Mushroom Hunt

 a quick peek in trees

reveals mushrooms aplenty 

but edible fare?

Great Zimbabwe

With our fill of city under our belts and dear Brettski behind the wheel again, we were off to track down history in Zimbabwe. Well fed, showered and up to date with letters and curio-shopping, we stepped back in time. Our destination was Masvingo, where we planned to visit Great Zimbabwe, a ruined city that was once the capitol of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe.

Having toured through Europe the previous year, my sense of history had vastly enlarged in scale. Back home in Canada, old houses were 80-150 years old, but massive trees easily beat out on any man-made historical sites around. In Europe, I had been awed by buildings that had been in existence for hundreds to over a thousand years, many having seen many uses through the ages. A quiet respect filled me to walk through solid rock structures that had seen members of the Roman Empire walk through these same rooms. History became tangible and reachable in ways I had never experienced. We had not seen many old structures thus far in our African journey, so I relished this taste of their history.

The history of Africa is written in the people’s songs and stories. We know that some of the oldest human remains have been found on the continent, but they have typically been societies of hunters and gatherers. That equates to temporary mud and grass huts that are abandoned to follow herds of migrating animals or to escape times of drought. The rondavels I had seen might have been decrepit looking and old, but it was relative and of a people’s ancient history, they gave little story.

Great Zimbabwe was different though. Here was a landmark built entirely of stone and without mortar, that had begun construction in the 11^th century. It existed and thrived as a city from 1100 to 1450 AD, during the country’s Late Iron Age, at which point it was abandoned and fell into ruin. As we wandered through the stone structures, we were given a view of an organized people where upwards of 18 000 people may have lived in its heyday. Now sections of walls were gone and towers were only envisioned through pictures provided by the site. An amazing amount of the walls and towers were still intact though, highlighted by the Conical Tower, which is 18 feet in diameter and 30 feet high.

This was a kingdom ruled by the Shona people long before white faces invaded the lands. With the grounds covering a radius of approximately 100-200 miles and encompassing 1800 acres, I could not help but be impressed by this ancient black civilization. The relatively recent end to apartheid in South Africa had not dispelled the feeling of a racially motivated social tier in the communities we had wandered through. This monument must have felt like a slap in the face of apartheid’s belief that blacks were simple and inferior. Of course we were not in South Africa anymore and quite a bit of the racial tensions had eased just in crossing the border, but they were still in evidence. Spending the day wandering along walled passages and ducking under ancient stone lintels was an interesting experience that gave another picture of time in this land that made me feel more at home with its history in trees and rocks.

After being treated to another home-cooked meal at Clovelly Lodge life was looking pretty sweet. Feeling closer to the people and their land, Miki and I decided to explore further on horseback. We galloped along behind our guide with grins plastered to our wind-swept faces. A big home-cooked breakfast stuffed us again with the delightful taste of leisure. This must be how the other half lived, I surmised with happiness as the sun set on another glorious day in Africa.

Promises or Threats

you set my heart on fire

your touch a magnet

of  love;

once

now 

inflamed thoughts

scalded by infused words

are a far cry from love's touch

bitter anger at heart's words thrown away

leave oceanic tears dried up 

flagrantly used up

 years ago

eyes

full of malice

afraid of what they see

cling to anger at today's failings

no more talk of love's bosom

Promises or Threats

harsh; is that it

or not

?

The Clean House

Through yonder window

I do peek

while head bends

to the floor.

If only, 

if only the floor

were clean

then I could go outdoors

but no

I labour and 

scrub below

the view of grass still green.

bright promises glint

reflecting day's descent

left darkened on

knees of nevermore.

breezes blow

past brushes path

small mercies

on a cheek so keen.

Aye, by lantern light

rest will come to alight 

on  thine house that sparkles bright

and a woman laid to bed, goodnight!

*

This is my take on the Magpie prompt this week. I have been cleaning in preparation for visitors this weekend, so envisioned myself on the floor scrubbing, looking up longingly at the tease of the outside world. Life kind of looked like that today.

Ramp it up

   Life has been hectic as of late. Run, run, run. My littlest one will be celebrating with her first real live birthday party this weekend. Last year the celebrations were cancelled due to H1N1 scares. Bummer! So for birthday number four, we are gathering up a gaggle of kids to run amok at the Children's Museum. Original thoughts had been to go to a local farm where they have hay rides, pedal cars, animals, pumpkins and more, but the weather looked ominous, so plans changed. 

   As if on queue, a thunder clap rings out. crrraaaaBOOOOMM! Yes, looking out my window the rain streams down to make all those colourful leaves wet, soggy and heavy as hell when it comes time to rake. Oh well, another days project. Today, I have been kept busy with the domestic duties of picking up groceries (yeah farmer's market!), collecting more stuff for loot bags, working on some of the new tasks assigned by my Mompreneur boss, and of course laundry and vacuuming. 

    The computer cacked out on me, so I vacuumed the couch and changed the laundry while it re-booted. As has seemed to be the case as of late, now I need to fly again. There was going to be some wonderful thoughts swirled around in here, but if I am late to pick the kids up from school I will be sent to the principal's office. Ack! So I apologize for my infrequent posts that have not been inspired, but with a short work week, it just isn't all going to get done.  The sun has reappeared in time for me to head out, so I bid you adieu.

The crooked tree waves goodbye!