purple clouds- a true ramble

As large as my head
baby Nile Monitor

I have been enjoying some days of rest, in honor of Easter time. This meaning some days in my home spending hours talking via Skype to my parents, two of my brothers and a new sister-in-law to be. The possibility of viewing each other or just voices through my newest joy of Black beans and Jalapenos discovered by the Costa Rican, and other such great moments in life to be shared for hours on end continent-ally.

I am here in Botswana (the country)now with the Batswana(the people) motswana(a person) not understanding Setswana(the language) yet but as always intrigued in what the language spells out about the culture I am in. Ever since I was learning czech and discovered the lack of "should" as in "should have" in the language and how that played into the people I was with for that year.

He will be eaten when she is done mating, poor little guy

Its nice to be away from the racial hot zone of South Africa, hitting the media in many representations over the week, at least on this continent. I am finding a nice place there in my recent trip with a couple friends to see lizards and snakes. Generously I was invited into the enclosure with some of the Monitors and later we skipped off to the base of the dam to scuffle through reeds and trees along the water and hike up a bit in search of more Monitors. Many spiders encountered and trees. oh lovely trees. Cacti in the middle of lush greenery caught me off guard. it was summer Danby, NY overgrowth with El Paso, TX cactus in the middle of it. A new sort of ecosphere mixing for me.


Rock Monitor

My luggage again did not arrive with me, just me and my cameras. Leaving me to believe these are notes in detachment and a lean towards Buddhism.

Oh and the purple clouds of the brewing storm on our three hour drive today from the airport were stunning over the forest of low trees. The rain that followed cleaned the air but the image is imprinted, in my mind, and on film. sorry no dig. Yes film because Erik and Chelsea brought my Hassy back from the states with them. I am mobile again in my creations, not limited to South Africa only due to not being able to transport my 4x5 when visiting other countries...until my film runs out, 220 is not sold in the country of SA.

SA dam- where the water runs beautiful blue and neon green from the Township above.