Critters

Monday, January 21, 2019

Critters

Here in Arusha, I find that I’m living closer to nature than I do in Spokane.  All kinds of critters come visiting my apartment.  One would expect such visitations, since I leave the door open most of the time. Here are some critters and critter stories that I’ve found fascinating.

First, meet Lizzie and Leonard.  They come visit each evening after dark when we turn on the front porch light. They hide behind the light and patiently wait for insects to come. Then their little tongues dart out and capture the insects.  If the insect is big, they have to shove it into their mouths in 2 or 3 gulps.  They then lick their little lips and wait for the next snack.  Lovely.  I haven’t been able to take a good picture of them crouching behind the light because of the light so these pics are on the wall while they're strolling to their meal.  They also have a baby which is soooooo cute but the l’il darlin is so small and so transparent that the pics don’t turn out at all.

This guy, I think, is some kind of ginormous moth.  He came flying into my kitchen one night, batted around the light for awhile, then decided to settle on the wall near the ceiling.  He was still there in the morning but left soon after I opened the door.

After it rains, we get slug visitors. They are all over the place and we have to watch where we’re walking. I don’t know where they hide out when it dries up but we see them only when it rains. I don’t find these critters cute enough to name.

This snail was crawling over the wall into the bed of plants in front of the apartment.  He’s facing upside down here as he moves along.

Isn’t this butterfly beautiful? And big!  It was attached to the window when I closed it for the night.  It was still there in the morning but soon departed for breakfast.

Ants are numerous (--no photos but use your imagination).  They are teeny tiny itty bitty things that can quickly invade any food left out. Yesterday, there was a small drip of food left on the counter. Within minutes, it was covered with hungry ants.  Every evening, I spray down my counters and don’t wipe them off in order to keep the ants at bay.  I also spray fruit with peels like bananas and mangos so that the ants are less likely to attack before I can eat them.  I keep my honey in the fridge.  It’s the good life.

This morning I was on the veranda putting together this blog.  I took a break and went into my apartment.  I can see my open door from here so I’m close by.  As I went through the door, I looked down and saw this amazing sight.  A spider was in the process of being trapped by some ants.  They were coming from every direction and surrounding it.  It was amazing to watch. The picture doesn’t tell the whole story.  I left this tableau to play itself out and when I returned a little later, there was absolutely no trace of any critters on my doorstep.

One picture I haven’t yet been able to get is one of our resident brown lizard. He lives in the planters out front and is very shy…he runs away when he sees us coming.

Another photo I haven’t gotten yet is of the monkeys.  I saw them climbing along the wall in the back of the courtyard.  I tried to capture a photo of a mama and baby but they were too fast and too far away.  Maybe another day.

Thus ends the critter show for now. Stay tuned for more.

Safari

Monday, January 21, 2019

I'm going on Safari this Friday, January 25 for 4 days.  It's a camping safari.

Food

Monday, January 21, 2019

Food

Part One: Food here is rather cheap.  There are many, many food stands everywhere.  I can step out of Kundayo and within a few minutes, I can return with a bag full of produce. Sometimes the produce is exactly ripe, sometimes a bit under ripe and sometimes a bit over ripe.  It’s all freshly picked.

Here is a small bunch of bananas, a mango and an avocado.  I put the pen down to show the size.

Here is one bag of produce that I bought. 2 Avocados, 1 bunch of cilantro, 2 limes, 4 carrots, 2 mangos, 2 potatos, 1 cucumber.  This cost $2.60.

 Here is another bag of produce. 1 bunch of finger-size bananas, 1 onion, 1 red pepper, small cauliflower, 1 sweet potato, 1 papaya. This cost $3.90. I think the papaya was expensive.

If one wants to buy imported food, it’s really expensive.  Take a look at this Toblerone for about $12.  YIKES!

At Kundayo, in the back of the courtyard, there is a garden with plants and trees that provide food for the restaurant.  Yesterday, Beatrice took me on a garden tour.

Banana trees produce special cooking bananas and Kundayo offers Beef and Banana Stew on the menu.  I’ll have to try this before I leave. Oh, I’m also posting a photo of the banana-cutting tool to cut the banana bunches from the tree.  Interesting, huh.

There are also lots (and I do mean LOTS!) of avocados that grow in clusters.  They fall to the ground where they just lay there.  The black “balls” you see in this picture show some of the fallen avocados. There’s a couple of green ones there too.

Kundayo Restaurant also serves a side dish that is sooooo delicious.  It’s just a bowl of greens but unlike any I’ve ever had.  They grow the greens in the garden.  Here are some pics of 3 different plants that they use.  I don’t know what they are and the cook and other staff didn’t know the names in English. The greens are sautéed with onion and garlic and curry.  Oh, so good. I don’t have a photo of the finished delicacy but, believe me, it doesn’t last very long.

In the back of the courtyard, there is a tree that grows a fruit that I’ve never seen before.  When it’s ripe, you peel it and eat it and apparently, it’s sweet.  The fruit is nobby-looking and grows in clusters.  Beatrice didn’t know the English name for it.

Part Two: How to make Pomegranate Juice….

Another fruit that grows at Kundayo is pomegranate. Here’s what you do with it.

1.     Find a pomegranate tree.

2.     Pick some pomegranates and take them to the cook in the kitchen.

3.     Break open the pomegranates and take out the little red seeds.

4.     Put the seeds in a blender.

5.     Add a splash of water and a splash of vinegar (to ward off bacteria). Then blend it.

     6.     Strain it.

 .           7.     Add some sugar.

8.     Pour it into a glass.

9.     Enjoy.

10.  Share with a friend.

Part Three: Eating Out

On Sundays, we go out to lunch.  Yesterday, we went to Picasso. Janet had a huge salad.  I had a humungous Hamburger and salad.  John had a pizza.  Here’s the pizza story. It cooks in about 3 minutes.

Part Four: Eating In

I have lots of fruit and veggies. I know that they don’t last very long so this week I’m eating them all up.  I don’t want to leave any in my fridge or on my counter when I leave for Safari next weekend.  Oh, I guess I didn’t tell you about the safari.  Ahh, that’s another post.