Back In The Saddle

I've had a long break from the blog and my apologies. I decided to take my annual visit to my children in the US early this year in order to be back in Egypt before the elections and the verdict on Mubarak. I was concerned that if there was going to be problems here and I would be in the US, my staff would have a hard time. So I traveled in May rather than June and arrived back the day before the first round of elections. They  were a huge surprise to everyone, so being totally jetlagged actually made it a bit easier to  absorb. Then came the verdict on Mubarak which wasn't completely unexpected since no one had any illusions that it was a real trial. For three nights now, Tahrir has had people protesting in it. The elections abroad are currently taking place and the initial estimates show that the turnout is much higher than expected based on the first round figures. The elections in Egypt will be on the 16th. Everything is unsure, the population is very divided on who to vote for...especially since neither of the two choices is wildly popular. I make sure that I go out every day for a ride in the countryside to remind myself of the certainties of life, of planting, weeding, harvesting. Everyone needs to touch ground every so often to remain connected to the realities of life.

Spring Break

Many apologies for not posting anything, but given the interesting times currently being enjoyed by Egypt, I decided that my usual June pilgrimage to visit children should be in May this year. I have my iPad with me but haven't been able to figure out how to use any of the images on it with Blogger.

Colour Changes in Spring

It's the season for our bougainvilleia to be bursting in colours over the garden walls. But one of the interesting things is the way that the plant gradually can change colour. The picture on the bottom is from the same garden and the same vine as the white blossoms above, but they are gradually turning pink. I have no idea why or how.

Hanging Out In The Trees

It's mulberry season in Egypt and everywhere you go (unless you are trapped in grey concrete urban hell) there are lush green trees with black or white mulberries hanging off every branch and children of all ages climbing the trees to pick them. In our garden we have a huge Omani white mulberry tree with fruit the length of a finger that tastes like pears. But there is no way in heaven that I can even begin to eat all the fruit so every couple of days the staff get together to shake the ripe fruit out of the tree.

Village Entrepreneurs

He isn't much older than his customers, and since it was Sham el Nessim weekend, I figure this was probably a temporary job to pick up some pocket money. The plastic bags are full of cotton candy and the seller announces his presence with the aid of a particularly raucous horn.

Antiquities Trash...AGAIN!

There is an area out in the desert behind the Step Pyramid where the Sakkara Antiquities people dump their dig debris. This is an interesting place to ride as there are bits of ancient mudbrick, old bones, bits of pottery and so on. However, lately they have also been dumping basic garbage out there and that is NOT ok. Every so often I post photos of this to try to bring it to the SCA's attention. This particular dump site is on an old road out into the desert and anyone doing a camel or donkey ride from the Step Pyramid would be riding right by it. Bad SCA!

Curiosity Almost Saddled The Dog

 We were painting the tack room as part of renovations here so all our saddles came outside for a while. Horse equipment has to be imported to Egypt for the most part as our local saddle makers still don't make decent saddles. Ours comes from the US, Italy, Germany, the UK, Argentina, Australia and South Africa, among other places. Mindy the Dane came out to look around and Kelly couldn't resist trying out the little donkey saddle on her. She wasn't impressed. It's one thing to let the baby pretend to ride for a second, but this was just too much.

Equestrian Photography

It isn't easy to take good photographs from horseback and taking great ones is a total fluke. I was out with a couple of friends this morning who decided to record the occasion. The contortions to get the right angle were entertaining, but the horses found the approaching cattle and donkey cart even more riveting.

Reprise With Fuzz

Many mornings while crossing the Nile on the Moneeb bridge we've seen the invisible basket bicyclers completely hidden by their load of baskets on the way to Maadi or Garden City. Today I was driving in and we were talking about just that image when what to our wondering eyes should appear... an over the top bicyclist carting in FUZZY baskets. Kelly Anderson got the shot while I tried not to run into the car in front of me.

Yalla!

There simply isn't anything better than this to chase the cobwebs out of your head. This is a very common daydream for a lot of people visiting Egypt. Two fast Arab horses and a lot of sand.