The Nature Channel

Stephen is gone for a few days, the dogs are laying on the cool tile floor digesting their dinner and I, with a cup of Ovaltine, am watching the Nature Channel.  On the inside of our screen is a adult mantis – called an imago at this final stage of development.  Mantises are cool and fun to watch.  Being primarily tropical insects there’s a great variety of them here as compared to the few species found in North America.  I’ve had quite a collection of mantises on my screens and around the garden in the time we’ve been Sierra Leone.

On the outside of the screen is a small lizard.  It’s dark now and the solar-powered lights attract enough bugs to feed an army of lizards.  The mantis is eating the small critters that come through the screen while the lizard dines on moths and larger insects on the outside.  I have watched this episode of the Nature Channel before, it’s called “Life and Death on the Veranda Screen.”  The drama is intense as the hunters stalk their prey.  The background music is the soothing hum of crickets, frogs, and an occasional night bird.  And best of all – no commercials.

Let’s switch to the News Channel

Stephen left for Freetown early this morning (5:00).  Trust he made it safely but there is no way for him to call me if he has problems. We’re supposed to be getting a cell tower perhaps within a year.  Now there’s some good news!  But, alas, we’ve heard that report before so we’ll believe it when we see it.  Most of our news is reported through the rumor mill and one can never be sure what’s truth and what’s exaggerated fiction.

Now for the really good news: the white-throated bee eaters returned to my garden today after their rainy-season absence.  The bee eaters are like little flying jewels; very aerobatic in their maneuvering as they dart around in hot pursuit of insects.  I am quite happy to see them again.  Many of the migratory birds are back as the nesting season gets into full swing.  I have also seen many Great Blue Turacos who lazily drift through in large family groups; such fabulous and beautiful birds; their deep throaty primal call is a reminder that we live in the jungle now.

Moving on to the Weather Channel

There won’t be much to report here, it’s either rainy season or dry season.  We like to joke that God has a big on/off switch next to His throne.  But the seasonal changes also bring changes to the winged friends who visit my garden.

“Dry season is here, is here, is here.”  This is how the Mende people describe the voice of the lizard buzzard as their call heralds the dry season, the cadence of their call perfectly fitting the Mende words.  As with the bee eaters, the buzzards have returned from their rainy season migration.  We have a nesting pair in one of our trees and I am so glad they’ve come back.  Then there’s the darling little pygmy kingfisher whose boldness belies their tiny size; their colors so striking and beautiful.  I have one who regularly hunts for insects from his perch on my clothesline strung under the veranda roof.  He doesn’t mind my coming and going as he stealthily swoops down to the ground and scoops up his prey without even landing.

Though I’m happy to see the return of so many birds in the dry season, I much prefer the rains for the cooler temperatures.  Right now everything is still green and with the intensifying heat comes increased humidity.  But soon the entire landscape will be parched brown and the earth hard packed; baked by the intense equatorial sun, the 15-foot high elephant grass snapping and popping as its very life gets drained out.  There will be a long stretch when we have neither dew nor rain; dry indeed at 10% humidity but also very hot days as the Harmattan winds come from the Sahara Desert, though our evenings will be cool (it’s all relative I suppose).

Well, I think it’s time to turn off the “television”.  The dogs need to be on night-time duty and I’m ready to go to bed and read for a while.  I think I detect a theme here – birds and bugs, my two favorite subjects among God’s marvelous creation.  Guess I never really left the Nature Channel!