Fun with Monica!

The pictures tell it all - we love playing with Monica!

Monica is a colleague of ours here in Chitengo, working on community environmental education.

She works hard, but she is also a ton of fun!!

Boa Maria

In late May, we took a great "sundowner" trip to the nearby Boa Maria, the former "headquarters" for a plantation in this area many years ago, located high on a rocky ridge above the Pungue river. The old buildings are nearly gone, but the view is marvelous, as are the sights and sounds of the nearby communities.

The view was great, but the photo-op of Theo was not to be missed!

Ian's Aloe Coral Tree

Regular readers of our blog may remember that Ian was an avid seed collector and germinator last year in Chitengo. We gathered many of a seed from mostly trees and shrubs, and germinated them in yogurt pots on our front porch.

One seed, in particular, was very productive. It grew and grew. We had to be careful, as even as a tiny seedling this plat has sharp thorns on the leaves and stems! We had to repot the seedling into a larger container in September or October 2007, and then we had to leave it in the good hands of our friend Cheryl to care for while we returned to the US to have Theo.

Cheryl soon reported that Ian's seedling of the aloe coral tree had grown SO BIG in the heat and rains of the Mozambican summer that she'd had to transplant it into the ground!

This little tree, just one year old, continues to grow now, just ouside the window of Ian's bedroom.

Imagine Ian coming back to Chitengo someday to visit this tree. What a legacy.

Ian and Gram Keep Busy

Gram was with us here in Africa for more than 2 1/2 months. During that time, she and Ian were busy around the clock with projects and studies of all kinds. Here is a short list of the projects they did:

House for Lizard, a small plastic toy lizard that, sadly, disapeared from our lives even before his house was completed. We plan on getting a new lizard, but Ian says he is only available at Zuzu's cafe near the zoo in Madison. (This is where Lizard the First came from.)

Carnivores of Kruger, a hand-drawn and -colored book of some of the carnivores of Kruger National Park. This was a many-week project that resulted in a high quality product.

Lemur's book. Gram and Ian took Lemur, an important new addition to Ian's stuffed animal collection that Dad brought from Madagascar, all around Chitengo Camp, taking his photo in many places and with many people in Chitengo. Then, they cropped and edited the photos on Gram's computer, organized them into the right order, and wrote text to accompany each photo and tell the story of Lemur. Katie is still working to turn the photos and text into a Powerpoint presentation or maybe even a book.

Paperdolls. Lemur was lonely, so Gram and Ian made paperdolls of Lemora and Semur, Lemur's brother and sister. These paperdolls also have a collection of very interesting and lovely clothing, including ice skating outfits and bathing suits.

Cuisinaire Rods. These are wooden rods of different lengths that help kids learn basic arithmatic skills in a visual way.

Tangrams. These are plastic geometric shapes that you can use to make almost any other shape with!

Phonics. Almost every day, Gram and Ian worked on their phonics book, and Ian learned to recognize many different words, including "and," "the," "he," "she," and "said". They also made up lists of rhyming words that have the same root spelling, like hat, cat, bat, pat, and mat and book, look, hook, and nook. Rhyming words are very fun.

They did MANY more projects than this, but that gives you some flavor of their activities. What fun!

Happy Mothers' Day!

Rich and Ian made us a terrific Mothers' Day breakfast of french toast and improvised syrup (no maples to tap around here!) Ian decorated the table with grasses he and his dad had collected on their field expedition the previous day, and he set the table too. Oh, and I can't forget the crown he made for me, which I was obliged to wear for the rest of the day, even to the restaurant. (It wasn't Mothers' Day in Mozambique, so I had some explaining to do...)

Recent Favorite Theo Photos

Paul's Salt Rock Swamp Forest

One real treat during our stay with Paul and Jane in Salt Rock was a visit to the swamp forest behind their house which Paul helped to protect when a developer purchased and made plans to develop the land above (and including) this forest. Paul was hired as the environmental consultant for the project and was able to convince the developer that protecting the forest would not only be a good thing for the forest but would also add value to the development, as the residents of the development would be able to enjoy the natural values of the forest. Paul's work also meant that the stormwater from the development would not be directed into the swamp forest (which would have effectively killed the forest, which relies on natural springs for its survival), but instead into a separate stormwater management system

Paul developed a beautiful boardwalk through the forest that meandered around the trees (Paul proudly remarked that they'd cut no trees in the development of the boardwalk). In one part, the trees actually came together above the boardwalk to form an archway.

As we approached the forest, Paul informed us all (and Ian in particular) that this forest was a holy place and that, as a result, no running or loud noises were permitted. Paul's words had the effect they needed: Ian virtually tip-toed through the forest, quiet as a mouse.

More amazing was the effect of the forest on Theo: the second Jane and he walked into the canopy of the forest, Theo became instantly quiet, his eyes open wide and taking in all of the sights of the forest. He was entirely focused during our whole walk through the forest, happy as can be to be under such trees. This boy is another nature boy, that is for sure!