Natural history adventures sailing the culinary seas...

Wednesday 23 November 2011

Misty Hills

It is the season of the short rains in Kenya. The Taita Hills are lush and wet. We sleep to the beat of rain drumming on our metal roof and wake up in a house drenched in mist. The red-chested cuckoo is constantly singing its three note song which sounds like 'it will rain'.


Can you see the man in the cliff with a big nose?

It is a wonderful time to look out for creepy crawlies. As soon as the sun comes out of the clouds the garden is buzzing, humming, clicking and chirping with bees, wasps, moths, butterflies, grasshoppers, beetles, spiders & other arachnids.
 

Two adorable dogs, a puppy to die for and a whiny but sweet cat have adopted us for better or for worse. Mr Dal is very concerned about their nutrition and feeds them wholesome vegan food as a supplement to whatever it is they are hunting. Unfortunately we do not see many birds from our house, we believe they might have been killed as they can be crop-pests.
The cutest little puppy in Wundanyi


It is also my favourite time of year to have countless cups of tea (actually my favourite would be the monsoon but this is just as good). And not just any kind of tea – a special masala tea with ginger and mixture of spices – cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves, black pepper and nutmeg. The most comforting and tasty tea would be made by boiling tea leaves with milk/milk alternative and then adding sugar and spices. But if there is a ready spice-mix to sprinkle on teabag-tea, its just as yummy!


Masala tea and peppermint tea with ginger biscuits - perfect for elevenses (And did you know that according to Wikipedia the term 'elevenses' was first used in East Anglia :))