The Baobab Knows…

The trees seem to know the rains are coming in about 6 weeks. Many have new leave sprouting, including the big Baobabs’. Everything is bone dry, and burnt to a cinder, but suddenly many tree have started to develop leaves and new shoots, I guess in anticipation of the rains, and spending energy and valuable stored water to get a head start for the coming wet season.

Mango trees have been green all the time and these now have much fruit developing, almost ready. I had picked some green ones to make chutney and left them for 2 days, they had ripened a lot and some of them were edible as fruit. So I took the opportunity to pick some more. We are now waiting for these to be ripe enough to enjoy as mangoes, not chutney.

The monkeys and baboons are also taking full advantage of the developing mangoes. At the lodge the monkeys are really forward now and in the kitchen or on the office table stealing a bread roll or whatever they can find. We keep a good supply of pebbles for the catapult.

How can you have a cold when its sooo hot here! My nose hurts.

Yesterday we had just finished lunch when there was a call, Moto in Mzungu Village! Fire in the Expat village. Everyone grabbed a watering can and ran to the beach and then into the site. There was a big fire, the long drop hut was well on fire and a hut roof was going up in flames. And the bush was well alight! 15 minutes later the panic was over, the hut roof fire was out, the bush fire was out and the long drop hut was just the hole in the ground. It seems that the fire for heating the water for the shower had been left with a long stick burning, which somehow moved and set fire to the bush. It was a scary few minutes, if we hadn’t been so fast or if there had been a wind we could have lost all the huts and some chalets as well. Fire inside the firebreak is BAD news!!!

Been doing some work at the farm but am a bit out of order with a bad cold, sore throat and chest. So I’m not pushing it.

We will welcome the wet season.

I cant imagine how we will feel when we see the UK, cold I think, night time here is about 24 degrees, daytime is 34 in the shade at least. While we feel the heat the sunsets are spectacular and the evenings relaxed and refreshing.

Peggy is getting on relaly well with her teaching, all the staff love it, even those who thin k that they speak well love the reading lessons and the varied topics. They feel encouraged to read more and learn about the world away from the lake.

More soon.