the past week, sprucing up our ready-for-harvest kitchen garden.
Early next morning, I woke to hear the now familiar sound of cracking branches. Elephants!
I shook Ashok awake, and we rushed to our bedroom window to see a humungous tusker lumber majestically up our driveway. Right behind him, a large female and her little calf walked oh-so-quietly. Behind them an aunt and another female brought up the rear. A very small herd.
The tusker turned into the patch of garden directly in front of us. He couldnt see us, thankgoodness, but he was just a few feet away. If the window had been open, we could have reached out and touched him, he was that close!.........The little family walked by our window, and on, around the wall, and up into our veggie patch.
They were there the entire night, and when Angu, the gardener rolled up next morning, his face was mournful. We checked the garden to find ALL the veggies had been chomped up clean. Not a green leaf or stalk to be seen. Just a healthy patch of rhubarb, (which has poisonous leaves, - they never touch it! ).........As for us, we had rhubarb for dessert for weeks to come, - that was all we got out of that kitchen garden!
I was always amazed at the intelligence of these elephants............they rolled up as our guests each year for seven years in a row, JUST when our vegetables were ready to harvest!!
Comments