Rest in peace little Nyuke

I'd like to begin this entry with a moment of reflection and recognition on/of the magnificent honey bee and all that it does for us people who eat food. The "nyuki" is such a shining example of how hard work, no matter how small you are, honestly will make a difference- in some way- even if you yourself don't end up witnessing that difference.

A man made fire swept through the back portion of the center two nights ago and wiped out every last one of our traditional bee hives, a work of art mango tree, and 8 long-nurtured compost piles. Luckily none of the animals or staff were harmed. In fact, it was those of the bees that were able to escape that warned the staff that something was up, because even Simba barked ferociously but people couldn't see anything where she was. As their last favor to us measly people, as their homes were going up in smoke, the humming of the bees swam over their heads.

I think I spent about 20 solid minutes in the seed bank today where a small bucket of charred honeycomb was kept. There were a dozen or so bees slowly climbing around on it, about another dozen burned halfway dead and just trying to figure out what to do with themselves, and at least a dozen other remnants of little bee bodies or pieces of bees. I wished I could have built them a hive. I wanted to bring them water but feared the moisture in the seed bank.

On a more positive note, I taught 7 women how to bake zucchini bread. To rave reviews I might add. One of the women's program teachers told me that I "outshined" all of the other recipes they'd been taught to make. I had freshly harvested zucchini and carrot on my side though. I made a double batch and we all confidently decided I could fit it into the shallow tin we had to use in our portable, little stove. Well it kept overflowing and I had to open the door several times and scoop up hot batter with a knife onto a bowl. The upside of this was that a few of us took spoons and snacked on the warm, batter and I told them that was they way we did it back home. Naturally, I got the anticipated, killer stomach ache- but I'd do it all over again in a heartbeat.

Had a really informative class on seed production and preservation taught by Samuel today. He is such an inspiration. I LEARNED THAT IF SEEDS from ORIGINALLY HYBRID SEED-GROWN PLANTS ARE PROCESSED CORRECTLY AND PLANTED FOR THREE SEASONS in a row THEY THEN BECOME OPEN-POLLINATED!!!! MIRACLE!!! WHY DON'T FARMERS KNOW THIS??? How much money could they save, and how quickly (with more growing seasons here than in the US), if they simply grew their own seed from the lame, hybrid seeds they bought at an unjust price from greedy seed companies with monopolies on the seed market. Not to mention all the added benefits.

Shared some great laughs with Peris today over a small debacle with the nun sporadically deciding to bake gigantic mandazis (similar to donuts) that no one would buy. I was sweating I was laughing so hard and Peris was crying.

Jack was so adorable when I came home. The second deworming pill worked and he's not losing hair anymore, which is a relief. I was almost beginning to stress that he'd be one of those dogs that sheds like mad. He listens to "kuja" (come) most of the time and to "sit" about 3% of the time. In his defense he is only 2 plus months old. So I believe there is still hope.

It's possible that I'll be going to Lamu in the next week or so but we're awaiting confirmation from the Italian lady who runs the satellite center there. I really hope it works out, since I miss the ocean, love eating fish, and feel ready to see something new and different from dusty, industrial Thika.

Happy Pi day people (3.14) ! Now please eat some pie in my honor apple or rhubarb is preferable.