Saying goodbye to Tori…
On Tuesday, Tori’s last day with us, we spent a shorter day in the field, at a more distant site from Mpala. We were working at Ol Pejeta Ranch, which is roughly a two-hour drive one way. Since the plot is an 81 hectare burn, we only completed a small fraction of the work there. However, by lunchtime, all were in high spirits, and we shared some last laughs with Tori over lunch. We left the field early, in order to return in time for an evening sendoff for Tori.
On our way back, we took a few detours to look for cheetahs, but the most interesting sighting turned out to be a defecating hartebeest (captured on camera by Luke and dung captured in a collection bag by Duncan). When we were back on Mpala, we stopped to watch a herd of elephants and to take some pictures. Now that we are getting near the end of our time here, I am trying to photograph more of the spectacular everyday sights here. I have included several pictures from our outing to an escarpment called Baboon Cliffs. The great view, evening light, friends, snacks, and drinks helped us enjoy our last day with Tori.
On Wednesday, we three students went to the field with Duncan, John, and Ernest (who is our favorite askari from Segera Ranch). The Sensenigs went to Nairobi to take Tori to the airport and wrap up some business regarding the Land Rover purchase. We had a very successful and productive day in the field, completing all of the three main types of data collection in a 1-hectare patchy burn. We had to race some rainstorms getting home, and nearly got stuck several times. Duncan was a calm driver, even when the car began to have very odd electrical problems. The engine would randomly turn off if the windshield wipers were adjusted or the fan turned on. One time that it wouldn’t start again, Duncan got out in the rain and temporarily fixed the problem. We thankfully barely made it out of the mud just in time, and the car finally gave up only about 15 minutes from the research center. We passed our time there waiting for a mechanic by joking, laughing, and taking pictures of the misty hills in the sunset. We made it back just in time for showers and supper at 7:30.
Thursday and Friday were spent here at the research center, catching up with data entry and catching up with friends. Our car troubles caused some nice downtime, and a good beginning to our last weekend at Mpala.
- Luke Zehr for the research team (photos by Luke and David)
