Camp hazards: Acacia thorns

 

Ouch.

 

Acacia trees are one of the biggest hazards of bush life. There are a variety of species but all of them have thorns in various shapes and sizes, some are hooks while others are spear shaped. Regardless of their shape, all of them can easily tear clothes, scratch faces, and pierce the bottom of even the sturdiest shoes. In the dry season the trees are dry and thus the thorns are hard and inflexible. In the rainy season as the tree retains more water the thorns can actually be flexible and although they are still sharp they are not nearly as piercing.

I spend a lot of time in flip flops and the above photo shows the dangers of this. Acacia trees shed their branches and it's common to have the ground littered with thorny branches of various sizes. They can not only pierce the shoddy flip flops but I've had them pierce the soles of my Merrell hiking shoes! The worst is when you break off the thorn trying to remove it and then you're left with an embedded thorn that only pokes you when applying a specific amount of pressure like when running or climbing stairs. 

You might notice that many of my camp clothes also have small tears and holes. These are undoubtedly from being snagged on branches which is unavoidable. It's one of the reasons I have bush clothes! It's also not uncommon to see us with scratches on our face and our arms and a tell-tale sign someone has had a bush expedition. 

It has taken some adjustment but now we are very careful when moving through the bush and I hope that we've reduced the amount of shoe-piercing and face-scratching incidents but the hazards still remain! It is one of those things that you have to experience to really take care; one brand new shirt ripped wide open, a seemingly innocuous branch that brushes your face and draws blood, or a harmless branch that pokes through your shoe leaving you hopping around on one foot. Everyone's gotta go through it to learn their lesson!

This species of acacia can seriously impale someone

The birds nest

 

African Paradise Flycatcher (Terpsiphone viridis)

 

We are lucky enough to be set in a relatively wild environment and one thing we love is the birdlife. Birdwatching is a really fun hobby and one that I wish I would have taken up earlier in life but I'm happy to be in a place where I can "birdwatch" every day. Each morning we wake up to the chorus of bird calls and over breakfast we like to watch the various species of bird drink and bathe in our birdbath. Over the years we've gotten familiar with all the birds in our area and we particularly enjoy watching the families grow during breeding season. Every year our camp is littered with nests and we usually get one close to our banda. This year we had an African Paradise Flycatcher, one of my favorite camp birds and one that is not a resident. They only show up during the rainy season from November to May before moving on to other parts of Africa. 

This year one couple made a nest very close to our banda. In fact it was within perfect viewing range (see below) which was highly entertaining for our camp life. We watched the birds slowly build the nest which was truly a team effort. They build very compact small nests from twigs, feathers and whatever else they can get their beaks on. After they lay their eggs they take turns incubating and this was also a delight to watch as the defended their nest from other larger birds and smaller mammals like mongooses. After the eggs hatched they were then constantly feeding their chicks. Watching the African Paradise Flycatcher in flight is always a treat with its long streaming tail and wavy dolphin-like oscillations. With chicks to feed it is constantly hunting and in turn a constant distraction when I am working outside. 

Unfortunately this story does not have a happy ending. One morning I saw the nest was hanging loosely from the branch. I went to investigate and saw the nest was loose with no chicks in sight. I do not think they were quite ready to leave the nest and thus I think a mongoose, genet, civet or some other critter got them in the night. Mother nature can be ruthless!

You can see the table on our porch, the red circle is where the nest was.

First the eggs

Then the chicks

Food: Honey

Eating the honey off the palm of the hand, or the spoon, or a cup

Big 'ol bucket of honey. And you better believe there are a ton of bees and wax in there .

 

In many rural areas and within traditional cultures, honey is still hugely valued. Wild honey is commonly foraged in most of Tanzania and among one of the tribes that we work with it is still used as part of the dowry offering in marriage. It is also used to pay fines within the culture (for various cultural transgressions), as a bargaining item in exchange for livestock, as well as being a fixture at cultural events such as funerals or weddings. As with many cultures around the world, it is also fermented to make a honey wine but it is also commonly consumed raw. And when I say consumed raw, I mean, palmed like a bear and licked clean. I recently found myself at a homestead that had recently procured a few kilograms of honey. 

I was invited inside due to the recent arrival of a couple of literal buckets of honey. My host was excited to invite me in to join the consumption. I could not ascertain for which reason the honey was procured but the mood was cheerful. I was surprised at the huge bucket of honey, full of debris such as wax, bark, and dead bees. But I was truly shocked at the rate of consumption which I observed; young men were scooping huge portions of honey into their palms and then slurping it up before dishing out more which resulted in something I could only accurately call a feeding frenzy. I was given a small bowl with an enormous amount of honey, probably at least a half kilogram (1 lb.). Although I do enjoy honey I almost always consume it as a spread on toast. I have been known to enjoy a spoonful here and there but I am certainly not accustomed to eating such a large volume in one sitting. 

Luckily I have more than enough experience in this type of situation. As a result of living and traveling in several different countries across the world, I have learned to tell the difference between a situation with escape possibilities and an inescapable situation. If provided with coagulated goats blood garnished with cilantro (as the Mapuche in Chile offered me) or the eye of a steamed fish (as is customary in China for the guest of honor to begin with to signal the beginning of a feast) I've known that must suck it up in front of the huge crowd and do my best to consume with a smile on my face. If faced with a grisly piece of fat from a day old un-refrigerated piece of meat in a homestead, I can usually locate a hungry dog or pawn it off to a willing child. In this case I knew I had to consume a fair bit of honey but I was pleased that when I informed my host that I was satiated, he gladly yanked the bowl from my hand and slurped down the remains.

One of the most common ways to forage for honey is to look for it in Baobab trees. Honeybees are fond of the crevices in the huge trees. Honey hunters tend to reuse specific trees and it's not uncommon to find pegs riddling the trunks of the Baobab trees.

A typical Baobab tree with climbing pegs to collect honey

This story actually took place in October 2017 but I was recently perusing some old photos and I remembered it.