Tag Archives: monkeys

Oribi Mom

Oribi Mom: Should I Change the Name? Bark Once for Yes

“We thought that getting a dog would also deter some of the brazen Vervets that keep stealing all our fruit – oranges, guavas, bananas, blackberries – but I’ve actually watched a whole troop casually raiding the tree at the back while said dog is snoring on the porch.”

Oribi Mom Heather Lind and latest addition to the family, Ranger (aka Marley). 

June 5, 2023

It’s been a long five years or so keeping chickens, rabbits, and yes, having three bouncing boys join our family. Now, we’ve finally gone ahead and completed our family with a large, beautiful fluffball called Ranger.

His family emigrated, and was relieved to find ours a perfect fit for their beloved Golden Labrador. Except, I’m suddenly understanding how the screenwriters got all their fantastic material for that movie. Should I change the name of my column to Marley and Me?

Dog Stories, Boy Stories, and Family Memories

It seems that I’ve already acquired a file’s worth of stories surrounding this new addition to our family. For example, did you know that dogs like to chew wooden alphabet blocks?
The ones I had big plans to teach our eldest to read with.

I’m still waiting for that miracle to happen by itself because I’m a little bit too busy to force that on a completely uninterested farm boy preferring his free time in the sun. He’s started Grade R, so playtime is precious for him in the afternoons. There’s plenty of time for reading, right? He’s only five.

That’s a good thing because those wooden alphabet blocks keep appearing in pieces on the porch. The 10-month-old inevitably takes a block out there on his travels, and then the family dog shows the baby how to break it into pieces that he can choke on. Can you see my eye-roll?

Slap “Watch” Onto This Dog and Watch the Fruit Disappear

Marley, I mean Ranger, has also managed to chew a hole in my compost bin. What on earth is a grown-up dog looking for in the stinky lettuce and potato pile? Probably a rat. We get some gigantic ones around these parts.

We thought that getting a dog would deter some of the brazen Vervets that keep stealing all our fruit – oranges, guavas, bananas, blackberries. But I’ve actually watched a whole troop casually raiding the tree at the back while said dog is snoring on the porch.

It doesn’t seem like the eagle owls mind him, either. One landed on the roof the other evening and he made a few obligatory warning barks at it. It just looked at him.

But I think the noise disturbed the quiet hunting spot, so the owl flew away after a while. Ranger also stepped right over a night adder the other day without even noticing it. That’s why our kids wear gumboots in the yard.

But I must say, this beautiful Golden Lab is phenomenal with our three boys. What a patient, wonderful dog to play with and love. They are so lucky to have him, and we are, too.

I’ll only call him Marley when he’s naughty, which is not that often it seems.

Published here.

Oribi Mom

Oribi Mom: Let’s Talk About Invasion

The birds strip my poor little palm trees, and the moles keep pushing up my groundcovers and trees before they can get going. It’s wild.

At least there’s a beautiful coral tree here in my Oribi Gorge garden. Photo By: Heather Lind.
February 21, 2021 
Let’s talk about invasion. Maybe not the Star Wars (or Occupy Cape Town mansions) type, though.
I mean lantana, for example, the invasive weed that’s ruining every piece of tilled land where something isn’t planted right away. The butterflies love its pink, orange, and yellow buds, and the birds drop the seeds everywhere (which is how it spreads like wildfire).
As a budding gardener who’s just getting into the nitty-gritties, this weed is only one contender for my wrath in Oribi Gorge. Blackjacks and sweethearts (those semi-circle burrs) come in a hot second. The bunnies are trying to help me clear those, but it’s an uphill battle most summers.

It Isn’t Just a Weed Invasion

Between the monkeys, chickens, rabbits, and Southern Boubous, my seedlings and succulents often lose their will to live or multiply. The birds strip my poor little palm trees, and the moles keep pushing up my groundcovers and trees before they can get going. It’s wild this invasion.
What to do when hours and hours of back-breaking work and careful cultivation has come to naught? It’s a relevant question in a global pandemic, not just for those who took up gardening during South Africa’s perpetual lockdowns. As a sleep-deprived working mom of two, my personal choice is often a mini-breakdown with tears.
The exhausted cry of the mom accompanies out-loud roaring at indignant Vervet monkeys as these relentless opportunists scamper back over the fence after decimating my vegetable garden or blooms. My toddler now imitates this pathetic roaring at will. It’s quite awkward when it is directed at passing tractors or an unsuspecting visitor at our coffee table.

It Isn’t Forever Because Seasons Pass

All that sweat, and real blood from stupid lantana thorns, and what is left in the soil? A lonely stalk that looks nothing like a cabbage, butternut, marigold, or echeveria. It’s infuriating. It’s also illuminating.
A certain beloved Gogo down the road has taught me an invaluable lesson about the things under my care: everything needs pruning. When you care for the land, it responds in kind. You need to chop, hack, and discard the dead and dying plants.
Cut the beautiful hedge down to knee-height, and see what happens in the growing season next year. Don’t be stingy about the damage, either. The more you prune, the more beautiful the development. The more you cut down the wayward tendrils, the stronger the bushy blooms are in the sunshine.
Jesus pruned the vine, too. Now, I understand why.
When last did you prune your own expectations, commitments, and bad habits? Lockdown has given many of us these mini-breakdown moments and we’re not yet out of the woods. Go on, test your roots and clear away the excess that has invaded time, money, relationships, and life choices. You may just find life more beautiful.
Also, you may need to get a dog to keep the monkey invasion at bay.
Published here.
Kenya, Travelinds, Travelinds Destinations

Lake Naivasha

September 2016

Lake Naivasha

At the end of our Kenyan adventures, we had a few days left for an unscheduled trip.  After looking at our options, we decided on Lake Naivasha.  This stunning body of water is one of many fresh-water lakes in the Great Rift Valley, bordered by volcanoes and geothermal vents.  There are campsites and resorts along much of the southern shore, as well as flower farms and conservancies.

20160909_130456A Sweet Camping Spot

Thanks to some recommendations from the locals, we headed off in a borrowed 4×4 to pitch our tent at Camp Carnelley’s (beside Fisherman’s).  Set right alongside the beautiful Lake Naivasha, two hours from Nairobi, under the cool shade of giant fever and fig trees, Camp Carnelley’s is a sanctuary – a place to breathe.   We awoke to the sound of twittering of birds and the African Fish Eagles competing for the loudest cries.The Colobus monkeys visited every day at the tip-top of the fig tree that shaded our campsite.  High up in the trees, flocks of birds congregated in a cacophony of chirps and melodies, feasting on the fruit and leaving “presents” on any unsuspecting victims within their trajectory.

The serenity of the days melted into the amplified frog symphonies of the nights, accompanied by the bass of hippo grunts and the cricket serenades.   The hot water showers were open to the sparkling night sky, reminding us gently that we were still under African skies in the wilds of Kenya.20160909_163625

In season, you can see the famous pink flamingo migration (both here and at Nakuru and Bogoria) as they gather at the shore edges and scoop the water with their comical bills.  We’ll have to come back one day!

New Friends

The beauty of travel is all the interesting people you meet along the journey. Travelinds met two sets of new friends on this trip.  The first was a family who had recently moved to Nairobi and spoke German, French and English. They shared their lunch with us, spent the day chatting and having fun; and then we barbecued a delicious fish that we bought from a local fisherman.  The other couple is from the U.K., currently living in Uganda and road-tripping through Kenya! You can catch Alex and Katie at https://tougandablog.wordpress.com/ and https://lifethroughmylens.net/

“A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.”

– Tim Cahill