Namibia is burning.... and freezing

The bush along the road is becoming increasingly (and mysteriously) burned.  According to my principal, there's an old belief that if you burn the bush, it will grow sooner and faster in the spring.  (And apparently this isn't an environmental concern, but rather a way to draw wildlife back from wherever they go each winter faster.)

Each day more and more of the bush is burned, but I never actually see the bush burning.  Or hadn't until Thursday afternoon on my way home from school.

The bush is burning! Byebye green (and brown) grass....

And the same section, on the way to school Friday morning.

It's been cold. Really, really cold.  I know all you East Coasters are scoffing at me, but when it's below freezing and there's no heat in your house....  it's cold. 

One of the spots where we climb near Windhoek doesn't get sunshine on one side (except maybe in the early morning?), and so everything is cold - the ground, the rock, the air...  and the little trickles of water coming down the rocks.

I now wish I'd brought more than 2 pairs of handwarmers (you know, the little sachets of chemicals that get warm when exposed to the air) - they would have come in handy on these freezing cold mornings.

ICE!  Mia was beside herself.  And I suppose I was, too.... Ice doesn't faze me in America, but here, it's still a bit of a novelty.

At the top of some (most) climbs there are bolts in the rock that the first climber uses to anchor and either rappel back to the ground, or belay the next climber up (most sport climbs are this way).  Sometimes the anchors are in a place that results in a "hanging belay" - the first climber hangs while belaying the second climber.  Sometimes, though, we get lucky and the anchors are above a nice ledge where we can stand - or, even better, sit - to belay up the next climber.  I found myself upon such a ledge in the photo below....  I told Mia to bring a snack and my camera with her, and I got to sit and dangle my feet over the edge while Mia cursed and moaned her way up towards me. We enjoyed a well-earned Larabar when she made it to the top.

Unfortunately this photo doesn't convey the beauty of the landscape around us....

....but hopefully this one does.

The second morning we climbed, another couple of climbers called over to us that one of the trees at the base of the 'waterfall' (watertrickle?) was covered in icicles.

Thankfully, I had a nice weekend, and I really needed it, as last week got progressively more frustrating everyday.  More on that in another post, though.

Thanks for reading! (And looking at my pictures!) I hope wherever you are, that you're well.