The Will to Garden

This is a rooster, not the particular rooster that caused me such sadness, but a member of the fowl family none the less.

Without exaggerating, I must have spent at least twenty hours clearing land, building small dirt mounds, planting seeds and watering my new Nagishot garden. Satisfaction for me comes in the form of neat, weed free, rows.

Now, don't get me wrong, no one is twisting my arm and making me work this little piece of land. All the contrary, I realized last year in Napep that I absolutely love to garden. Unlike my other roles in Didinga, gardening has a definitive beginning, a measurable end. That can't really be said about teaching or evangelizing.
.
Literally, the day after I finished planting the majority of my garden, I came out to check on things and found that my beautiful mounds and carefully planted seeds, were no longer there. They had been replaced by millions of miniature chicken, turkey and guinea fowl footprints.

Oh, that was a sad, sad Didinga day. I'll admit it, the sight of those tiny fowl feet and the reality of their destruction, brought tears to my eyes.

Sure, a garden fence would have been a good idea. And I would have made a quick trip to Home Depot, if that would have been an option. It wasn't. I wanted to kill every last one of those good for nothing birds. I didn't.

When I finally make my way back to Nairobi, I plan to invest in a role of chicken wire. A garden fence will be built. New seeds will be purchased. I will garden. I will persevere.

Note the perfect mounds and
neatly arranged wood chipping mulch.
(Did I mention, that Nagishot's gale force winds ruined my mulching efforts?)