The screen door to my living area doesn't shut. Or perhaps I should say that, when closed, it doesn't seal. Big gap. This is a result of the time when Dori the dog was locked inside my hut while I spent the afternoon in Ghana. She gnawed-off the little 1x1 strip of wood that frames the larger screen door. Also, the hinges are aged, as is this PCV, so the door simply won't close completely.

I almost never sleep with my PC-required-metal-door closed. I've got Rex and Dori; and they're better security than any locked metal door. Plus, it's hot in this land, and I want every bit of moving air that I can get. Still, with that gap in the doorway, is it any wonder that a critter sometimes comes into the hut? To further invite such comings and goings, I usually prop open the screen door with a stone. Hello! Breeze needed. And why should I worry? After all, I've got Martin to come and collect any incoming bats. 

Ah, little Pô. Pô's electricity went out on last Friday morning. No, not this past Friday. Last Friday . . . as in almost two weeks ago. Water was cut soon thereafter. I’m accustomed to this, but I had house guests from the States last weekend, and it’s difficult to explain why Pô's utilities come and go with no explanation and with no realistic idea of when said utility services might return. And now that hot season has arrived (early), sleeping with no fan isn’t fun . . . made worse when one can’t awake and go outdoors to stand under running water. Of course, this doesn’t even address the issue of water needed when one has a flush toilet. Under such conditions, I feel like a real PC volunteer. And after all, the trick, William Potter, isn't minding that it hurts. However, this morning, the electricity returned, though there's still no water. And the Peace Corps wonders why I want a pump for Pô. I catch myself holding my breath as I expect the power to fail again at any second, thus losing my Internet connection.

Last night I was awakened to the sweet perfume scent of rain. Well, that's not quite accurate. I was awakened by the call of nature. I ran outside to the latrine. These days I've got a lot of night time comings and goings in the latrine. I attribute this to dry season. Since I usually keep a bucket of water in the latrine to assure the goings of the toilet contents, critters are attracted to the water. Thus, it's necessary to say KoKo and lightly knock on the latrine wall . . . all the better to urge the speedy goings of any nocturnal visitors. What type of visitors, you ask? Big ones. Bush rats! I've got witnesses. A few weeks ago I was happily seated in the middle of the night, flashlight held between my teeth, when the beam of light caught the full view of the large mammal that ran across my foot. Though, as you might imagine, I didn't need light to realize just how large the animal was. Its weight on my foot told the entire story. Yes, they do grow this large. And in case you're curious, there are villages who raise them like rabbits for food. Would I kid you? And I wonder what's been eating my new garden seedlings.

Anyway, last night though the air was thick with the scent of rain, no rain; but I sat at my table about 4:00 a.m., inhaled the best scent in the world, and watched the lightening storm over northern Ghana. Rainy season won’t begin until May, or possibly late April; but we are occasionally rewarded with a few rain days in February and March. It’s called the mango rain . . . just enough rain (probably a grand total of two inches over three or four sporadic days) to make those yummy mangoes plump-up and ripen so that I can have mango salsa.

Perhaps you’ve noticed that this blog received a bit of a face lift . . . similar to the one that I'm going to need after over two years in this cripplingly hot climate. So I changed that blog photo to truly reflect my life in a fish bowl. My hut also received a bit of a face lift. Nothing that you’d notice. But here are a few photos since I haven’t posted any in quite some time. Out of this kitchen magic is made . . . though, to date, no bush rat magic. I've searched A.B.'s Good Eats 3, but nothing. Come on, Alton! So, where might I find a recipe for bush rat ratatouille? We can only speculate.