About
Earl Aagaard’s opinions about everything that interests him. Og also enjoys gardening, travel, reading, woodbutchery, and lots of other stuff.
Categories
Monthly Archives
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
- February 2007
- January 2007
- December 2006
- November 2006
- October 2006
- September 2006
- August 2006
- July 2006
- May 2006
- April 2006
- March 2006
- February 2006
- January 2006
- December 2005
- November 2005
- October 2005
- September 2005
- August 2005
- July 2005
- May 2005
- March 2005
- February 2005
- Complete Archives
- Category Archives
Join Og's Mailing List
Powered by ExpressionEngine
OgBlog.net
REPORT FROM NAIROBI…..
I know that I’ve been remiss in updating our trip here….I have good excuses, of course. A new class is taking the usual amount of time - I’m going to bed near midnight each day, and have to be up by 6:45 in order to be in class at quarter to eight. Further, the Internet feed in our guest house has quit, so it’s only down the hill at the Academy computer lab that I have access at this point, and there are a number of things to do after class before lunch is served, so…...you get the idea.
Last weekend, we spent the entire day on the Nairobi National Park with our former youth pastor (now chaplain at Maxwell Adventist Academy), Kent Crutcher and his family. We had a GREAT day! It didn’t rain, but most of the time the clouds prevented the sun from cooking us….plus, we saw lots and lots of animals, because the grass is still green and there’s lots of food and water. Here’s a few photos from the small camera - mostly we have videos from it, and some are just terrific. I’m happier and happier with that machine. The major share of pictures I took with my Nikon SLR, but I simply don’t have the time to deal with them right now.
More photos, and other excursions are below…...
We actually didn’t see LOTS of zebra, but this group was early on. Late in the day, we got to see our rhino….two of them (always male and female with rhino, as they’re solitary and competitive), although the photograph only shows one. They were NOT close - that will have to wait for the Maasai Mara.
For five fantastic minutes or so, we got to see the a pair of these jewel-like kingfishers, including actual fishing and catching! A shrimp rather than a fish, but who cares!
Don’t tell Gail I posted the next picture—she’s kind of shy—but our first week here WAS our 40th Anniversary, and this may end up the photo that memorializes the occasion. Although it might be even better to use one from Paris, so we’ll see.
The next picture doesn’t have any game that I can detect, but it’s just quintessential Africa to me….at least, the closest I’ve seen, so far.
Nairobi National Park is perhaps most famous for the proximity of the big game animals and the city center—from many places in the park, you can be looking at giraffe, or lions, or rhino…and seeing the skyscrapers behind them. This gives you a sense, although we’re a LONG way from the boundary of the park, and so the city appears remote. Anyone from Chattanooga may be forgive for thinking they’re seeing Lookout Mountain in the background! Strange feeling…..
Finally, the pond you can see above was teeming with birds….we drove down near it to see what was there. A collection of cranes, herons, ducks, and other less-identifiable types was present. They seemed uninterested in our presence (we were in the Land Rover, of course) even when we were fairly close. I was still pinching myself to make sure I wasn’t dreaming all this…..
OK, I lied about the “other excursions”....it’s lunchtime, and I have a lot of work to do on the first exam this afternoon. I’ll post about the elephant orphanage (RHINO ALERT!) tomorrow. Perhaps also about the glass factory….WHAT a trip back to the ‘60s! Keep checking…...
Reading
- BlogsForDummies :)
Web resources
- Arts & Letters Daily
- Ravi Zacharias
- Southern Adventist University
- The SAU Biology Deptartment - where I work with a bunch of very neat people.
- Venezuelan news—FROM Venezuela