April update

Ahhh... Friday morning. Can't quite believe its April. The rainy season is in full tilt here... which means exciting weather. We get both sunshine and thunderstorms in any given day, and either at any given moment. The air is fresh, the world is green green green with things growing double time, and red with mud everywhere. Bright sun shines while dark purple clouds hail the afternoon thunderstorm rolling in over the hills... or you wake up to a gentle drizzle with the sunshine poking through a slit of clouds on the horizon. And it must be spring because all of a sudden half of the troop of redtails have tiny little babies clinging to their underbellies (with their little bitty tails wrapped around their moms'! Oh!) as they trot heavily through the yard from the guava tree to the avecado trees squabbling over fruit- which is also in full season.

Among other news from the top of the hill, a family of mongoose (mongooses? Mongeese?) has moved in. They are fat, fury, striped little torpedos that hurtle through the grass... and I have yet to catch them on film. Or memory card. Also, the african greys are around in greater numbers and hang out for longer-- rather than just whistling on through every morning and evening. Oh, its just a fabulous start to the day, hearing their goofy whistling and squaking a way high up in the branches. I was talking to my dad on the phone the other day who, clear from wheaton, heard the hadada ibisis and then the hornbills. Kara heard them too! Its a veritable jungle up here right now.

This is the first uneventful weekend in oh, I don't know how long. I aim to enjoy it restfully. Next week is our last week of class... followed by a week and a half of exams and Rwanda. Followed by our 9 day Rwanda trip and debrief... to back here and then four days of overall debrief. And the students are outta here! The following week, I'm outta here! NUTS. So this is that point where we scramble back into the raft... catch our breath for a few brief minutes... and find our paddles, get back up onto the side of the raft and regroup before the the next rapids hit. Yes, that is exactly how I feel.

Sun rise..

I walked up monkey hill today-- the clearest day we've had yet. The lake- which usually feels way off in the distance, felt a mere stones throw away...

Looking down on the bustling town of Mukono:

And onto the next set of rapids...