I have always wondered why books and essays need a title.  Is it to prime us for the content?  What would happen if books got onto shelves without titles and we had to read the foreword by the author to figure out what was in the book?  Would that make us attain a stronger reading culture?  Would we become more inquisitive and curious?  I ask because I have no title for this blog. I digress! Back to matters farming.

Last time we “spoke”, I told you about Mitten who had chosen a life of freedom, adventure and the wild.  Well, guess what?  Last Saturday, I was out in the garden in the evening, admiring night life and gazing at the stars with a group of friends. Smack in the middle of a conversation about my escaped cat, guess who shows up? My escaped cat! I thought reality had fractured.  I asked the friends I was with whether they were seeing a cat and whether it was black and white.  They indeed were seeing a cat. Turns out, Mitten was back, but he would not let us touch him or get near him.  I called to him in the dark and tried to coax him home, but no luck. Eventually, he scaled the boundary fence and leapt off back to the bushes.  Hope springs eternal – we have gone back to keeping windows open and some food out just incase he decides to come back. We wait!

Did I tell you about the bees?  We had a colony of bees that had built an impressive “home” in a tree right by the house.  I worry about bees in my part of the world.  They are called African killer bees for a reason – emphasis on killer.  So, when they decided to build their colony next to the house, I was apprehensive.  One wrong move and the bees will evict us from the house quite unceremoniously!

I asked around for someone who could relocate the bees safely.  Most people told me to exterminate them.  Much as they are called African killer bees, I am not in the business of killing bees.  I needed a better answer than extermination.  Then, I remembered my Kenya Horticultural Society “tribe”.  They know everything about everything that happens on land.  I got a contact from one of the members for a bee “relocator”.  This gentleman is a true bee whisperer.  He came home, coaxed the bees into a hive and placed the hive in what we thought was a suitable location.  No fuss, no noise, no drama.  Just a smooth and efficient bee relocation.  I diligently checked on my bees to ensure they had water – an Azolla mini pond was created for them, and that they were comfortable.

Anyone who has raised bees will tell you.  They are fussy and they like what they like, not what you think they should like.  My bees ran away – just like Mitten, they chose the wild over my hive. I spoke to the bee whisperer and he told me this sometimes happens. He also advised that we clean the hive using holy basil, which grows wild on the land.  We did.  Now we wait for a new colony to adopt the hive as their home.

In the meantime, the sun is back.  White unrelenting heat that bakes the earth brown and makes it unquenchably thirsty! In this heat, we have planted all manner of vegetable; Onions and leeks, Tomatoes, Kale, Cabbage and Pigeon Peas.  Once more, we wait! A lot of times, farming is a waiting game!

Have you ever wondered how dragon fruit grow?  I have! For the longest time, it seemed to me a fruit to be grown by someone who practices yoga, is very patient and walks around wearing clothes made of bamboo, and wears sandals on their feet.  I have no idea why I thought this.  Over the last weekend though, I had the privilege of visiting the home of one of Kenya Horticultural Society members.  This gentleman and his family started researching dragon fruit about 10 years ago, and started growing them in 2019.  He is now one of the leading authorities in dragon fruit in Kenya. I learnt so much from him, but most of all I learnt the true meaning of diligence, follow through, curiosity, a demand for excellence and most of all, that word that has no real translation “ikinda”. He gave me the confidence to attempt to grow dragon fruit.   I will surely get seedlings from him and start this journey! We wait and see how that turns out.

Now that I reflect on this blog, I might as well have titled it “Waiting”.