Monday, January 24, 2011

January 14, 2011 – The miracle of the rainy season


It is truly the rainy season here at Kasanka National Park. In two of the last  seven days we have received over 200 millimeters of rain, with  total of over 700 millimeters!! At times it makes field work difficult but each day I experience something extraordinary. Kingston and I were watching the baboons this morning at their sleeping grove. Off in the distance we could hear thunder and rumbling although the sky above us was blue. Over the course of an hour we watched a large storm slowly build and move its way towards us. As the sky is large and one can see very far you can really see the movements of the sky. Sure enough, when the storm got close, it moved in fast and we barely had our rain ponchos on before it began to pour.
Every day I see a new type of insect; a different colored caterpillar or a new termite. Wildflowers are everywhere and constantly new ones pop up. The variety of mushrooms is extraordinary and not only do the baboons forage on them, we eat them too! This is also the season of mangos which grow in te villages. There are so many that we villagers cannot eat them fast enough.
I am learning that working in the rainy season takes patience, flexibility, and lots of bug repellant. I do know that it is all worth it to see the miracle of life.

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