Tracy's Travels

Around the office

2012-02-11T13:07:00.002+02:00

Here are a pair of fire finches feeding near our office. Here is the office block where I work. Here I am on my bike, near a friend's office.

Flowers

2012-01-29T20:10:00.002+02:00

Tulip tree in front of our fence. Tulip tree flowers Tulip tree flower Hibiscus flower and a big snail

More around the house

2012-01-22T20:57:00.000+02:00

Yellow-fronted canaries come to my yard. to feed on the grass seed. There are four here...can you see them? and two puppy pictures.

Around the house

2012-01-14T08:50:00.007+02:00

I bought a new camera over the holidays and took a few pictures around the house to try it out.We didn't have enough rain duringDecember, but now we're having somuch that the garden creatures arecoming onto my porch.We have a new puppy! The mother was too young,so she only had one. She is big enough now to stumble after her parents, and rest in the shade when theyrun too fast for her. The

Addis: Medhane Alem Church

2011-12-05T19:28:00.005+02:00

This is the modern church we walked around. (There weren't any guides available.) It is in Bole, one of the newer neighborhoods. It also has three towers.It is really beautiful.And has angels guarding the doors.And icons above the entrance.

Afternoon in Addis

2011-11-27T15:00:00.007+02:00

The highlight of the trip was spending the afternoon with a friend from grad school. Here we are in her office building.She works for the African Union.We went by her husband's office at the UN and saidhello (he is also a friend from grad school).Then we had lunch at her house, and I met her son.We visited the outside of a new Ethiopian Orthodoxchurch (there wasn't a tour guide), and she took me

Addis Trinity Church

2011-11-21T15:20:00.005+02:00

After the meeting, I visited an historic churchdown the street from my hotel.It was built in the 20th century, but it still seemed very old inside. This priest showed me around and even took a picture.I only noticed later that it has three bell towers!It is a famous church because Haile Selassie is buried there.Outside a younger priest was teaching a Bible study.

Addis Ababa

2011-11-13T18:37:00.007+02:00

In early November, I went to a meeting on agriculture and foodsecurity in Addis Ababa. It is a fascinating place.The meeting was in an historic hall, Africa Hall,where the African Union was founded in 1963.It was built in 1961 by the Emperor of Ethiopia, Haile Selassie.To one side of the podium is a painting includingportraits of the heads of state who attended the founding.The stained glass

Birds at Liwonde

2011-11-06T18:44:00.005+02:00

There are always lots of birds at Liwonde...

Waterbuck

2011-10-30T14:58:00.008+02:00

There are always waterbuck grazingon the edges of Liwonde, usually upto their knees in water. They did not like to be so close to our boat.They were happier up on the bank.These are both female, here is an earlier picture of a male:

Roofing, fishing, and birdwatching

2011-10-15T10:34:00.006+02:00

The place that offers the tour, Bushman Baobabs, was roofing some buildings with thatch.A couple of interesting silhouettes, one of a waterbird, and another of a fisherman who wasn't reallysupposed to be in the park...

Hippos in Liwonde

2011-10-08T10:27:00.005+02:00

Hippos live in family groups of a dozen or so, like these.They like to stay in the river during the day,and come out of the river at night to graze.Look just above the weeds, to the right of the middle, and you can see this guy's head and ears.These were playful, pushing each other around as our canoe glided by.

Liwonde: Birds and hippos in the Shire

2011-10-03T20:55:00.007+02:00

In July, my friend Chifumi visited and wewent sight-seeing. Here she is in from of the most impressive church building I have yet seen in Malawi. Here they are building at Bushman Baobab's camp right beside Liwonde Park.Here is the Shire River where we took an early-morning canoe ride.

Mua Mission

2011-09-25T19:03:00.005+02:00

Mua Mission is a major tourist stop for those interested in the history and culture of Malawi.In 1902, the Catholic Church sent the White Fathersto Mua to found a mission. This statue commemorates the one hundredth anniversary of the founding.This church was built in 1971 on the original church site. The mission also houses a hospital and a Chamare Museumthat is known throughout Malawi for

MSU Spring Flowers

2011-09-21T08:06:00.006+02:00

Hello everyone, I loaned my camera to a friend, who let it be stolen in an airport, so the posts will be from my picture archives until I get another. The landscaping at MSU is beautiful. I can't decide whether I like spring or fall better.Yes, these are bananas. They spend winters in a greenhouse.

My House

2011-09-10T16:04:00.004+02:00

I moved house in May, and took some pictures,but haven't had time to post them.The house has a pretty yard.and a couple of friendly dogs

Swallows

2011-08-31T10:42:00.007+02:00

Here are the swallows that come to drink at my house early in the morning some days. I think that they are wire-tailed swallows without the wire. Kenyabirds.org has a picture of one without the long tail wire. They sit on the water tank at work. Bioversity explorer says that they mate for life and nest oftenest in August thru December. Earlier blog posts show the pair that nested

African Pied Wagtail

2011-07-20T15:27:00.006+02:00

Malawi is supposed to be bird paradise, so I'm becoming an occasional birdwatcher. Not that I spend lots of moneytrying to find rare birds, I just try to appreciate theones in my yard. The bird bits in the blog are in honor of Mrs. Sally Shaw,who always had a bird story for us in Sunday School.Meet Mr. and Mrs. African Pied Wagtail.They are snappy dressers,in black and white stripes.They get

Fresh Produce

2011-07-17T19:54:00.005+02:00

Here is the produce stand between my house and town.It offers fresh fruit...And fresh vegetables(much fresher than supermarkets)

Chongoni Hills (2)

2011-07-09T15:25:00.006+02:00

These are protected sites.Bantu rock artA village in the valley below. Some have grass roofs and some tin.Some of the children from the village belowclimbed up to see us. We are all sightseeing.Some of the adventurous climbed the adjoining hill.

Chongoni Hills World Heritage Site

2011-06-26T07:40:00.007+02:00

I went on a day trip to Chongoni Hills a few weeks agowith Small Steps Adventure Tours.It was in a beautiful area near Dedza.We hiked up to a cave and saw rock paintings fromthe early residents, who were were pygmies,hunter/gatherers who painted in red. The later residents were Bantu farmers,who painted in white.Here we are on our lunch break. This area has the highest concentrationof rock

Last Faidherbia Cutting (2)

2011-06-21T20:24:00.009+02:00

Salima was our last location for cutting Faidherbia.The goats enjoyed the leaves and twigs wehad bundled to weigh.Maurice and I discovered the stump of an enormous baobab.Here is a Baobab near ZombaWe were all tired of using the axe.And we were really happy when we were finished.

Zanzibar (2)

2011-06-18T09:38:00.010+02:00

On the last day, we did some sightseeing:Zanzibar is a majority Muslim province, but there is a big Anglican church near downtown Stone Town. It is built on top of the old slave market.The monument behind the church shows how the slaveswere put into pits for the buyers to view. Zanzibar washistorically a hub for the East African slave trade, andthe Anglican church made a serious push in

Zanzibar

2011-06-10T21:10:00.006+02:00

Last month I went to ZanzibarNot for vacation, but for a workshop onwriting better research papers.We spent the first three days in the hotel conferenceroom, and walked past the beautiful swimming pooland looked down towards the nearby fishing village...and watched them sail off to work before wewent back to our work in the conference room.We did get to see some of the sights the last day,more on

Last Faidherbia Cutting

2011-05-26T16:37:00.007+02:00

We cut our last Faidherbia trees in Salima last fall.Here we are walking to one of the fields.We had to mark and number the branches sothat we could evaluate the trees for fractal analysis.We sat under a guava tree to eat lunch.(more next time)

Around town

2011-03-26T10:02:00.008+02:00

I've been around town the last few weeks,so the pictures are also from around town.We have a new shopping area on the west sideof town, and if you look to the left,you see the blue parasol's of the new pizza place,which beats all the other pizza places(except the Italian restaurant).they started with some nice foreign pine trees...and spent quite a bit on landscaping, so it is a pretty place...My

Namibia (2)

2011-03-01T20:15:00.005+02:00

Gobabeb Desert Research Centre is besidea riverbed that divides a flat white graveldesert from a desert full of red dunes.They say that this river floods during part of the year, but I would have to see it to believe it.

Namibia (1)

2011-02-20T15:54:00.007+02:00

Last fall I went to a meeting about agriculture and carbon in Namibia,which is in southwestern Africa.We flew into Windhoek, which is very modern and nice.Then we drove west to Swakopmund on the sea coast. It is a tourist town with beaches and nice shopping and restaurants and they say there is a huge sand dune, but I didn't see it.And lots of interesting European architecture...we stoppedfor an

Hello again!

2011-02-04T20:21:00.010+02:00

My heavens! I haven't posted since before Christmas! Sorry, things were very busy at the end of last year.Speaking of Christmas, I went through SchipholAirport in Amsterdam just before Christmas.It was well decorated for the holiday.This airport has everything; a librarya family area and playroomand a museum.in addition to everythingthat most airports have.It was a pleasant contrast to what was

Bolero 2

2010-11-06T20:22:00.004+02:00

We only cut seven trees in Bolero.Oxcarts seem to be the favorite means of transport in Bolero. Here is one filled with harvested maize.Bolero had some of the prettiest Faidherbia trees.

Bolero

2010-10-24T17:13:00.009+02:00

When we arrived in Bolero, in Rumphi district, we found trees almost as large as the ones in Karonga.Speaking of beginnings, the young man in this picture,Herbert Jenya, is going to begin school in January atthe Forestry College in Mzuzu.It will be quite a new beginning for him.The trees in Bolero had a much heavier crop ofseeds still on the tree than anywhere we have been.We found bicycle

I'm back!

2010-10-15T13:58:00.008+02:00

Hi everyone, sorry for the hiatus, I had a couple of very busy months.First, an announcement for Kiva:http://www.kiva.org/Kiva matches specific lenders to specific business-people in developing countries who need micro-loans to develop their businesses. I have used them for several years and can recommend them highly.Back to Karonga....some trees there were very old, like the grandfather tree

Karonga

2010-08-15T19:20:00.007+02:00

We found the most mature Faidherbia/maizeparkland in Karonga district.Here you can see all ages of trees. Some of the trees we saw were so old they werebroken down and hollow.They were a lot of work to measure, but thetemperatures were lower than in Mwanza.We did some work with axes on the trunks of the largertrees, but I really didn't spend much time at that. I waswaiting to get back another

Mixed bag

2010-08-08T14:54:00.006+02:00

The pictures are a mixed bag this week.See the license plate? The white plates mean that I have diplomatic privileges (ha! ha!). The police can give me a fine if I do something wrong, but mostly, they don't bother to check us. Minibuses get stopped and checked constantly.Less nuisance with these plates. I am airing blankets because I have some visitorsarriving Tuesday.My neighbors all have

Bwanje Valley 3

2010-08-01T18:38:00.004+02:00

Measuring every inch of these trees is quitea job. It takes a day to do one.The thorns on these trees were larger than those before.Packing the samples to take back to be dried.

Bwanje Valley 2

2010-07-24T08:35:00.005+02:00

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

2010-07-19T19:22:00.005+02:00

Next we moved to the Bwanje valley. Actually, we slept inBalaka. 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 werereally upright,And some were big, beautiful globes. Look under this one, and you can see people standing...

Mwanza and Chitedze

2010-07-09T21:20:00.004+02:00

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 sellon the side of the road as snacks!The birds were hunting insects driven by the fire.The cool weather has encouraged the

More in Mwanza

2010-07-04T17:20:00.005+02:00

The Faidherbia trees are full of thorns,and we ripped up half a dozen pairs of weldinggloves working on them.We took soil samples, too. This tree is supposedto be a really good builder of soil fertility.One teacher brought his whole class over to see what we were doing.

Mwanza (2)

2010-06-26T13:54:00.010+02:00

Some of the Faidherbia trees were fairly small...Some were a bit larger. This small boy is one of many who came to see what we were doing with the chain saw.This lizard lives in a tree in our apartment gardens. A neighbor says that it is a baby of larger ones that also live there.

I'm Back

2010-06-20T15:56:00.007+02:00

Hi Everyone, It took longer than expected to fell the Faidherbia trees we needed, so I am late getting back to the blog. We felled eight trees in Mwanza, Ntcheu, and Karonga districts, and seven trees in Rumphi district. I hope that you enjoy the pictures.We started in Mwanza district in southern Malawi. Most Faiderbiatrees grow in low-lying land near rivers.The location in Mwanza was so low

Travel

2010-05-09T13:45:00.003+02:00

The mantis I found on my window last week.Three new baby swallows fledged this week. Here they are with their mother.Here is Lake Malawi from the overlook above the descent toKaronga, where we were last week, and will be again next week.I will be in the field for most of the next three weeks, sopostings may be sporadic.

Kiva update!

2010-05-05T19:04:00.000+02:00

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Faidherbia in Bolero

2010-05-03T19:40:00.003+02:00

Over the next few weeks we will harvest Faidherbiatrees in four different locations in Malawi. One isBolero, located in an upland valley in the high,rolling hills of the district of Rumphi.Faidherbia have been inter-planted with themaize there for many years. The largest ofthe trees are two and three feet in diameter.Faidherbia trees in a maize field.

Thyolo and Mulanje

2010-04-25T15:04:00.005+02:00

After Zomba, we went through the tea fields ofThyolo, toward Mulanje mountain.The tea fields are beautiful, and the tea is one of Malawi's major exports.Mulanje mountain is huge, and is the highestmountain in this region of Africa.It is so big that even at this distance, it won't fitinto a single picture.The tea fields that ring Mulanje are even prettier than Thyolo.

Zomba mountain

2010-04-18T17:05:00.009+02:00

We stayed on Zomba mountain, which gives a neat view of the town below and the countryside around.We stayed at the trout farm, which raises trout (a few) in tanks fed by a mountain stream.Here is the stream. It was really nice to hear it all night.Katharine stayed in a tentAnd I stayed in a house thathad been the managers home.

Kiva, then more Liwonde pictures

2010-04-10T17:59:00.009+02:00

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Liwonde (again)

2010-04-02T15:24:00.007+02:00

The river was high, and many areas that had beendry last year were flooded.We went on a canoe ride, and saw lots of birds,and plants, like this water hyacinth,And lots of pretty scenery,but not too many animals.

Nkhata Bay (2)

2010-03-28T15:49:00.005+02:00

We went back to Nkhata Bay a week later and worked a few days with the team doing the baseline study on soil degradation for AFSIS, the African Soil Information System.Some days we were taking soil samples in the in rice paddies in the valley seen here.And some days we were up on the hills among the rubber trees taking soil samples. You can see the latex flowing into the collection cups on the

Nkhata Bay (1)

2010-03-06T20:12:00.004+02:00

I went to Nkhata Bay last week to look for Faidherbia treesat the site of a study on soil degradation. Nkhata Bay is next to the Viphya Plateau, which is a high, rainy, heavily forested plateau. We found a few, like the one above, which is increasingthe yield of the cassava under it. Here are Shamie and Macdonald under another Faidherbia. Shamie is the agronomist for the soil degradation

Dedza

2010-02-21T20:36:00.001+02:00

I was in Dedza a couple of weeks ago. The mountains are beautiful, and it isonly about two hours drive south of Lilongwe.These ladies were just walking down the street. They are using really colorful clothboth for skirts and to tie babies on their backs.These men are bicycle porters. They carrypassengers on their bikes or transport cargo. I am amazed at the loads that they are able to balance.

More crops

2010-02-14T22:25:00.005+02:00

The maize has been tasseling for a couple of weeks, now. It has been hot and dry for a week, so that it it may not bepollinating well.The biggest cash crop in this region is tobacco, which I had never seen until I got here.The soybeans at the research station look nice, too.

Birds!

2010-02-07T18:10:00.005+02:00

Malawi is supposed to be a bird-watchers paradise. This black and white bird is all around Lilongwe. It is similar in size and behavior to a mockingbird. It sings several songs, too.I've been trying to get a shot of this black and red bird for several weeks. It is more afraid of me walking than of the pickup.Finally he sat still for me on Thursday. I have no idea what kind of bird he is.

Free advertising for Kiva

2010-01-31T20:24:00.006+02:00

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and still more maize!

2010-01-17T17:33:00.006+02:00

The maize is often inter-cropped, most commonly with beans in the central region.Or sometimes with pumpkins...We have a factory in Lilongewe that uses soya as an ingredient, so soybeans are becomingmore popular.

Maize and more maize

2010-01-08T19:17:00.007+02:00

When I got back to Malawi the maize had finally come upin most places.The patches around people's housesat the research station looked nice.Maize is the main staple food and is planted on three-fourths of smallholder's land, evenaround the buildings in Lilongwe.We had uneven rains in November and December, so now the maize is different ages where it had to be replanted.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-31T18:48:00.003+02:00

Sorry for the long absence. I've been in the US for a very good holiday. Here is a waterspout (I think) that I photographed near Lilongwe recently.I returned to Malawi through Paris this time, and given the confusion in the Netherlands, I'm glad that I did. Charles de Gaulle Terminal F is neat, with it's transparent roof. Happy New Year!

Liwonde (2)

2009-12-12T04:07:00.005+02:00

The waterbucks are not too wild.What people mostly go to see are the hippos. One place I stayedhad a hippo come out of the river and graze on thelawn after dark. During the day they mostly stay in the river.Sometimes they are interested in the tour boats,and sometimes they aren't.

Liwonde National Park

2009-12-07T19:03:00.007+02:00

I know that some of you think that I must never work. Actually,I just take fewer pictures of work, because I'm...well...working.This is the Shire River south of Lake Malawi, where there is a dam to regulate the flow of water. It is wide and slowand home to birds and hippopotomi, and crocodiles, thoughI didn't see any of the crocs.The surrounding country is low and dry and hot, and hometo many

Road Trip to Makanjira (2)

2009-12-01T18:54:00.004+02:00

We even weighed the twigs and leaves.Here are some Faidherbia trees left in farmers fieldsso that their leaves become fertilizer for the crops.Makanjira could become quite the tourist haven ifthey paved the last hour of the road. It can be very pretty.We hope that this contributes to measuring of treesfor carbon in farmer's fields, so that they can be paid forraising these trees.

Road Trip to Makanjira

2009-11-22T19:23:00.007+02:00

I was part of a team of researchers that took a trip toMakanjira, Malawi in October to measure the amount ofcarbon in Faidherbia albida trees. The trees above, at ourresearch site, are Faidherbia and are bigger than the restbecause they were on the edge of the plot.We measured the diameter of the trunk,And the height,then felled 45 of them for close measurement. We cleaned off the small

Wildebeasts and Lions!

2009-11-15T18:41:00.004+02:00

The guide said that wildebeasts could travel 70 miles in a day.These were watching a male lion. Now I know why they callhim 'King of beasts'. This one walked like heowned the whole county.The female lions were relaxing closer to the gate.The guide said that we were lucky, that usually the lionsstayed out of sight.

Antelopes!

2009-11-07T13:46:00.008+02:00

I think that the ones with racing stripes are impala and that the large ones are hartebeast, but I'm not certain.This is the mother and baby,And this, I think, is the father...

African Buffalos!

2009-11-02T19:37:00.004+02:00

Africa has buffalos similar to the ones in Asia, but these aren't tame!The driver told me it was common for them to charge,and I believe him!

Baby Barn Swallow

2009-10-25T17:31:00.005+02:00

A pair of barn swallows nested in my stairwell the last couple ofmonths. They are the proud parents of the baby on the leftin the picture above. They like to swing from my clothesline.Here is the whole family perched on the neighbor's garage light.It rained last week, and cleared some of the dust and smokeout of the air. I saw this mountain from my front porchfor the first time in two or three

Birds!

2009-09-27T16:57:00.006+02:00

The park had a few ostriches,And an eagle on her nest,And some vultures sitting in a tree, but you can see vultures sitting in a tree in any part of Nairobi.On the theme of birds, here is a photo of a bird that I just took near the nests that I posted on August 8th. Does anyone know what it is?

Giraffes!

2009-09-23T20:50:00.007+02:00

These giraffes look like they were looking at Nairobi,but they were really staring after a lion.Part of the day was cloudy.And part of the day was almost sunny.And this one stopped and posed for me.

Zebras!

2009-09-12T20:34:00.010+02:00

There were a lot of zebras in the park, andthey didn't mind being photographed.They are very near Nairobi.They weren't too worried about being caughtbetween two tour groups.The colts were a bit more camera shy.

Nairobi National Park

2009-09-06T17:18:00.005+02:00

I went to the ICRAF annual science meetings last week in Nairobi, and took a couple of vacation daysto be a tourist. The Nairobi National Park is right atthe edge of the city.(You can see the skyscraperson the horizon behind the acacia tree.Most of the park is savannah, like the picture above but a small part is wooded. It gave the antelope in the picture below a place to hide from my

Pictures from a village

2009-08-29T10:38:00.006+02:00

I gave a friend a ride to a village about an hour from town last weekend, so that she could buy several sacks of corn for her family. These corn stores are made from woven wood slats, and store the corn in the ear. This was the largest one that I had seen.The goats in the village are allowed to roam free range after corn harvest. They are in good shape, and look like they will have kids

Hello again!

2009-08-08T21:33:00.005+02:00

Sorry for the long absence, work has been really busy lately. I realized about three weeks ago that the birds were singing again and that winter was on it's way out. I went outside to lookat the birds, and found light blue finches flying aroundwith nesting material. There is one sitting in the middleof the picture, facing left. they are shy and hard to photograph. I looked up in another

Happy Independence Day!

2009-07-11T21:07:00.002+02:00

Malawi's Independence Day falls on July 6th. The weekbefore the 6ththese flags and signs went upin the roundabouts around town. The sign says, " From poverty to prosperity,commemorating 45 years of independence."Oh, also my roommate brought in a replacement camera,I hope that you like the quality of the photos.

New Malawi Pictures!

2009-06-06T19:16:00.006+02:00

Good news! I have just gotten a phone witha camera. Hope you like the pictures! This was taken southeast of Lilongwe. These are very old soils of the Central African Plateau, and they are depleted both by age and by overuse. The mountains give a gauge of how the surrounding countryside has eroded.A roadside stand selling sugarcane, which is everywhere in both rural and urban settings. Notice

More of St. Augustine's House

2009-05-23T10:26:00.006+02:00

The deer-proof vegetable gardenThe library and dormitoryAnother shot of the bell tower and the fall colors.

Michigan pictures--St. Augustine's House

2009-05-17T17:06:00.003+02:00

Last October I went to Oxford, Michigan for a chapeldedication at St. Augustine's House, a LutheranMonastery. It is the only Lutheran monasterythat I know of in the US. Glorious fall colorsThe church that was being dedicated.The bell tower for the monastery.

Sunday picture

2009-05-07T18:40:00.002+02:00

This is the church where I go. It is called the cathedralchurch, because it is the central church of the Lutheransynod we belong to in Malawi. It is an active place, withfour choirs, a praise band, a trumpet ensemble and half adozen clergy. The clergy and the choirs are constantlytraveling to other churches, so most Sundays we justlook like one church instead of several.

Sad News

2009-05-06T19:01:00.002+02:00

Hello everybody,I must pass on the sad news that I lost my digital camera on a recent trip to Lusaka, and so will be posting less frequently for a few months. I can borrow a digital camera occasionally at work, so there should be a few posts between now and the time that I replace the camera. then posts should resume at least weekly.Tracy

Tropical trees

2009-04-18T11:46:00.006+02:00

I had always heard that papaya trees came in male and female. Inthe courtyard of my apartments there are two trees loadedwith fruit (above), and another (below) with no fruitat all, but loaded with flowers.I thought that this small mango tree was young until I walked over and looked. It has an enormous, gnarled old trunk, with a few young branches that have popped up

Happy Easter! Pictures from Mangochi

2009-04-12T19:18:00.007+02:00

Happy Easter to all! These pictures were takena couple of weeks ago in Mangochi, at thesouthern tip of Lake Malawi.Lake Malawi is the southernmost of the Rift Valley lakes and isfamous for its large variety of chichlids.The hotel keeps a few in a pond. Look to the bottomleft of the picture above for a blue and black striped one.I attended a two-day workshop that ICRAF hostedto work through

Chitedze Agricultural Research Station

2009-04-04T18:49:00.002+02:00

The research station has been operating quite some timefrom what I understand. The size of these treesseems to bear that out. The tower at the main complex is to the rightof the trees, and you can see a man walking alongthe road for a comparison.The gardener who takes care of our area does a nice job with the roses.

Still rainy season

2009-04-03T18:32:00.006+02:00

It is raining every two or three days still. The maize shoulddo well this year. The maize (corn) is similar to whatwe grow in the US, except that it is white corn andgoes to feed people.The crows, however, are different. They have a ring of whitefeathers around their neck and down their chest. They act thesame as US crows do, except that they love to bathein the hotel fountain.

2009-03-28T16:43:00.005+02:00

I took my camera to work a couple of days ago. These are takenabout seven in the morning. The roads are full of peoplegoing to work, kids going to school, etc. Mostpeople walk most places, the lucky few get to ride.The guys at left are driving cattle to graze and the guys at right have a bike-load of kindling wood. Most people still cook with wood and buy it a few sticks at a time.It is

New Malawi Pictures

2009-03-19T12:40:00.005+02:00

I am in a hotel for a few days while househunting. It is very nice, and the grounds are beautiful. We are in the rainy season,and everything is lush and green.ICRAF is located on Chitedze research station, just outside Lilongwe.The grounds are also pretty, and we are surrounded by researchplots and mango trees.

Snow on Spring

2009-03-14T18:40:00.005+02:00

Did I say that it could still snow?Yes, spring can turn to winter in a day (and for a day)!Snow on the forsythia.I will travel to Malawi on Sunday, so postings will be scarcefor a few weeks(then there will be postings from Malawi).

Fully Spring

2009-03-10T03:41:00.006+02:00

Well, spring has stopped peeking around corners, and is finally walking on public sidewalks. Fruit trees all over town are in bloom, and thousands of bees are tumbling happilythrough the blossoms.It took a bit of patience to get a photo of a happy bee.It was warm the day before all the blossoms opened. Yes, this temperature is legit, but it is from the warmest corner of the east face of the

More spring in Texas

2009-03-05T05:03:00.005+02:00

More warm weather, more flowers! This geraniumsits on the east side of the house, and the brickcaptures a lot of heatdaffodils next doorpeach buds ready to burstYes, I know, I promised pictures from Malawi. Whenever we get the travel delays worked through, I will post pictures from Malawi, I promise!.

Signs of Spring in Texas

2009-02-21T01:56:00.005+02:00

With afternoon temperatures is the 60's and 70's so often during the last few weeks, the bulbs, roses, and honeysuckle are bursting with signs of spring.This doesn't mean that it still won't snow, but we can enjoy spring for the moment.

Still More Michigan Fall Colors

2009-02-15T21:43:00.002+02:00

Two Malawi markets

2009-02-07T19:53:00.003+02:00

Potatoes at the Dedza marketBeans and rice at the Ncheu market

Amarillo

2009-02-03T17:37:00.003+02:00

My mother and I went to a play in Amarillo recently, and also wandered through Polk street, which was the heart of the downtown shopping district when she lived there in the 1940's. We found the Paramount theater sign, which was restored and returned to the district in 2006.We also found the enormous mansion that the Bivins family built with profits from the oil and beef industry. It is now

More of Malawi

2009-01-29T19:05:00.003+02:00

This picture was taken on the road between Lilongwe and Zomba. From Dedza to Ncheu the road lies on the border between Malawi and Mozambique. Malawi is on the left, Mozambique on the right. So much for needing a passport.These monkeys trampled across my roof in Zomba shortly after daybreak every morning. Natural alarm clocks...

2009-01-26T01:27:00.004+02:00

The maize fields were bare by the time that we took soil samples, which made things easier.The mountains around the fields were so pretty, I couldn't resist taking more pictures. This is also Zomba mountain, from the north-east. I think that the little boy wondered what I thought was so interesting.

2009-01-24T01:35:00.003+02:00

I spent most of my time near Zomba, a beautiful old colonial-style city that used to be Malawi's capital, and still houses the fine arts and humanities college of the University of Malawi. Zomba city lies at the foot of Zomba mountain, which makes it cooler and wetter than lower-lying districts.This is over the border in eastern Zambia, and is very typical of the rural landscape. Maize fields

2009-01-21T02:59:00.005+02:00

Hello again! I've just had news that I will be moving to Malawi in a few weeks, and to celebrate, I am posting some pictures from my visit in 2006. This is the patchwork of fields of maize and tobacco seen from the landing pattern at Lilongwe airport.Malawians eat a lot of maize, and grow most of it themselves in family fields along with groundnuts, tobacco, bananas and many other things (below

2009-01-07T16:43:00.005+02:00

I visited Caprock Canyons, a state park near Quitaque, TX last week. For those old enough to remember, the "Marlboro man" television commercials were shot here, against the red canyons. I hope to visit again in the springtime and get pictures with the brightest red colors.As sunset came on, the pictures became more interesting...Lake Theo, a small lake in this park, is seldom this still.

2009-01-06T19:00:00.006+02:00

Sorry for the hiatus this week. Merry Christmas! These photos were taken by a friend who was traveling with me. The trip from Michigan to Texas went well, even though the weather didn't cooperate. The weather went from...snow in Michigan...to ice in Illinois...to clouds in St. Louis...to sun in Texas. Happy New Year to all!

Michigan winter

2008-12-21T21:41:00.004+02:00

In honor of this week's snowstorm, I've posted pictures from winter in Michigan. Most Michigan winter days are dark. One of my ambitions at the moment is never to spend another winter in Michigan.Some Michigan winter days are bright, and those can be pretty. We usually pay for the sunshine with colder temperatures, though.

Michigan Spring

2008-12-16T23:44:00.002+02:00

Spring colors are as pretty as fall colors, but I enjoy them even more because the winters are grey.

Weatherford and Palo Pinto

2008-12-07T02:02:00.020+02:00

A couple of years ago my mother and I visited relativesnear Weatherford, TX. Along the way we saw the worldchampion pecan tree (that is my mother standing nearthe trunk). We also saw a herd of longhorn cows (not ourtypical beef breed). I hear that they are being raised again, andmarketed as lean, range-fed, organic beef. At a rest stopon the way home we discovered the latest in caninetraveling

More Michigan Fall Colors

2008-12-05T14:43:00.003+02:00

Taken near Oxford, Michigan in October, 2008.