Greensleaze

Spring in the Smokies

We loved the way these two moved together, casually brushing by in a sort of
affectionate way.

The Hadza are some of the last true hunter gatherers. They do not sow neither do they reap. Neither do they raise animals,. They work about 4 hours a day for food, hunting and gathering honey and other food, and play the rest of the time. These are women who have husbands, but are not dependent on them. They bring in as many calories of food
by digging tubers as the men do hunting, and if they want to leave they can.

This was a trip to Tanzania in March, 2011. We traveled to Tarengerie National Park, east of Arusha where we spent two days in that Garden of Eden viewing lots of elephants, cape buffalo, impalla, giraffe, and a myriad of birds as well as all three of the big cats and various types of antelope and other creatures. When was there  in 2000,  shortly after Kathy’s death, and after we had climbed Mt Killimanjaro, I wrote this.

TARANGIERE DAWN Tarangiere National Park Tanzania, February 15, 2000

Tented in starry blackness

Distant trumpets and muffled roars

Hold me awake

Frogs begin at first glimmer, then

Birdsong, rising with the light

Fills the cauldron of life below.

The valley’s greysilver ribbon turns mauve, and

Waves of violet and gold wash the African sky.

In my heart, there is no room

For sadness or pain, for

I am filled with the

Harmony and rhythm of

Life and death and

Life and death and

Endless time, flowing

Slowly on.

Each night we climbed a nearby hill and watched the earth roll backwards.

Massi guide overlooks the escarpment near Lake Eyasi, not far from Oldipi (yes that’s the way its spelled) where some of the most ancient bones of our early ancestors were found.

Mafia Island off the coast of Tanzania, where sailboats of ancient design are still used as working boats. This is where we went snoekeling and diving.