Animals continued...

We have actually had a slew of different animals coming to us lately – some longer than others. I was most perturbed the week we got the little monkey. Frustrated probably is a better word. I had this monkey hanging onto my leg. A mother hen had run off her nest and left the youngest baby chick so we had him with us, and then a boy brought a baby owl which Ben paid 1500 riel for. The owl was the least troubling as he just slept all day. The monkey was the most annoying screeching all the time wanting attention. The chick was loved by Ammy and we must have imprinted somewhat on him as he would follow us around. The first night, Oliver (the owl) got out of his box. Then I saw that there was another owl on our veranda trying to get to him. Thought it might have been his mother. The next night the same thing happened so we let him go. Then the next day we weren’t sure – he was in a nearby tree all day and looked a bit sad. The next day we caught him and kept him for a bit and then thought again that maybe she really was his mother so we let him go. He hung around a bit at first…then eventually went away. The chicky was given back to his mummy on day 3 (we had him for 2 days). Then the best thing was that we gave the baby monkey to our female adult monkey, Sok. They are both the same species and she took him on like a long lost baby. She cuddles him all the time now. He has escaped from her clutches a couple of times and run to the house where he isn’t nearly so clingy and wants to play. She is pretty good about letting him drink her milk. So things seem to be working out there. Ben was watching them today. They were both on the ground and the Chips was playing. He noticed Ben and tried to make a run for it. Sok then tackled him, not letting him get away and hugged him tightly, while walking away, giving Ben very bad looks.

So, relieved of those three, Ben goes and brings home a baby porcupine. Admittedly, he is kind of cute. He likes to be scatched on his tummy. Kind of rolls over like a dog with his back leg kicking (must be ticklish). He got loose one night. They like to dig like wombats and he had dug his way out. Luckily, or unlukily if we hadn’t found him, he still had his rope on and he had got caught up in some bushes not far from the house. So we spotted him and Ben made him a wooden enclosure with a floor. Now at night we hear gnawing away on the wood. I am sure he’ll get through it one day.

The woolly necked stork has made his yearly appearance also. We raised him from a baby in 2002 along with his 2 siblings. They all eventually flew away (assumed shot) but this one, about a year after flying away came back. He seems to be smart enough to avoid the dreaded MAN. A few times he has brought back friends (who aren’t brave enough to land). It is usually in the dry season when I suppose the food resources out there are limited and he knows there is always a good supply of fish or frogs here. So he has been with us for a couple of weeks now. He is our lone success story!

animals animals

Ben called me the other night on his way home from Chey Saen. He had just come into phone range (about 10 mins from our house). He told me to tell Amelie that he had a surprise for her. Last time he brought home a little turtle for her (which she promptly lost the next day) which was dug up by the excavator digging the dam they are building over there. When I asked what he was, he just said, tell her it’s a reptile. Well… she was most thrilled with the present. As you can see. Bindi is her hero right now (I don’t think it is temporary). And she told us very frankly that she knew how to hold it. She does at least understand not to pick up any old snake. This snake is a sunbeam snake. He is iridescent in the light and actually quite pretty – as snakes go. Amelie woke up the next morning and went straight to the bucket where we had kept him for the night. Didn't even say hi to me. And announced that he was gone. Escaped. Outside I hope!

PS it took me about 20 tries to get these photos on here!

Mango Season

It is mango season. Or at least it has been. It is very short here in Rovieng… unfortunately. Last week we had some wonderful juicy and sweet&sour “Svay Gat-ee.” They were grown locally and freshly picked off the tree by the old lady that grows them. They cost 50c each. I sent our guard to the market to buy some mangoes (along with some other animal food) and he came back with the cheap ones which cost about 10c each. He was horrified at the price of the 50c ones so didn’t buy any. Amelie here is holding a “Gow Lim-eeat”. These ones are good eaten hard and still green. We were having a mango picnic with the animals after the their train ride.

I used to know all the varieties in Myanmar, but keep forgetting the names of the best ones here. Maybe I have it down now.

For Mum

You're always worried about our nutrition. So I thought I’d take some pictures of the vegetables we were eating just for you. Actually this was a few months ago and they are getting sparse again. Just to let you know that we eating nutritiously and also I know that you love the little cauliflowers they get here. I tried to cook it Burmese style with tumeric. Came out pretty yummy. The cauliflowers in the market lasted for a few weeks (in January), then started to get all buggy and now we don’t have any. Also had lots of nice fresh greens for a while there. It is the end of the dry season right now. There are a few tomatoes in the market and some greens (mostly “ga-zuen-yu-et”) and a few other odds and ends. Mostly we are eating mung bean dahl and potato curry. The price of flour locally has increased to $1.50 per kg (compared to 65c in Phnom Penh before) along with many other items (eggs are 15c each!!). Milk is the most crazy item. I have always just bought powdered milk. It used to be about $12 for 1.8 kg of powder. Lately though, it has gone up to $28 for the same amount (it makes about 14 litres). I switched temporarily to UHT milk which was cheaper (and great for making really creamy yoghurt) – that is now $1.60 per litre. It all comes from Australia or NZ. I think we need to get our own milking cow now. The price of fuel has gone up to $1.30 per litre for petrol. Diesel is also over a dollar also. So i should also invest in a bike. It is a good thing we have solar power!

Amelie's Prayers

Dear Jesus,
Please help the Chinese people to be good and get on an aeroplane and drink water and eat fish and chicken. And bless the food.
Amen

Amelie has been praying about the Chinese people for a while. Since we got the baby monkey and told her that the baby lost his mummy and daddy, probably to the Chinese who want to eat monkeys to make them smart, she has started praying for them to be good. She prays for them to get on the aeroplane so that they can bring the mummy and daddy back. And this time, to eat fish and chicken (instead of monkeys I presume). This prayer seems to have replaced the prayer for the pony!