Trailer of the wet season

Dry season is supposed to end between October and November. However, we are getting some advances on how wet is like with the arrival of spring.

After a really misty day, which I spent doing phenology (The evergreen forest acquires a disturbing look with the fog, even more if you are listening to the BSO of The Princess Mononoke), came a night of heavy rain and lightnings which showed us that our roof not only amplifies the sound in a way that makes you feel as the Apocalypses has just started, but also that it has sieve-complex. My room is rather fine, only one leak...just above the closet where I usually keep my laptop. Miraculously, it's still working.

Fortunately, 20 minutes before I had to go with the monkeys , the rain stopped, leaving behind a humid and misty day in which the monkeys traveled slowly and vigilant, even if we had no inter-specific encounters that day.

Spring here is, like in Europe, a little bit schizophrenic and, after a couple of days drowned in mist and cold came a extremely hot day that quickly evaporated the moisture on the soil, charging the atmosphere in water so you sweat even when doing computer work.

The end of the dry season brings some food scarcity, with all the seedpods that my samangos used to feed on, lying empty on the ground. Fortunately, there are still some leaves on the sweet thorns (Acacia karoo) which the monkeys chew joyfully, as well as herbs, grass and the delicatessen of Red sacred coral tree (Erythrina lysistemon) flowers. Guess that, as long as you are committed to eat whatever living been around that you can catch, you never starve.

Bonnie, my occasional field assistant

Other change along with the season is the ranging pattern. House troop, finally, took me to one of their, until now, less frequent sleeping site. This one is about 1km away from the settlements, near the road that goes to an impressive waterfall and some meters away from a stream. The only problem was coming back from there, because the vegetation was a maze, and of course, be there on time next morning. Somehow, I made it...though I loose them for an hour after the second scan. Nothing like going up and down climbing rocks and avoiding thorns at 6 in the morning, after having worked 12h the day before and slept 6 hours...if I can still do this might be than I'm not that old after all... I'm turning 1/4 century soon and I'm scared and paranoid.

Last but not least, warmth and rain are accompanied by spiders and snakes. A spider with the abdomen of the size of R2 (2 rands) insisted in taking a shower with me. It came back quiet sad to its hole when I rejected the offer. I don’t need more weird bites, I already have some since the second week that are still there ( I guess I should be worry, but if they are going to kill me at least it seems they will take their time. Fair enough). Nonetheless, I haven't found a snake yet in the forest, but I think that I will survive if I leave without that…