sometimes, a better offer comes along

Fire and I are really enjoying getting a lot of bone transect work done this week, while we don't have to share an armed guard with the Earthwatch team. But today, a better offer came along in the afternoon. What do I mean by that? We were planning on doing a transect in one area of the conservancy, but it looked like the sky was about to open up (it's rained in the afternoon or evening the last few days) so we decided to drive somewhere else to do a transect. On the way, we saw a young female lion walking down the road - so we took this "better offer" and spent about 2 hours this afternoon just watching her! She walked *right* next to the car, and was stalking prey a few times, but never quite managed a hunting attempt.

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But... where do you go to the bathroom out there?!?

[NOTE: PLEASE IGNORE THE RANDOM BLACK SPECK IN THE UPPER RIGHT QUADRAT OF ALL OF THESE PHOTOS. SOME IRRITATING PROBLEM WITH MY LENS, I THINK. GRRRR.] This is one of the most common questions I get, so I decided to let you know all about our bush bathroom! I go to the bathroom in a long drop "choo" (Swahili for toilet, rhymes with "yo", not "you"). When you enter in the "front door", You can see it's a big hole dug in the sand, with a toilet seat on it, surrounded by a wooden frame wrapped with muslin on all sides and open on the top. We make sure there's plenty of toilet paper, and insect spray - which you can see tucked away behind a post on the right - for the flies that invariably like to hang out there. To discourage the flies, we also scoop sand from these buckets and throw it down into the hole to cover the, uh, stuff. Unfortunately, whoever designed this toilet seat - with the ring part made of wood, but the rest made of metal - di...

D minus a week and a day

I'm leaving for my annual migration to Kenya soon, just like the wildebeest.... well, only there's a few million less of me than there are of them. Also, I'd like to think I run in a few less circles than they do, given that they spend their year basically making a big circle between Kenya and Tanzania in the Serengeti/Mara ecosystem (though that's debatable!). I'm going through my usual 'I'm leaving soon' routine: getting together with friends who want to spend a little time before I leave for a few months; making sure I can take care of all my (as my fab friend Fire calls it) "personal admin" online while I'm gone - banking, paying utilities, etc.; adding things to the duffel bag I keep stocked during the rest of the year with my 'going to Kenya' things. It's always hectic, and no matter how well I plan - and those of you who know me know I plan! - there's always a lot to do at the last minute. So it's D (departure) mi...

close encounters with the local (intestinal) flora

Well it didn't take long... I don't usually get sick in Kenya, but I have been having a little tummy trouble for the last day and a half or so. I must have eaten something iffy. Or maybe it was accidentally brushing my teeth with the tap water on my first day. Regardless, it knocked me out for Friday night and most of yesterday, but I'm beginning to feel better. All I ate yesterday was an avocado (they are so inexpensive and delicious here, along with the juicy mangoes!), some banana flavored yogurt, loads of soup and herbal tea, and one actual meal - the fish fillet from Dorman's Cafe in the Sarit Center for an early dinner. I finally did some foodshopping, figuring I'd prefer cooking in to eating out especially when I wasn't feeling well. I was impressed to see a slightly larger variety of food than last year, and even a few organic labels. I bought some bok choy, feeling adventurous, and having had a yummy bok choy and mushroom dish at a Chinese restaurant in...

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