Birds and some random Gambian scenes

Watermelon season is a great time to see birds.  I spike pieces on the fence near my back door and sit and wait to see what happens.

African Thrush

Western Grey Plantain Eaters

They're such happy looking birds, always look like they're smiling.

This is Black Necked Weaver

And her mate

Our fence is a bit ugly so I put these bright cups with seeds in and suddenly the brown fence is full of colour.

Grey Headed Sparrow

I'm not sure if this is Mum or Dad feeding the chick but it was lovely to watch.


Beautiful Sunbird

The male is far more striking but I can't help falling in love with the female.  She's very pretty and dainty.  Sunbirds are the African version of hummingbirds but as far as I know they don't hover.

We sometimes meet monkeys when we preach near the nature reserves.

This baobab tree is huge, it must be hundreds of years old.

Typical preaching scenes

This isn't very typical.  A sister and I go out to territory that is assigned to our congregation but has NEVER BEEN WORKED.  Its so far out in the bush it can't be done on foot and many of the brothers don't want to work far from the highway even when I offer to take them in the car.  There are many Catholics in this area so it makes a change from the mainly Muslim territory where we usually work.

The little bumps on this termite mound mean it's full of termites.  They're constantly repairing and extending them.  During the rains they get washed smooth again and if there are no repairs by now it means the colony has died.  Some mounds only have small areas of these bumps but this was covered, there must be millions and millions of termites inside.

Terry going out to Bible studies on his bike.

We went to visit with some friends who have a vegetable garden so they trap animals who are eating their crops.  While we were they caught a Gambian Pouched Rat which isn't really a rat.  This one was so cute they decided to keep it.  They named it Mango.  This picture was taken in the trap but don't worry, he won't stay in there.

We're in the dry dusty season now.  The Harmattan winds blow down from the Sahara Desert.  It's hard work trying to keep the house clean and it plays havoc with your skin but it's great for drying the laundry.

This was a recent sunset at the beach.

Gambian fishing boats

The fishermen aren't allowed to sell juvenile fish so they catch them, bring them in and leave them to die on the beach.  Even the animals need the Kingdom.