Monkey Capers

Yesterday morning, I was sitting down to breakfast when I heard a commotion outside. On investigating, I was first just aware of a silhouetted largish figure sitting on the trellis at the side of my balcony. This turned out to be a vervet monkey demolishing a peanut bird feeder that I’d had hanging there for months, and helping itself to the goodies within. He was clearly unperturbed by my presence at the window (and occasional opening and closing of the balcony door to try to scare it off), as on finishing the peanuts (there weren’t that many left), it moved on to the dish of millet and sunflower seeds. All the while this was taking place, two pied crows were making quite a ruckus. They clearly weren’t at all impressed by this behavior (or perhaps just his presence), and made that even more clear by effectively dive-bombing the monkey. Between the flash on my camera and the crows, the monkey realized that this wasn't perhaps such a good place to be after all (or maybe he preferred a quieter breakfast environment?), and eventually leapt off the balcony into the tree. Not that the crows gave him any respite there. He eventually leapt on to the apartment roof. Needless to say, I’ve now removed all bird food from the balcony for the time being at least. There’s a big deal made in the UK (where I bought the peanut bird feeder) about bird feeders being squirrel-proof, but I've not seen one yet that makes any mention of monkeys!!!!

A Juxtaposition of Cultures

The aim of the walk with the dung beetle episode was to get to the main lake from our separate small lake. We’d gone that way before, so knew the way, although in the interim various fences seemed to have been put up. Anyway, we made it and found a scene very different to the one 18 months ago. Then, the water was a long way from where we were. This time, we happened upon a water bird paradise, with a swampy section, papyrus, water hyacinth, and a host of birds (as well as some fishermen). After a while of taking in the scene, the peace was broken by the jangling of bells as a flock of about 200 goats came hurtling down to the water’s edge, some of them leaping into the water. They were evidently quite excited to be there. Behind them came a young boy, with a very long stick – the goatherd. He was very interested in my camera and binoculars. Evidently he’d come across such things before as he had an inkling of what they did, though using them proved rather tricky. It struck me as being a real juxtaposition: His usual life is probably a world away from the modern life that we know in Nairobi (and the West), and yet here he was with a decent digital camera in hand, trying to use technology. He reminded me a bit of my nephew when he was three, pressing every single button in sight! I have to confess that I was a little anxious that he’d inadvertently delete all the photos on my memory card! The fruit of his efforts weren’t that great – photos of grass when the subjects were a dog, a man on a motorbike and the lake!!! However, it’d give him a few stories to tell when he’d finished his work with the goats that day.

Along for the Ride

A few weekends ago, I was near Lake Naivasha with some friends, staying in one of my favourite spots. Wildlife abounds there, and this time as well as the usual giraffe, zebra, gazelle and hippo, we saw buffalo and jackal down at the lake front. I wasn’t so keen on the buffalo sighting when on foot, though they were a fair way off at least. On a walk on the Sunday, Jill and I came across a round piece of dung being moved along the path by 2 quite large dung beetles. There was no other dung in sight, so goodness knows how far these rather determined beetles had come already. We weren’t sure if it was our presence that did it, but the beetles’ course changed on getting closer to us, and they veered off the path onto the grass. This must have been much harder for them, as they were now having to get the ball over stems of grass and hummocks. It was then we noticed that it was actually just one of them doing all the work, planting its back legs on the ball, and using its front legs to push it along, while all the time, its companion was sitting on top of the ball, and seemed to just be along for the ride! According to Wikipedia, this is normal: “The "rollers" roll and bury a dung ball either for food storage or for making a brooding ball. In the latter case, two beetles, one male and one female, will be seen around the dung ball during the rolling process. Usually it is the male that rolls the ball, with the female hitch-hiking or simply following behind. In some cases the male and the female roll together. When a spot with soft soil is found, they stop and bury the dung ball. They will then mate underground. After the mating, both or one of them will prepare the brooding ball. When the ball is finished, the female lays eggs inside it.” It seems that once the larvae hatch, they make use of this food source at hand, and feed on the dung, Very clever, and wonderful to have witnessed part of the journey – but I can't say that I’d fancy starting life that way!

"My" Space

Personal space is something that varies very much from one country to another. This was perfectly illustrated to me last April when I was in the US. In a grocery store, with large aisles, I was accosted by a rather bolshie lady for blocking the aisle with my shopping cart. There was in fact plenty of room around it, but I wasn’t going to argue! Similarly, there were a couple of times when people would apologise profusely for being in the way, when I hadn’t noticed that they were, given the ample space around them, and the distance of several metres between me and them. Contrast that to my return to Kenya. Standing in line at the Customer Service desk in a supermarket here to return empty bottles, I was somewhat surprised when someone stood in the 6 inch gap that was between me and the desk!!!

On a public holiday in October, I joined some friends on a trip down to Magadi, which is a soda lake about 90 minutes to 2 hours from Nairobi. It’s a beautiful drive, with the ascent to the shoulder of the Ngong Hills, and then continuing downwards from then on into the Rift Valley. The landscape i

s pretty dramatic with hills and volcanic plugs, and very little in the way of noticeable buildings. Instead, Masai manyattas blend into the scrub land. Once at Magadi, we looked for somewhere with a little bit of shade to have our picnic (it being 37C there), and eventually found a large acacia. So, we set up our table and chairs. Not long after our arrival, a Masai young man pulled up on his bike, greeted us, and then remained, leaning against the tree trunk, watching this strange bunch of people produce sandwiches, sausages, fruit and drinks from the bags we'd brought with us. He was within feet of us, but that certainly didn’t seem to bother him, and we just found the whole thing rather amusing! After about half an hour, he received a phone call on his mobile that caused him to wander off to some bushes. Not sure if he was concerned that we might listen into his conversation in Masai (!), or whether he was taking the opportunity for a call of a different nature. Eventually, he continued on his way. Soon after, we were joined by 3 youngsters, who stood and observed for some time, while talking with each other. One refused a drink of water poured into a Tusker (beer) bottle, but another accepted - and was possibly disappointed to find that it was indeed water as we’d said.

So, space is relative. Maybe all of those people had decided ahead of time to stop at the tree, and our presence was in no way going to stop them. Or maybe, they just wanted to have a good look at our strange behavior. Certainly, there was no concern about impinging on someone else’s space and privacy!

Creative Plumbing

I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen anything quite like this creation that has appeared on my bath taps before. It’s not perhaps the most beautiful of creations, and is perhaps more appropriate for behind the scenes rather than on display, but it is very practical, and will prove, I’m sure, to provide a great convenience, because of what it allows me to do.
I bought a washing machine this week after 7 years in my apartment without. So, why did it take so long? Well, principally because there is a communal washing machine in a small building on the ground floor. There used to be a tumble dryer there too. Actually, I think there still is - just that it ripped a few of my clothes and put dirty marks on other things, so I’ve stopped using it. That building is fed from the mains rather than from the water tanks, so often times, there’s no water and you have to fill the machine with buckets. In times of very sporadic water supply, I’ve thought before of getting my own washer, but could never quite figure out where it would go. However, on coming back in September, I found that the communal one wasn’t working at all, and 7 weeks later, still isn’t. After many trips to a friend’s house to use her washer (thank you Jill!!), I figured it really was time I got one, and whilst the space issue hasn’t changed any, it’s now installed in my bathroom. The next question was how to plumb it in. Not a question I’ve needed to face before as both of my houses in the UK have been modern, and came with all the pipes (and indeed allocated space in the kitchen) in situ for such a necessary household appliance. However, here that’s not quite how it is. In fact, on making my purchase, I was told at the shop that of course washing machines should be installed outdoors not inside. Well, that’s certainly not the case in colder climes where the water would freeze for part of the year! That must be a throwback to when all washing was done outside, and by hand (and still is in the majority of homes in the city), in the river or whatever source of water there is.
To install it in my kitchen would have meant needing to completely redesign it, plus the cupboard bases are concrete, and the cold water comes from the mains, so is generally just a trickle. Certainly not enough for a washer. Hence, it’s in the bathroom, taking up a good proportion of the floor space. The creation was put together with various bits of galvanized iron pipe from a plumbing supplier, …… and, it seems, liberal amounts of a pretty horrid-looking putty substance, to allow the attachment of the washer hose to the shower attachment (whilst still allowing me to have showers!). And it does in fact work as I’ve already tested it out. The only downside that I’ve discovered is that it has to be plugged in in another room, and the electric cable doesn’t fit underneath the door. So, when the washer’s on, the bathroom door can’t be closed. Not a problem when I’m on my own, but it could prove interesting when visitors are here!!

Orchids Galore!

When people think about Kenya, they most likely think of the Big Five, safaris, Big Cat Diary, poverty, aid, …. Living here, I’ve come across all the above, but I also have opportunity to experience a different side. Nairobi is an exceedingly cosmopolitan city that is full of contrasts. Today, in this city in a Third world country, I went to an Orchid Show held by Kenya’s Orchid Society! According to an entry on the internet,  “The Kenya Orchid Society was established in 1953 to create and increase interest in orchids and their cultivation throughout Kenya and other East African countries. Membership is open to any person already in possession of at least 15 orchid plants, who is proposed and seconded by members and approved by the committee.” Hmm, well that’s me disqualified from joining!
Anyway, the show was held at the Exhibition Centre at Sarit, one of the older shopping centres here. There were various displays putting across different messages about the environment (the theme was ‘Orchids for a Greener World’), but for me it was the orchids themselves that were the focus. I had no idea that there are so many different varieties, and of so many sizes, shapes and colours. Each one so intricately designed and beautiful. Sadly, I had somehow forgotten to take my phone with me (which is very, very unusual here), so couldn’t take any photographs. However, there was a stall selling orchids imported from Taiwan, so I bought one (rather more expensive than the ones in Sainsbury’s in the UK!!), and here it is. I’m just hoping that It survives and flourishes as well as the ones my parents have in their conservatory.

Messy Eaters!

I’ve talked about the birds on my balcony a number of times, and I’m about to again! Since I took to feeding them on a regular basis, I’ve noticed that they have decidedly messy eating habits. In tucking into a plateful of leftover rice or millet side, they seemed to toss a good portion of it to the side. Not I think because it was substandard, but because that’s just the way they eat. Whist in the UK, I decided to purchase a seed feeder in the naïve assumption that this would save on this mess. However, whilst observing some birds with a friend from a bird hide in Warnham Nature Reserve, I realized the naivety of this assumption, as I saw seed dropping all over the place. And sure enough, that’s what’s been happening. It took a few weeks though before seeing the full effect as it took the birds themselves a while to figure out that this cylindrical object contained good things! Now, I have a balcony that has a fairly liberal sprinkling of seed on it, and plant pots that are bringing forth an abundance of millet and sunflower plants!!! What’s more, there are bird wars being waged over the 4 feeding holes in the container!