Spend day in office, welcome researcher back from Thailand. Find out that some chemicals I order for a collaborator to bring have not yet arrived in WY. Check out the tracking number and learn that they’ve been stuck in Illinois for three days due to ‘adverse weather conditions’ (due to flooding??). Not sure how I’ll get them, but later learn that she could borrow a bit from another researcher at her university. Great to meet (yet another) collaborator on this termite project who has a great personality. Play around with the settings on my camera and capture a view of the banda in the full moon light.

As drive up to field sites hear a few stories from the previous evening from the field assistants, including dissuading hyenas from stealing chickens in the village (=everyone getting up at midnight and chasing them off) and killing a seven foot cobra in the river camp tents (=finding it in a tent and beating it to death). Spend all morning putting mesh bags on very thorny acacia trees. Not bad at first but once I got hot, bitten by ants and pricked by a thorn for the millionth time I start to lose my patience. Talk with another researcher and he recommends that if I don’t find any this time around it might be best to wait for the rain. In the afternoon we rearrange and organize the office to accommodate incoming collaborators. Chat about some null model analyses with Alison and go for a little run.

Up early for fabulous skype date. In field all day doing transects. Some acacias are flowering right now, so decide to see if there’s a relationship with termite mounds, ant occupant, and nectary production. Spot a few ridiculously huge caterpillars and one is harvested to if it would pupate in the lab. Long day but great to get a lot of work done. Enjoy a hot shower and some stretching before heading to dinner. While working in office at nice watch a few geckos scamper across the wall.

Listened to A Prairie Home Companion as I went to sleep last night, and I felt like Garrison Keillor was telling me a lullaby. Must have worked, too, because I have a great night of sleep and wake up feeling like I’m in my own bed at home. It’s Sunday so we have some breakfast meat choices and the bacon-like meat is pretty good. Order up some french toast and slather it in bananas and honey.

Scope out the scene for a cribbage game and I get two bites. After playing for a bit I make the comment “weird to play cards and not be drinking beer.” Well, we remedy that in hurry. Rationale: it’s midnight on Saturday! (ah, west coast time). After two games we try to think of other three person card games and “asshole” is suggested. Each round the Pres makes a new rule, and by the end of it we can’t say ‘you,’ can’t refer to ourselves in the first person, have to finish sentences with the last word repeated twice, and have to use our newly christened names of ‘hobs,’ ‘oaf,’ and ‘that guy’ (=mine). Unfortunately/fortunately at 13:00 lunch breaks up the revelry.

After lunch hang out in the banda and crank out making mesh bags while listening to “This American Life” and “Wait, Wait… Don’t Tell Me.” Have a little “Happy Father’s Day!” skype and head off to dinner.

340a wake up with tummy ache. Something is definitely not right here. Luckily I don’t hear any eles outside the banda so I can walk outside to the bathroom. Good thing, as suddenly my body is purging itself of its contents any way it can. After some intense moments I actually feel pretty good. Guess if you’re gonna get sick that’s the way to do it…

Wake up tired and little rundown. Slowly eat some cornflakes for breakfast and it seems to go well. Add some papaya to the mixture which is also a success. Take it easy and update the blog and work in a little skype date too J Email some friends and it’s great to hear back – so nice to feel a little more connected to the outside world.

Wash some delicates and listen to ‘Prairie Home Companian.’ Go out to field with Alison to see if mesh bags are allowing nectar to accumulate. Check out a handful and doesn’t look to be any nectar. Try using blotter paper and don’t get anything. The nectaries look pretty sad, though, like they’re starting to dry up. Gonna check out some different trees on Monday that may be more productive. Drive back and see a bunch of giraffes in the big open plain. Check out dead giraffe, nothing but vultures. Take a loop around the river and got the closest I’ve ever been to an Eland – never fully realized how big they are! A whole mess of elephants crossed us in the road and when we pass the dead giraffe again we see a bunch his comrades mulling around as the vultures wait in the trees.

Sleep in, start off morning playing with researcher’s doggie. Spend the day rocking some EcoSim analyses for a potential collaboration. Alison grabs a great shot of some hyenas on the giraffe. Run a few laps on the ring road, take a shower, and head out to researchers’ house off of Mpala. Enjoy some sundowners by the river and another great homemade Indian dinner! Wonderful!

What a morning! Start it off with a Skype date and then hear news of lions and wild dogs on giraffe at breakfast. Check it out but all the commotion likely scared ‘em off. Did get some crazy views of a partially eaten giraffe and removed stomach.

Also heard of cheetah kill (gazelle) not far from station, on main road to Nanyuki. Head out there and don’t see a cheetah, but get some great views of a Grey crowned Crane, including a little display dance. Also spied some Vervet monkies and Baboons on the drive back.

Spend late morn and early afternoon sewing bags and listening to “This American Life.”

A couple senior field assistants came in, saw my mess of mesh bags and string and gave me some pointers on collecting the nectar.

Head out to field with and put a few mesh bags on acacias trees. First try on a tree with ants that are *very* active, and I have to stop frequently to shake them off me. The next trees I choose are inhabited by a more laid back ant, and it’s much easier. I’ll wait a few days to see if the bags keep the ants off the nectaries, and if so, if there is any nectar to collect.

Drive by giraffe on way home, ton of vultures picking away at the carcass.

After dinner, head out for quick game drive, but the spotlight doesn’t work so don’t see much. As pass dead giraffe see two hyena nervously pacing behind it. As look closer see six hyenas laying down right next to it.