Baby Chicks!

We finally have some chicks! After 3 weeks of waiting, the eggs started hatching this morning. They were still hatching after school, so the kids got to see at least one coming out of it's shell. Really fun. They were so excited. Unfortunately, 2 were trampled by their surrogate mom, but we still had 3 eggs that were unhatched when we last checked before dinner. 13 baby chicks in all so far. Anderson is the most aggressive in getting them, but not the most gentle holding them. Tierney is the exact opposite. Ash is curious and will only hold them for a short time, but loves being in the coop with them to watch it all. A very fun day (I think I was as excited to get the kids home from school as they were when I told them what was waiting). They are all mostly a butter yellow - a few have black spot and one is all black (Ash wants to know if it will grow up to be a penguin). In about a month, we'll know which ones are the boys and then we should have another couple of months to decide what to do about the noisy roosters (sell, slaughter, etc). I don't know who is having more fun with all of this. Now hopefully, the hens will start laying eggs again. (The eggs with the chicks we marked with an 'x', so we knew which to take for eating and which ones to leave).
[Next morning update: 16 chicks in total - wow!]

A couple of weeks ago we had another wild animal visitor to the Broyle/Banks compound. We think it was a striped polecate/zorilla (thanks to Tio Mike with his research on that one). The dogs caught it and the gardener rescued it (at least temporarily). Apparently they are fairly common, but infrequently spotted since they are nocturnal. That was a fun afternoon for the kids, too.

I realize I haven't blogged about my mom's visit yet. It was an amazing trip and I think she thought so, too. I think it's so fun to watch others take in the sights here. I remember my first trip and it's fun to get that feeling back through other people. We did two big safaris: Kambi ya tembo and Karatu/Ngorongoro Crater. We went to Kambi ya Tembo for a one night. A luxury tented camp on the north side of Kilimanjaro. We woke up to views of snowcapped Kili watching giraffe from the porch of our tents. I was also surprised by the amount of wildlife we were able to see on the game drive: giraffe (lots and lots), wildebeest, zebra, ostrich, dikdik, but no elephant despite the camp's name (Tembo is swahili for elephant). But we were lucky enough to come home with zebra, wildebeest, and even an elephant skull which are now on the front patio acting as giant doggy chew toys. We have to figure out a way to get these (legally?) back to the US. We also had a very friendly maasai guide who came around with us (traditionally dressed). The kids took to him right away and it was very interesting to watch the younger maasai children that we came across bow in respect to him as he touched their head.

For Mom's big 65th birthday weekend, we went to Ngorongoro Farm House for a couple of nights and made a stop at Lake Manyara National Park on the way and the actual birthday in the Ngorongoro Crater. Amazing. Lake Manyara was beautiful. We saw a lot of wildlife with some amazing close-up of elephants as well as amazing views of giraffe with the lake and mountains in the background. Ngorongoro is just amazing and we were able to see several lions as well as just hang out in the middle of a herd of wildebeest as we watched the head male try to keep his flock in line. We ate lunch next to a hippo's water hole where several (6 or 7) kept popping in and out of the water.

The girls last day of school is Friday - and, while the are very excited, I am wondering what we are going to do to fill up the next two months in a chilly, Arusha winter. One trip to the Usambara mountains and Pangani beach is already planned. I'm sure we can fit in something else, too.

Matt has been out in the field for almost 2 weeks and we're excited to have him home tomorrow night just in time to celebrate his 40th birthday on Sunday. We'll have some friends over to help us celebrate. Happy 40th birthday Matt and Elizabeth.