Bwanje Valley 2

Well, Bwanje Valley is beautiful,

and it was not as hot there as in Mwanza.

Some of the trees were still blooming,

and all were making pods. This tree used to be called
"apple-ring acacia" because the pods looked
like an apple peel.

Bwanje Valley

Next we moved to the Bwanje valley. Actually, we slept in
Balaka. Our hotel had a small bar in the yard, with covered
seating area around the trunk of a tree.

Look closely at the building to the right and
you can see the tree branches
growing out of the roof!


Some of the trees there were
really upright,

And some were big, beautiful globes.

Look under this one, and you can see people
standing...it was really big.

Mwanza and Chitedze

Some of the trees we cut in Mwanza were tall,
even lying on the ground!

At Chitedze Research Station, it is the season for burning.
No, the station does not burn its grass fallow intentionally,
but small boys hunting mice set fires.
Yes, hunting mice...to boil and dry, and sell
on the side of the road as snacks!
The birds were hunting insects driven by the fire.

The cool weather has encouraged the roses
to set another round of blooms.

More in Mwanza

The Faidherbia trees are full of thorns,
and we ripped up half a dozen pairs of welding
gloves working on them.

We took soil samples, too. This tree is supposed
to be a really good builder of soil fertility.

One teacher brought his whole
class over to see what we were doing.