7th April 2008 : Scorpion Loaf
Monday, April 7, 2008 at 10:13AM Apologies first of all for having been absent so much of late...with a huge workload on my plate at the moment, I have not had the time (nor the energy at the end of each day) to dedicate to my diary...but within the next week or so, I will be posting a very long entry, updating you on everything that's been happening in the past couple of weeks - so watch this space...
In haste though, I just had to show you this and tell you a very quick story:
I got up early in the morning the other day, to bake some bread before starting work. I measured out the flour, salt, yeast etc, and was about to start mixing it all together by hand when something in the flour caught my eye...and lucky I saw it too, for it was a tiny little scorpion! Where it had come from, I don't know, but it was possibly hiding on the underneath of my flour container, and had fallen into the bowl when I was measuring out the flour. I'm just glad it happened to fall on top of the flour, as opposed to being buried under it, otherwise I would have been given a very nasty wake-up call in the form of a very unfriendly sting. Scorpions of all sizes give a painful sting, but the smaller they are, the more potent the sting, and the more sharp the pain. A close escape, I'd say...
I suppose, when you consider how many years I have lived in the bush, I have got away quite lightly (touch wood!), and have only once been stung by a scorpion - that was on my backside, about ten or fifteen years ago, when a few friends and I were lying back on some giant flat rocks at dusk, watching the stars appear one by one in the night sky...It was my own fault really, as I should have known better than to tempt fate (and scorpions) like that. It took about 12-18 hours for the pain to subside. No sleep for me that night! You know how some pain comes in waves - not so with a scorpion sting - the pain is consistent and burning for hours....but at least you know you just have to wait it out and you're going to be OK - an African scorpion sting is not dangerous, as such...so it's a matter of gritting your teeth and bearing it.
Reader Comments (5)
A lucky escape indeed! And how impressed am I at you making bread before work. I hope your man appreciates it.
Just booked out tickets out for summer hols. Hoorah! So excited. We're not doing Tsavo this year. Because we have wageni with us, I thought I should take them down to the Mara instead.
Next year maybe.
Appreciate it? Well, he probably does...but most of the time, I think he feels a little neglected on the culinary front, as he does not get three square meals a day from me - I usually cook one meal a day, and for the rest of the time, he has to fend for himself (amidst much protesting!).
Next year, it HAS to be Tsavo...
Hey Tanya. Good to see a post from you. Getting worried you have been washed away down the river! Close call with the scorpion... lucky you saw it. Very lucky! Hope you get time to post some more soon, I love reading and seeing your posts. Don't work too hard! Jane
baked scorpion
That was a close call. When we were in Botswana a few years back, a small scorpion stung one of our group and she was in a lot of pain. Ice helped but not much else.
I'm off for three weeks to Italy and Egypt on Sunday so probably won't be commenting for a while but I will catch up when I get back home.