Building a pigpen!

Being forced to stay put due to the coup here, I used some of my 'extra discretionary time' as one friend put it.  Here are some glimpses of life that we have experienced in these past few weeks.

Ray & Adama marking off fence



Heather/Kadi and Ray w 'Fancy & Beau'

 Earlier this week I looked out of my kitchen window to see Ray marking off the upper end of our base  with  Adama.  Turns out  they were preparing to build a fence to enclose 2 friendly little pigs (whom Heather Riddle named "Fancy" & "Beau" during her tenure here in Mali) .and restrict them from rooting thru the gardens at the lower end.  Another reason may  have been to move their shelter and its attendent fragrance a little further from Claudia's front door. :))



The following morning Ray & Adama set to work early, and soon had the able assistance of half a dozen schoolboys who had an unexpected holiday.  (Near as I can figure, there were exams for one or 2 upper grades and extra classroom space was needed to spread the exam-takers out to only 1 student per desk.)  Eager hands (and backs) were set to work carrying stones from the stonepile to the assigned fence area.  Next thing I know, Ray is walking away with his shovel over his shoulder, looking for another job.  Seems that these guys knew just what they were doing, and with Paul (whose pigs these are) overseeing the job they set to with a will to complete the task. --with time for a little horsing around, too. :))

Now Fancy & Beau have a solid new enclosure along the inside of the west wall, where they can slop and grunt to their hearts content, as long as long as someone remembers to carry water to support their bad habits.

Julie has been spending all the time with the boys that she can.  They make Malian tea, an endeavor  which is very time intensive, and results in what you might call tea expresso, a very potent, sweet elixir that is poured from teapot to glass so as to make a foamy head, them slurped loudly. Best enjoyed at any time of day that you have friends to share it.  They also play a game very similar to the Parcheesi that I learned as a child. LIDO is best translated  "Dont get Angry" --which can happen when your friendly opponent sends you back home to start over, yet again .: ))



This palm tree & canal view reminds me of the canals out near Myakka Fla in days gone by.



Ray & I have taken a few rides on the moto to explore along the River, or up on the 'kulu' (hill) behind us, where building plots have been laid out with stone markers identifying owners and boundaries delineated with pebble lines.  I have also been fascinated to watch the gardens prosper along the waterways  in this season of no rain and hot dry air that seems to have 0% humidity.  The neatly laid out plots are watered by flooding the ditches between them at least once a day- works where there is easy access to water source, but that is not for the average person who only has acess to a handdug well for their household water needs.  While the bucket kits I ordered (to do more water efficient drip irrigation system for a home garden) never did arrive,  I have learned a few more things about gardening in this arrid place.  Perhaps some day we will be able to come back and I will make good use of that knowledge.

Stay true to your blessing.  Proclaim the goodness of God to the world in times of trouble as well as in the good times.  Then mayhap they will believe you and ask to know your Jesus.

(We are) Blessing the name that is above every name, and at whose feet all will one day bow.

Miminmali