Water and Birds

Water is a scarce commodity in Africa. Conservation is key.  When considering whether to flush, the consistent message we hear from everyone is "yellow let it mellow; brown flush it down."  Ha! Takes some getting used to but it makes a lot of sense.  

Most homes in Rwanda don't have running water and so our having a personal water tank places us in exclusive company.  We feel very blessed.  A water pump pumps the water into our home.  We've been told that the city pumps water into the tank two or three times each week during the dry season (not sure what the schedule is during the rainy season), but so far it's been fairly inconsistent. Some of our neighbors have gone a week without water but so far the most we've gone without is three days.  It was a sweet sound that third day to hear the echo of water flowing into our tank.  The video shows Aiden climbing up to gauge the depth. 

Laundry, dishes, and showers use up the water pretty quickly and, of course, when the water is gone each of those tasks come to a halt.  The little black ants, that are virtually impossible to keep out of kitchens, have a field day with the dishes when there is no water.  

Aiden checking the water tank

Birds
Apparently there's a substantial flock of birds which sleeps in the trees outside of our window. They make the most beautiful sounds as they wake up each morning.  Their symphonic sounds are so loud it's as though they have speakers with amps.  The only trouble is they wake up at 5:42AM.  It's the craziest thing.  It's like clockwork!  Wendy and I suddenly find ourselves wide awake as soon as the birds begin to sing. I look at my watch. 5:42AM.  Every time. And then at 5:46AM the sound suddenly stops.  Four minutes of song and then silence.  Since we are at the equator the sunrise and sunset occur at the same basic time year round, each occurring a little before 6AM/PM. Twelve hours of light and dark each day.