The bees are still in the chimney, (though not as many as there were yesterday). It rained this afternoon so we had to postpone our smoking out operation. Gives them a chance to make more honey I guess.
I had to make a trip in our Landrover to the Gendia hospital this afternoon. The Gendia is the best hospital within easy distance. It is operated by the Seventh Day Adventist, (SDA), church and has been going for about 100 years. Hilda and one of our church leaders were accompanying a member of staff for some treatment. (Moral support as much as anything – a trip to the hospital can be quite daunting). The journey provided another chance for some spinal re-alignment – the road just seems to get worse. Thinking about it this is a down side to the rain. The rain comes hammering down off the hills and runs across the road. This creates lots of ridges, (a bit like a beach when the tides gone out), and makes it hard to drive in a straight line. The water on the road does, at least, make the potholes easier to see, (though avoiding them is still a real problem).
Kosele, our local town/village is a regular “one horse town”. I stopped at Jakanyango’s, (the main shop), on the way back from the hospital to buy some squash and took the chance to just sit and watch life pass by for five minutes. All the local taxis stop outside Jakanyango’s to drop off passengers and squeeze new ones in. A Kenyan taxi can hold an astonishing number of people. I watched in disbelief as three large ladies emerged from the tailgate of a medium sized estate car, while a very wide guy tried to squeeze in to share the front seat with another passenger. The back seat passengers stayed put – all four of them. The vehicle was festooned with water containers, tied onto the roof rack. After getting out of the car the ladies each took a huge bundle off the roof and walked away with them on their heads. Their places in the car were taken by three more passengers, forcing the lady who was left in the boot to squeeze over a bit more!
I really enjoy driving the Landrover. It’s very old and has developed a few new noises since I was last in Kosele but it is really the only way to travel. There is currently a shortage of Regular, (as opposed to Super), petrol in our part of Kenya, which meant that a couple of days ago we ran out of fuel for the generator we use to pump our borehole. This became a problem today as our main water tank ran out this evening. I had to make another trip down our bumpy road to Oyugis, (the closest “two horse town” to our place). When I set out the sun was going down and it was dark when I drove back. Driving at night up our road is quite challenging but good fun. I hit the “rush hour” on the way back, (about 7 p.m.), There seem to be more and more motor bike taxis on the road this year. At one point a convoy of them were winding their way downhill towards me, in and out of the potholes. It must have been quite a ride for their passengers. The suicidal bicycle riders who suddenly loom out of the dark at you, or veer across the road are a more worrying hazard at night. None of them have any lights so they are really hard to spot. It’s good for your reflexes but potentially bad for your car insurance.
It’s a public holiday in Kenya tomorrow so most of the school pupils will be at home. Our Standard 8 ‘candidates’, (for the Kenya Certificate of Education exam), sat the last of their divisional exams today so they can take a bit of a break from tests until November, when they sit the real thing. The exam preparation continues though – despite the holiday tomorrow they will still be coming in for revision lessons for half the day. We have three fields of maize to weed tomorrow so they will be having a busy day.
Things on the farm a looking good but we have a few emerging challenges. We’ve found a weed called Striga, (pronounced Streega), in some of the maize plots and have the first signs of stalk borers in the emerging maize tassels, (the male part of the plant that looks like a wheat stalk sticking out of the top). Both of these pests are at an early stage at the moment but we will need to act swiftly as they can significantly affect yields. It’s amazing how quickly you get to feel very protective towards your crops. It’s a war with nature out there! More from the front line later in the week.
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