Trip to Eldoret Vet

As my regular readers know, whenever we go up the mountain to Eldoret, it's quite an adventure.  Tuesday, when Zephania, our driver, Ambrose and I went to town, was no exeption.

Near the top of the mountain, a motorbike came down in the opposite direction. As usual, he was free-wheeling. And would stay in this mode right down the mountain a whole 24 kms of twisting and steep winding road, he has no motor running. Just free wheels. Phew!

Motor cyclist free-wheeling down the twisty, bendy mountain road! We stopped and I got out to take the photo, but he whooshed past so fast that I missed the shot until I focussed and got this one of him!

In town, while Ambrose was at the vet, Zephania and I popped into town to the supermarket. Outside was a Sony promotion, the loudspeakers were modern and very, very loud with dancers (first there were two young girls) gyrating to the music.

These two young men danced like this for ten minutes!

Zephania helps the vendor to load potatoes into a plastic carrier bag

On the way home, Zephania stopped at a "shopping complex"  next to the road. I wanted potatoes and knew that these ladies would sell me lovely ones at a good price. The plastic tubs contain 20kg of potatoes for which I paid KES300/US$3.91! These women plant the vegetables in their shambas (farms), tend their crops, harvest them (digging up these potatoes virtually by hand or with worn garden tools) and loading them into sacks. They then carry these heavy sacks on their backs (a sight you see regularly is women bent under huge loads of wood, multiple canisters of water or sacks of vegetables) walking along the road. If she has a man or young boy walking with her, he does just that; walks with her!   

So it seems sacrilege to sell this hard-won produce for such a ridiculously low price, but that's what the locals can afford and that's what she charged me.  

As we turned our vehicle around, I spotted this hotel in the village

 Small town, down town hotel!

And soon we left the tar and meandered down the mountain road. With every bump, poor little Ambrose had come to and was staggering around in his cage on the back seat. All I could do, was check that he didn't wedge himself in between the plastic water trough and the side of the cage.

Not long and Zephania pointed excitedly at a clump of large trees lining the road. There were Blue Monkeys and there were Black and White Colobus Monkeys. Zephania stopped the car; I got out and managed to get quite a few very nice photos of both kinds of monkeys. Three cows were grazing at the edge of the road and one was actually breathing down my neck as I focussed on the monkeys. I swung round and said: Boo! while getting a lovely shot of the cow! The other two walked back towards the car and sniffed at the bodywork.

The top two photos are Blue Monkeys, the middle four are Black-and-white Colobus Monkeys and the bottom two photos are of the common ole cow!

To all my friends and my sister, Rose,  in the Northern Hemisphere, who're facing winter, wrap up warmly and hug yourself from me!

Blessings

Jo

The Kenyan Patient

Before we left for Eldoret yesterday, I lined the travel cage with Grant's tee shirt which had a sprinkling of cat nip on it; Shawn the Sheep (it used to be Shadow's favourite toy in Khartoum), a grey toy mouse, a blue toy mouse and a fluffy ball with a bell inside to keep him company.

I placed Ambrose inside and locked the door. Of course, Mr Shadow had to come and inspect and gave Ambrose a high-five!

Ambrose getting used to his cage before the long bumpy trip up the mountain to Eldoret

It all went well at the vet, as is normal with Dr Shah and his wonderful team of assistants. At 11.30, I collected a very dopey little cat, who staggered around in the cage as we travelled down to the valley.

Once we got home, I removed him from the cage and put him in the guest room on a fluffy duvet on the floor.I placed a bowl of water nearby, closed the door and left him in peace. He gradually came out of the anaesthetic and by evening I tempted him with a plate of  Whiskas Tasty Treats. (Lamb nuggets in gravy) He licked the gravy and left the meat nuggets. We let him sit with us before dinner by the time we went to bed, he was resting peacefully on his normal "bed" (a diningroom chair, with the tablecloth draped around him)

Ambrose last night, looking very sorry for himself. Ginger is sitting behind him waiting for his cookies. Shadow was on the counter top behind me, watching the proceedings

  

 Ginger: What's that you're saying, Shadow?

Mmm, I agree, let's hope he stops his cheek now!

Re the post on Sunday of the cat with the orange eyes (Bionic Cat) yes Kay, it was Ambrose. He has grown so much and looks a lot like Ginger. Still want Ginger to admit to paternity but he won't budge, ha-ha. (Which Tom cat would?) But Ambrose is a paler shade of ginger, almost beige. Hopefully he'll gain a little weight now as he grows.

Hope you're all having a wonderful week.

Blessings

Jo

Ambrose in the limelight again!

Above is a collage of the three cats in the Hedges Kenya household. The top two are Shadow and Ginger. The next six are of little Ambrose, now six-and-a-half months old. When this post is aired, Ambrose and I will be on our way up the mountain to Eldoret. We're going to Dr Shah, our vet, for the little procedure which all our male cats undergo. (Our female cats in South Africa have had operations while the males had "the procedure")

Ginger and Shadow will stay home tomorrow!

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