Why I like Working in Africa

In a picture from last year, the Christmas tree contemplates its brief life.  (The holidays and the Christmas tree are gone now, alas.)

The near arctic temperatures in the river make Africa all that more enticing.

Why do I like working in Africa?  In a word, Winter.  Not that I don't like Winter; I do.  But the Winters hereabouts can get pretty long and, here's a shocker, it's usually pretty warm and sunny in most parts of Africa.  It certainly is in most places where I end up working.  That's probably because I'm usually not too far from the equator although Friday I leave for Ethiopia which is several hundred miles from the equator.  This is my first time to go to Ethiopia, but from what I've read, it has perfect weather this time of year.  Unbroken sunshine with highs in the 70s and lows in the 40s.  Heck, that's Summer weather here in Vermont.   In any case, I'll be gone for two weeks which means two weeks of no posts.  But don't worry.  Even though I won't be blogging, I'll be thinking about all of you snowbound readers as I soak up the rays.   

Icecapades

The ice  bridge to nowhere reaches across the river.  Just one more inch.

Ice goblins huddle under the bank.

More huddling goblins!

A delicate ice shelf hangs over the river.

The same ice shelf seems to plot the Winter stock market, apparently oblivious to our recent economic train wreck.

Ice mushrooms at the foot of a tree.

As you can see from the pictures,  "Icecapades" doesn't entail me doing triple lutzes out on the pond.  (Not for the foreseeable future anyway.)  Heck I don't even know what a triple lutze is, but apparently it's a big deal in ice skating.  No, icecapades for me means all of the weird and beautiful things that water does this time of year particularly down along the river.  Hope you enjoy the photos.