25th October 2007

[PHOTOS COMING SOON...]

A drizzle! We actually had a tiny bit of rain today, but it was the same old story – we could see heavy rain falling all around us, but we only got a light misty drizzle. From the photos, you can see just how close the heavier rain came – close enough to see and smell it from our balcony – goading us as usual. But even having a light dusting of drizzle helps the plants, so I guess we shouldn’t complain – our balcony lilies are continuing to unfurl, egged on by the moisture in the air – but there’s no denying they’d do even better with a couple of really good downpours.

All in all, it’s been a changeable day today, weather-wise. I woke up with the dawn to see a very promising cloud rearing its head above the Yatta, like some great pink rain-maker. But within ten minutes or so, it had dissipated, to be replaced by a thick and dull blanket of cloud, which bathed the river in greyness. Even the marabous seemed morose, and the guinea fowl were robbed of their usual lustre, becoming instead dull gunmetal grey, as they congregated, as they do every morning, on the sandbank before flying across the river to start the day’s foraging.

I added a new bird to my list – the Ruff – which was feeding in the shallow waters of the river’s edge, alongside a Wood Sandpiper. They looked great as tiny silhouettes in front of the wide open river, as the first drops of rain started to fall. The Egyptian Goose family – all six goslings still in tow, and growing fast – were enjoying the cool morning no doubt, busily feeding below the house, both in the water and out – no wonder the youngsters are growing so fast, at the rate they eat. Another pair of adult geese was making a racket in one of the big acacia trees to the right of the house. I’m not sure what they were attempting to do – lay claim to a territory or a new nesting tree perhaps – I took a couple of shots of them anyway, as they looked quite comical with their webbed feet, balancing on the side of the tree trunk.

It became stiflingly hot later in the day, after our short sprinkling of rain. The Fish Eagles didn’t seem to mind – there were two pairs flying around at lunchtime, and then landing in the trees and calling in tandem – throwing back their heads and emitting their proud piercing cry, out over the river and the surrounding bushland.

We passed a lovely Lesser Kudu mother with a newborn baby on our way to our hilltop water tank today. We see a lot of kudu in this area – fragile-looking antelope with long legs and delicate white stripes against their grey-brown hides – it’s very special to know that these beautiful shy creatures feel secure and safe enough to breed here on our land.

Many of the giant baobab trees are flowering, their yellow and white blossoms rising high and cloudlike above the grey sea of thorny scrub that spreads away beneath them. It will be special to witness our own newly transplanted baobabs flowering for the first time – perhaps next year – for although it will be decades before they could ever be described as giants, our own little baobab forest will nevertheless yield a striking display of white and yellow blooms.

The evening spoilt us with its glorious gold light and clear, clear sky. The swarm of Little Swifts that congregate over the house at dusk were like a cacophonous swarm of locusts in front of the pink-soaked evening clouds – miniature fighter jets stark against the big white moon, which was up at six today, rising over the Yatta Plateau like a great white plate against a still-blue sky – tomorrow it will rise perfectly round and full at seven o’clock, just as the sun sets.