Don’t Count Your Chickens Before They Hatch

There are some sayings that fit life in Africa so well it wouldn’t surprise me if they originated here. “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch” comes to mind because of potential up-coming work opportunities. But as with so many things in life, especially in business and start-ups, don’t get too excited about something that hasn’t transpired yet.

First, I am relieved and delighted to say that, since July, things have finally been working out in my favor. That was my first break-through. I can pretty comfortably say that from January up until then I was encountering huge obstacles, hindrances, delays, etc. It was really wearing me down. In fact, when I was visiting the US in August I was constantly mentally exhausted. I was sincerely astonished when people told me “You look great!” I thought, “Seriously? Because I haven’t felt great for most of this year. So that’s truly amazing.”

People have approached me about doing environmental activities for their kids’ birthday parties or with their visiting volunteer groups, but nothing materialized. So, for future unknowns I use the word “potential” because, until it has actually happened, it only has potential to be great. One of those exciting potential opportunities is leading birding trips at Maguga Dam in Northwestern Swaziland. A reservoir has been created in one of the most beautiful parts of the country that has been stocked with fish for fishing, and a lodge has been built on the slopes to accommodate travelers and vacationers. The lodge staff have chosen me to lead birding trips for their guests. One of the benefits is that I got to stay at the lodge for 2 nights and watch birds to my heart’s content on land and on the reservoir on their boat. It was a great, relaxing trip and I hope birders will come to enjoy the same experience.

For the birding crowd I tallied 83 species over 2 days, 68 species the first day and an additional 15 the second with about 50 species tallied while on the boat. Highlights included the striking male Scarlet-chested Sunbird (click and scroll), a Gymnogene (renamed African Harrier-Hawk) and a pair of Barn Owls perched under one of the dam structures. I heard the Gorgeous Bush-shrike and Emerald Cuckoo, but sightings still elude me. Sometime when I have time to hunt them down though, I’ll see them.

While resting at the cottages, a very active pair of Red-winged Starlings was busy collecting big, fat, black millipedes to feed to their chicks. These millipedes are about as fat as your thumb and at least the length of your hand. So one is quite a meal, and quite large, which means the parents had to do a lot of beating and flailing of the millipedes on a hard surface to break them into bite-sized chunks. They’d take a chunk to their chicks leaving the rest on the stone steps or some concrete structure they used. Occasionally they’d remember that there was some left and come back for it. But more often than not they would forget and just go find another one. So that explains some of the dead millipedes lying around in pieces.

In addition to the potential birding guide work, I was contacted by a local non-profit that teaches life skills to orphaned and vulnerable children. They have asked me to lead some hikes and environmental activities for their group of teens in December. I had been tormented for months about putting together a nature camp in December, mainly because overnight camps are more appealing than the day camps I ran last year. This means I’d need to either find friends/acquaintances who’d be willing and able to help for free, in exchange for a fun and free experience while assisting and supervising the kids, or hire a couple of people to assist with the camp. So this opportunity with the Moya Center has been a real blessing. I am so relieved to have that sorted out, assuming nothing derails the plan of course.

So, the fact that in Africa you really can’t plan on anything and you can’t assume that something will happen just because you’ve set things in motion for it to unfold might explain some of the strange experiences I’ve had with other people. For example, I have known people working in particular places and suddenly they’re gone. I find out through others that they’ve left. They had opportunities to tell me they were going to leave, but they never did. Or they may have hinted but never said anything concrete like,“March 26^th will be my last day here.” Maybe it’s because you just don’t talk about something until it has really happened. Until then, who knows! It’s just talk. So, don’t count your chickens before they hatch. And encourage your chickens to lay lots of eggs!