of snakes & support

An autumn chill in the air, rain in the night, and - this morning - a shed snake skin among the vygies between the house and the stone cottage. One of the resident Cape cobras. A big one, obviously getting bigger. Which makes me wonder about the little striped mouse in the courtyard.

Talking of eating...

So here you are, a budding fruitarian in an omnivorous society. Which makes you brave, or desperate, or both. And more than likely without knowing many people who mirror your experience. So you discover a couple of bottom-lines: Firstly, Food is a tribal issue, and secondly, the way you commune with your food becomes an identity issue. Books have been written about this, and will continue to be written about this - and somewhere buried in a great deal of nonsense you'll find some useful insights & a few nuggets of wisdom. Here's one:

Don't confuse Support with Community. You could find support in someone who doesn't have a clue about your journey - and if you do you should thank your angels for it. But to find yourself among others who actually share your experience - that's Community, and you're going to need it. Which is why I'm telling you about "Hokaai" - a community of fruitarians. No matter if you've been at it for a while, or are just thinking about maybe possibly, one day, perhaps considering moving somewhat more or less in the direction of fruitarianism - speak to Herma. (051 4365668, or if you're outside of South Africa - that's the nervous country just south of Zimbabwe - add 27 in front). Or just post here & I'll do the rest.

Now here's something I'll bet you didn't know. If you were to take a 5kg dumb-bell and do biceps curls, here's what you'll find: first 2 - it is twice as heavy as last week's 2.5 kg dumb-bell; next 2 - it weighs 3 times as much; from that point on it doubles in weight with every move, until you find you've stopped breathing & more or less lost interest in the whole business.

The Man

No, sorry - he vetoed the sheepskin pictures. But here he is - just before the start of a hair-raising trek down the Nossob valley which brought us to the TweeRivieren camp gates loooong after the justifiably annoyed ranger had locked up for the night. A map-miscalculation which I do not recommend. Must admit though, it was exciting - after all, it was a Kalahari night.

The picture is in fact quite revealing - albeit rather less so than the sheepskin pics would have been. First of all, he likes rivers & forests & cool green shady jungly places. A 40+ deg C desert is not his preferred habitat. But it is mine - which makes this the picture of a generous man. It is also the picture of someone who's breaking the law - not allowed on foot in this part of wild predator country. But then the late afternoon light was making magic out of tsamma melons and red sand...

So there you have my one-man support team for the Augrabies Xtreme: a heat-intolerant, desert-hating free spirit who excels at navigating - in the dark - through dangerous, possibly hostile territory. I rather think I might be in good hands.

Which brings us to the matter of support and community - and that serious challenge which awaits all fruitarians (see 4 problems - 1 solution). As soon as I've taken care of some heavy breathing involving a couple of dumb-bells and a pezzi ball...