Myopia - an update

Remember my Myopia reduction Post of last January? Well, I had ended that post with lot of conservativeness saying so far I had no evidence of things other than ageing at play, but that didn't mean I lost optimism about future and hoped things to turn out better than only ageing would dictate. Specially the doctor's categorical assertion saying my myopia won't reduce further felt like a strong indicator to me that it would, and that it would reduce sooner and faster rather than later and slower. No, its not that I always take short-cut to knowledge by assuming things would be opposite of what the doctors say nor do I disregard sensible things they say just because they are saying it – in fact, I was there actively seeking his help. Isn't it? Its just that as I tried to understand myopia and its reduction with age, it became increasingly clear that the doctor's response was not that my numbers wont reduce further, instead, it was to be interpreted as he didn't know why my numbers had reduced in first place and because he didn't understand that, he ruled out further decrease. thankfully, he could not change past just because he didn't understand it. and thankfully not even future will change just because of that.

Well, in any case I was convinced that more I can take near-stress off, good for my eyes, whether it translates to reduction in myopia or not. So, I had made  a reading glass with one less diopter correction and more simplified number (I dropped cylindrical component altogether).

At January beginning, corrective powers I used wear (incorrect for few months at least): (-10.25, -1.0), (-10, -0.75)

New Numbers I got in January last year: (-8.75, -0.5), (-8.75, -0.5)

Self prescribed reading glasses I hoped to use: (-8.0), (-8.0)

Now, I did find my reading glasses showing computer screen well but I mostly forgot to put them on and when did, after few mins they started becoming uncomfortable and started giving headache. I kept checking my unaided near/far focus distance for some three four months but seeing no further improvement, slowly enthusiasm died down. I forgot the reading glasses as well.

Sometime in October, I remembered my reading glasses. Searched for it and put it on expecting it to feel uncomfortable as before or more so as I hadn't used it now for few months (My brain had taken a good 2 months to fully adjust to correct numbers from incorrect ones in January). I put it on and.. things some 2 meters away also appeared in perfect focus. Which meant there was at least 0.5 reduction in number, now down to -8.5 at least.

Next day, noticing that I had actually forgot to switch back from reading glasses, I decide to check unaided focus distance. There indeed was an improvement. Over next three days, vision through -8 glasses continued to improve, easily surpassing that through now obsolete (and disorienting if I put it on) previous glasses. This instant adjustment to new glasses as against previous experience was I think due to the fact that brain had spent some time learning to co-ordinate with these numbers previously. Which meant that getting a reading glass was good idea not only to keep near stress off (which unfortunately I didn't do much) but also to introduce next lower number to brain well in time so that at the time of actual switching, adaptation time is minimal. And btw, so far accommodation has not suffered with improvement in Myopia. So even if its just ageing effect at work, good ageing is working and bad ageing is on hold :-)

P.S. Okay, I know this is not very useful post. I should write more sensible one talking about what things I think might have contributed to betterment I am seeing. But one, I think its still early to start talking about those things as ageing still may be the biggest explanatory factor (and I don't wish reader discount other factors saying 'not significant impact') and two, there are many probable things that might have contributed. So, I need to list them down properly – will do it when I come back with next update talking about next improvement.

butterfly eggs

One morning, determined to take a shot and having failed to get at any of the target subjects, I tried to capture one of the most uninteresting and most common butterfly flying. Butterfly landed on a plant and I waited for it to fly again. few seconds, more.. and more. it wouldn't fly. now it started to get puzzling as to why it sat there so long. I pay attention. it was doing something I didn't understand. I take a shot, magnify and understood why it was sitting there for so very long. Here is part of the video I managed to take after this.

in case, like me you too are not fond of playing videos, here is the photo as well. By no means it can be called rare sighting, but I saw a butterfly laying eggs for the first time. and now I also know these most frequently sighted eggs are that of butterfly.

Had a session or two with macro lens too in last few weeks, photographed my own backyard migrant visitor and watched 'you cant miss them if its March' bird i.e. Hornbill. It was eating away my papaya leaves. Also one morning sighted a Redstart - it chose exactly unlit positions in otherwise brightly sunlit frames, but still, it was nice to see it.

and yes, I had a chance to shoot Sun, Moon and a bird in one frame.

Some photos this time

For more than a year now, my walks with camera and resultant shots have kind of disappeared. I dont see much to photograph and slowly camera stopped accompanying me. This week however was very good light, some human manaaged flowers are already flowering and last week's slight rain did help kick start insect life that was no where to be seen given absence of rain for nearly last six months. I managed few shots too.

Meanwhile, I saw a super tiny spider running on screen as I was writing this post and by the time I end, notice whatever they are, are in very large numbers and by now everywhere on laptop, inside keyboard... appears to be coming out from the wooden bed on which i have put laptop. or probably they are mites or worse termites? This bed is lying outside just next to termite infested branch that had fallen few days back.. and its no good news then. need macro camera to find out. okay, let me publish this first.

My soil (dis)connect

I have some few sq feet land around home and initially I had thought I could grow some vegetables etc there. Over last five six years I have now learned that land is filled with small bricks pieces and stones, it has termite and/or termite like thing that I think doesnt allow some of the things to grow, if something still manages to sprout, my dear Mor finishes it off diligently and just in very rare case something grows to be few inches tall, its likely to be run over/damaged by dogs, humans. Combine these conditions with my complete disconnect with soil - I do things like planting few years old seeds, do it in random season, have no clue of soil or water requirement of anything I try to grow etc. and I am so settled with my ignorance and failures that it just doesn't occur to me that there is an option to try to improve, to learn.

All these however, doesn't always discourage me from randomly wanting to grow something or other. To not unnecessarily waste my energy, early last year I started to put all the seeds in one or two pots and water them randomly thinking if something does come up, I will re-plant.

Around late June/ early July there were lots and lots of yellow rain lilies around. I simply love those flowers scattered on the ground.  I went around collecting seeds - timing was perfect and I managed to get hundreds, actually thousands of them. I added as many possible to a pot and scattered remaining seeds all around. it rained everyday after that so watering was not an issue. A week later, while inspecting pot surface with my unaided eye (which had advantage of built in +9 dioptre magnification given my myopia), I saw some sprouts coming up. over next two weeks, Hundreds of  young rain lilly plants were growing in the Pot as well as all around. Just as I declared it a success story, plants on ground started disappearing - I still dont know what happened to them but within days, the pot was the only place they still had survived. - yet another failed experiment..

Anyway, while collecting lilly seeds, I had found dried out fruits of Rose on a big Rose plant and took one or two home out of curiosity and also try to plant it. Mom turned out slightly less ignorant and told me that you don't plant rose seeds. I google and find it true - except that someone had given elaborate process if you really wanted to grow it from seeds. I do the first step or half- sock the cleaned seeds for some two hours in some hot or cold water, and then put them in my two pots standing under the Sun of July, Pots had, true to the season, managed to grow some fungus at that time. Rose growing tips I just read said how important it was to protect rose seeds from fungus, keep it in cold etc and still it gave very low probability that it will sprout..

Next month, I add some papaya seeds, then some other seeds, then Karela seeds, etc. in same pots, all the while keeping a watch if something does grow - but all I found growing occasionally was one or the other weed. and then, something changed. Two young Karela plants had come up. I replanted both, and both survived. After some more time, there were half a dozen Papaya plants growing in those pots. also re-planted and survived.

Encouraged, I put what I hoped were Gotu Kola seeds. I was very eager to see the herb growing and everyday kept looking out for any signs of it growing. One day, I see something that was different from weeds I had seen before. - they were two of them. Didnt look like Gotu Kola mature leaves but probably first young leaves could be different? I started watering it everyday - Gotu kola needs lots of water. More leaves.. but leaf shape didnt show any convergence to Gotu Kola. It certainly wasn't Gotu Kola and I was disappointed but still confused. what was it?

Defying all odds against it, including the fact that it was me who was trying to grow it, those two plants were of Rose. While I was still celebrating them, there was a third one coming up in second pot.

and meanwhile, I am actually happy that I could grow nearly nothing on the land as per my will. as now, I have come to recognise some of the weeds that grew on its own. Bhringraj, Bhumi amala, Punarnava, Mahabala.. I actually needed all these and had no clue that they were chasing me all these years. and even if I didnt think I needed those, just knowing how wonderful herbs they are and that I somehow managed not to contribute to their destruction from their land is reason enough to be happy about it. and even more importantly, I have started seeing beauty of land with her own plants growing happily, supporting all the insects, birds and other life.

Also what I learned is, right way to live with plants and soil is no different from that of living with my other friends. (Don't ask me why I might have thought it to be any different in first place - I don't know answer to that.) I mean, when I say 'my babblers', 'my Mor', 'my squirrels'.. what I also mean is babblers, Mor, squirrels who call me 'their human' and that's the key to our connect. so if I happen to report a success story wrt to plants and soil in coming time, it will be success story of the plants and soil, not mine.

(anyone's)wealth+power+(less than required)intelligence = waste of time and energy

If you watch my multi species family for any length, benefits of being more powerful are clear. you get to eat fruits first, you can drink water whenever you want, no one challenges you (well, until you are not threat to their kids - in role of parents one can very well stand up against bigger species too). These things are true 'generally' but effective advantage of such power changes when non routine things like abundance of resources or inter-species interaction gets added. Say, even when there is no scarcity, most powerful may still spend considerable energy in protecting extra food while those in lower ranks manages to just eat and play.

Whatever said, its not easy not to hoard if you have something of value in your hand and cant spend/use it immediately. Our crows too do it regularly. They have a place in a tree trunk where they store extra food. A slight problem with that however is, everyone else too know of their hiding place. When you have a problem and an intelligent creature, you see an attempt to solve it. Few days back I saw a young crow doing exactly the same. hiding extra roti he had at an unlikely place. Very much on the ground. see the video. This one is little longer by my standards. its 1 minute 8 secs, some 11+ MB as uploaded.

I am not very hopeful of this strategy too being successful as many dogs pass by and there are lots of ants also - a big ant nest just nearby. but still, it was nice to see this crow trying out things differently. Even as his efforts to hoard, watch over and then eat those roties in future were certain to go waste and even not required given lack of scarcity, it was at least using his brain and learning new things.

Meanwhile, while I am at crows, here is a small peek into their old behaviour too. Till they realised that it simply wont work, they used to always try to take water home in summer (I used to keep water only in summer then - was quite stupid of me to think they need it only in summer, but learning curve doesn't apply only to crows, it applies to me too.). Its 10 sec. 1+ MB