The Monkey Seems to be Gone…at least for now.

There have been no monkey sightings in the last two days. We think he might be gone. Satvamrita said that the monkey may have felt trapped when it came into the café through the window and got stuck with my son between him and the door.

I hope he comes back sometime in the future. He has certainly given joy to me, my son and daughter, to other Amritapuri residents, and to those who read my blog.

In fact this experience has made it easier for me to not be in Amritapuri this year Getting the photos and posting about it has made me feel like I am there and a part of the process.

A New Monkey Wrinkle

This afternoon, while Satvamrita sat at a table in the kitchen, he looked up to find the monkey perched on a ledge close to the ceiling. I have taken my son’s photo and enlarged and cropped it to create the second photo for this post.

When I found out the monkey had gotten in through an open window in the next room, I asked if he was going to have the cafe windows screened. He replied, “Nah, we’ll just shut the windows.”

Is He Here to Stay?

Probably not. Their nature seems to be to roam. Hang out for a bit, and then move on. But it’s been nice for the cafe staff to have him around.

Even when he’s trying to show his mean face.

He’s even taken to posing for the camera.

Or trying to act uninterested in your presence.

But it seems there’s always a hidden agenda. Food.

He’s Still Here!!!

Monkeys don’t usually stay long when they visit the ashram. After the branch incident, he wasn’t seen for a day. We wondered if he decided to leave or if he was wondering if maybe he couldn’t trust my son with his broom. Then, today he made himself visible! That’s an egg he’s holding in his hand.

Keep your eye out for the crow that’s visible a couple times in the short video clip. Does the monkey have a new friend?

Washington Rhododendron

A friend sent me a picture of a rhododendron bush in her yard. It is a wonderful view from the main bedroom. There are three colors of rhododendron bushes in front of my Seattle house but I’ve never seen any this color before.

As the blooms age, they change color.

A few days later, she also saw a bunny in the yard. (She took the photo through a window screen.)

Monkey Retaliation?

As I had mentioned in one of the earlier posts, my son keeps a broom handy to shoo the monkey away when he’s getting too close. Well it seemed that the monkey learned this trick and was using it for himself. As my son came down the stairs from the roof, the monkey held on to a tree branch that was hanging over the stairway and was shaking it to shoo my son away. Satvamrita may have experienced a moment of fear seeing the branch waving at him, but he quickly realized that the stick was still connected to the tree. Of course, Satvamrita, thinking this was funny, stopped to take pictures.