Harnas magic

At least one friend in my exercise class at home thinks I stay in a tent while I'm in Africa. I hate to dispel that romantic notion, but I actually have a lovely one-room bungalow--called Mowgli.--that has electricity, an indoor bathroom, and lovely African decor. I'll admit it even has an a/c unit--although I won't use it unless it goes over 100 degrees some afternoon. Volunteers definitely rough it, but these days I'm a pampered guest.

My first full day was beautiful. I spent the morning walking with Pickles and visiting old friends, including 3 cheetahs who let me scratch and pet them while they kept up their fabulous purring. Then I met some of the new arrivals at Harnas, but I'll tell you about them at a later date.

After lunch I was heading home from the office to rest duyring the hottest part of the day and suddenly over the bridge came 3 baby baboons. They had been with Marieta on the far side of the bridge where she was overseeing some work. I flopped down on the lawn in the shade of a big tree and they joined me and Pickles, where they used my body as a jungle gym for the next couple of hours. Two other dogs joined us--Brollocks (a black lab--in the picture) and Lexi (a great dane) and the baboons climbed all over them as well. Lexi even wrestled with the male baboon, Ronnie. (Yes a great dane with a baboon. It's Harnas, after all.)

One of Marieta's worker women brought by 3 bottles of formula so I got to feed them, and then the smallest, a female named Rosy, fell asleep on my chest while Ronnie and Rica climbed in the tree.

As I leaned back on my elbows, surrounded by dogs and baboons, I looked across the lawn and saw about a dozen baby ostriches--about the size of turkeys--run awkwardly towards us, only to be driven wildly off course by a baby horse frolicking in the grass.

It was one of those magical Harnas moments when I shake my head and smile, knowing there's nowhere else on earth this could happen--and nowhere else on earth I'd rather be.