August Post

So it has been sometime since I have written here. Well, it has been raining and Ramadan is in full swing. My projects are going smoothly and I have been quite productive. I am looking forward to working on my main project as soon as the rains stop and Ramadan is over. The fencing has been purchased and the fence posts cut. Mustapha and I have planted cashew, Mango, and Bean inside the field and soon Gmelina as well. I purchased another 500 Gmelina trees to be added into the field behind all the fence posts. In perhaps 5 years or so they will be used as the fence posts and are great for timber as well as coppiciable. We have also transferred about 100 Siisal plants. Which, brings me to an interesting story about transferring them. Sissal is very similar to the Yucca plant in the states except for the stock growing from the center. (When Siisal germinate a stock grows from the center as well.) These plants are quite large. I am morphed by their size. They are gnarly plants and when the pierce your skin the start to burn and immediately switch to intense itching. It took 5 of us to yanking these guys out of the ground with a rope and a small bar for cutting the root. I was stabbed several times. Most memorable were one through the toenail and one in the nether region. One of my host brothers was shredded when he tried to give one plant a good kick for leverage. He slipped and ended up in the middle of that plant. It was a painful and bloody mess. My family and other villagers laughed because of the damage I was receiving and my foul language after each injury.
I recently saw my first Wild Dog or as the Gambians call them "fox." I have always heard them, but never seen one. When laying down at night you can them in the bush. They sound like a bunch of puppies crying; that's the only way to describe it. Well, I was heading back on the road right before dark recently, when two of them darted across the road. Big-eared and black with long tails and slender bodies. That was cool. I hope to see a Hyena soon as well. Of course I do not want to be alone when I see it.
So I am writing this from Kombo. I am going back to site tomorrow. Today I hope to have a meeting with some government dudes about another project myself and 3 other PCV's are working on I will explain later. Gotta go now peace.