Swan calms down after protecting his mate & her eggs behind a pile of tulip blossoms Monkey dismantles marigold garlands stolen from us Vendor sells marigold garlands in Indian temple Surprise! Surprise! Injuries can happen when you least expect them. Visitors to India’s Hindu temples frequently buy marigold garlands as offerings. We purchased two garlands. After the vendor placed them around our necks, we strolled through the peaceful grounds, watching the worshippers and the monkeys that congregated at the temple. Suddenly, two large monkeys approached us on their hind feet, fangs bared. Thoughts of needing rabies shots from monkey bites raced through our minds as they backed us against a wall. Reaching out with sharp claws, they snatched the garlands from our necks. Sitting down, they carefully dismantled the garlands, munching the marigolds. Whew! Not all close calls happen in exotic locations. In the Netherlands, we photographed farmers removing tulip blossoms to encourage the bulbs to grow. When we approached a pile of red tulip flowers, a large male swan started chasing us, flapping his wings and snapping his beak. As we backed away quickly – nearly tripping in our retreat – we realized that the bird was defending his nesting mate and her eggs behind the flowers. We later learned that bites from aggressive swans can cause serious infections. 18 | www.snowbirds.org Travel
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