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Bush Walk: Then and Now

Let me start by saying that I extremely jealous of those of you who are experiencing Autumn in Kentucky.  It has always been my favorite time of year: The color in the leaves, the brisk fall weather, being bundled up around campfires, college football on TV.

While it isn’t a typical October/November for us, the seasons in Swaziland are certainly changing.  About 2 months ago we took a walk through the bush behind our house.  At the time, it was the tail end of Winter (our dry season).  But now, the wet (hot) season is fast approaching.  We have had several heavy rains, many 100+ degree days, the mangos are growing on the trees and everything is turning green.

We took another walk through the bush today and even though I have been observant to the changes, I was amazed at how much things had changed.  Take a look for yourself:

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Then…

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… now

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Then…

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…and now.

Of course some things don’t change.  I still have the most beautiful daughter and I wife that I enjoy every minute with.

On this particular trip, we walked quite a bit further until we reached a nearby river.  Beth mentioned last week on her blog how much we love the cattle egrets that fly around here.  Well today there were tons of them out.  Here are a couple quick picture of some we saw:

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We also saw some more "interesting" forms of life.  Check out this video of a dung beetle:

 

Unlike last time where Mikayla got tuckered out pretty quickly, she was a trooper the whole time on this trip.  Here is a final picture of her leading us home:

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She is tough and cute… and she knows it!

  1. David
    November 5th, 2011 at 07:53 | #1

    Nice. When we moved to Florida, autumn was and is the hardest time for me. But, after being for 5 years, I already notice things that I realize I’m going to miss when I leave Florida. Miss you guys, have a great weekend!

  2. Lynne Croxton
    November 5th, 2011 at 08:34 | #2

    So cute. You are a blessed man, Ben Kickert!

  3. November 5th, 2011 at 13:14 | #3

    @Lynne Croxton
    Are you saying the dung beetle is cute?

  4. November 7th, 2011 at 08:53 | #4

    Hello Ben,
    I am an expat living and volunteering in Siteki, Swaziland for the next year. I haven’t read through your whole blog – just the last couple of posts – but will have to read further! Where are you located?

  1. November 6th, 2011 at 05:46 | #1