Pam Holland Designs and Productions

Time to go

All things must come to an end but this time I'm a little sad to leave behind the friends who have shared this amazing trip with us.

I'm writing this in the plane on a short 35 minute trip from the Lodge in the Maasai Mara to Nairobi.

 

Our Group.

 

 

We drove in convoy to the airstrip just a short distance from the Lodge. There is something about being in a formed procession that makes one feel just a little important. The entire staff of the lodge came out to say goodbye...

I've never had that at the Hilton by Jove,

 

Its a bit of an adventure having your own private plane. We waited in the small open hut surrounded by the plains of the Masaai Mara, elephants and Giraffes visible in the distance and the air was warm and the breeze balmy.

The plane arrived in a cloud of dust and the sound of the four propellor engines increased the anticipation that we were on our way home.

Below me are thee brown plains of the rift valley The valley is deepest to the north of Nairobi. As the lakes in the Eastern Rift have no outlet to the sea and tend to be shallow, they have a high mineral content as the evaporation of water leaves the salts behind and the cenery is spectacular.

One can only imagine what walks beneath us If the past 12 days are any indication, this earth is teaming with wildlife and a world known to me only in documentaries. 

We have played a small part in the lives of a few and they have given us the gift of wonder and imagination.

The plains have given way  to mountains rolling  in waves of elephant wrinkles, Rivers tint their borders with green and the red earth accompanies blends into the green in comfortable patterns.

A long straight road  is pale in  comparison to its host as it cuts through the earth and is a reminder of the life below,

Lions, Cheetahs, elephants, giraffes, zebras to name a few. All these amazing animals  have captured our imagination.  To sit quietly and watch 100's of zebras bathe, drink from the river and stand guard against a family of Lions has been extraordinary. 

We were privy to the lives of wild elephants, huge, regal, gentle in nature and strong in stature. In this protected place poachers killed four elephants in the time we were there, I can't even imagine the suffering of the animal or of their family left behind.

Rising before the dawn to go on safari and venturing out again in the late afternoon watching   the setting sun for the past 8 days has truly given us the title of safari participants. 

We've been part of a privileged  experience. One afforded to a few, I can't put aside the other side of  Kenyan life where life is hard.

There is no social welfare for the 40 million people living here, unemployment is high. In our  comfortable safari vehicles we are protected from the  realities of life here, but if we are honest with ourselves and we take the time to observe we can appreciate that there is another side to the life we have seen.

The people walking through the aisles of cars at the stop lights selling everything from a single banana to a shoe rack have no such life style.

Men sew  garments in the street on  antiquated treadle sewing machines. Small stores spring out of  a few pieces of corrugated iron and even in the city he roads are unequalled in their degrees of decay.

So I determine to be aware and try to do something extra when I get home. There are so many charitable associations that we can check when we get home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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As I see it.

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Our Kenya Experience

The experience of a life time

I’m sitting in my room as I write. The doors to my balcony are open and I feel at one with my immediate environment.

I can hear the sounds of birds and the occasional utterance of an unknown animal.

The vista is superb and I don’t think I will ever forget it. Soft clouds are forming into storm formations and the giraffes parade in a line across the Mara, their elegance begs you to watch.

A rainbow has formed and I get an overwhelming feeling that something special is happening or about to happen.

 

This is our last full day here in Maasai Mara.

I stayed behind from this afternoons safari to catch up on work and  have a little quiet time to myself and its been wonderful.

With the help of our Assistant Duncan, we negotiated too visit a small village not far from here. 

We encountered a huge lion, and literally thousands of zebras in migration. The scene is unparalleled and I never get tired of photographing.

 Our vehicle was the first to the village and we were met by Ben the head-mans’ son. He explained to us that the village moved from place to place in a nomadic existence  as it had done for centuries. Ben was most eloquent and interesting to listen to as he shared information on the daily life of the villagers.

He shared how the men made fire with friction… it took just a minute or so.

 

Suddenly a long line of red clad men wove their way down the hill and began singing in the most intriguing way.

They formed a line of red, purple and orange and sang and danced to welcome us into their village. They leapt high in the air and the smiles of their friends were infectious.

 

Maasai music traditionally consists of rhythms provided by a chorus of vocalists singing harmonies while a song leader, or olaranyani, sings the melody. The olaranyani is usually the singer who can best sing that song, although several individuals may lead a song.

It was exciting and we were invited to join, we looked more like beached whales in comparison to the than lithe dancers but never the less it was an amazing experience.

We entered the boma through a short opening in the surrounding fence made of branches. We were told that each of the five chiefs had their own entrance.

On the other side was a circle of huts all facing the center It appeared that cattle would be corralled there during the night. 

The huts, Ben explained, were made by the Maasai women from interwoven tree branches plastered with a mixture of cow dung and mud which made them waterproof. They were incredibly tiny.

We had to stoop to enter the small doore and It was almost completely dark inside with just the smallest opening  for light and ventilation. They were surprisingly cool during this the heat of the day.

We could stand upright, but just barely. Surprisingly, there were 4 rooms in this hut! It was so dark, I couldn't make out much detail, but there was a cow hide on the floor of the master bedroom. There was no electricity and no running water in the entire village.

I had requested that our group would like to see how they beaded their necklaces and so several women ad down with their new Maasai friends and learned the technique. It was a magic moment.

Next, the Maasai women sang a greeting to us. We felt honored by their song, although we couldn't understand the words. Then they pulled us into their group and placed necklaces on us our ladies really enjoyed it.

Small children hid around the square house corners and appeared in doorways. Their smiles infectious  and I tried  not to be too invasive with the cameras but it was so tempting.

The women had set up a large circle of display tables from which we could view their work. I walked from one to the other and my plan was to buy a wedding necklace for decoration at home. They are beautiful works of art and will compliment my ever growing art collection.

I'm having difficulty adding photos to this blog so you will find the rest in my FB page.

Our Kenya Experience

We could hear them in the distance, there was an occasional trumpet from a very small trunk.

We couldn't see them, they were behind the trees.  The  enclosure we stood around had lots of huge baby bottles full of milk unceremoniously piled in an old wheel barrow.

Suddenly from out of the bushes a  line of 14 small elephants appeared gaining pace as they grew closer. There was an urgency in their step, their ears folded back and the feet flew and trunks swung to the rhythm of their gate.

 

Cameras clicked and we were asked to keep silent and limit conversation.

It was a wonderful experience watching the antics of 28 baby elephants.

They rolled in the dirt, the hugged each other and showed feelings for their handlers and their elephant friends. It was a fabulous event.

We stopped at a few stores and bought fabric, I've not photographed it yet because we got back to the hotel late  but I'm thrilled with my purchases and I as you might imagine, its rather bright.

Giraffes, elephants, fabrics, beads and historic houses... all in one day... but right now its just too late to write..

 

 

A visit to th Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is an institution.

I'm a member of the Gallery and try to visit whenever I can.

Its a bit difficult when you live thousands of miles away.

Its the first time I was able to share it with Husband Keith and he loved it. 

 

 

A visit to th Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is an institution.

I'm a member of the Gallery and try to visit whenever I can.

Its a bit difficult when you live thousands of miles away.

Its the first time I was able to share it with Husband Keith and he loved it. 

 

 

A visit to th Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is an institution.

I'm a member of the Gallery and try to visit whenever I can.

Its a bit difficult when you live thousands of miles away.

Its the first time I was able to share it with Husband Keith and he loved it. 

 

 

A visit to th Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is an institution.

I'm a member of the Gallery and try to visit whenever I can.

Its a bit difficult when you live thousands of miles away.

Its the first time I was able to share it with Husband Keith and he loved it. 

 

 

A visit to th Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is an institution.

I'm a member of the Gallery and try to visit whenever I can.

Its a bit difficult when you live thousands of miles away.

Its the first time I was able to share it with Husband Keith and he loved it. 

 

 

On to New York.

 The morning dawned grey and misty and in a short space of time the wind began to rise.

The trees waved their branches in freedom and the grasses bent low following the wind stream.

purple grasses

 

Our anticipated visit to Round top was cancelled and we relaxed a little with no urgent deadlines.

I wondered what the temperature was going to be, the computer said 75 so I put on shorts and sandals in anticipation of a warm afternoon in Houston,      

As I write this we are driving to Houston on highway  290 and I'm wishing that I had dressed a little warmer.

We did visit round top, but everything is closed for the memorial day holiday and this gal was in shorts as the outside temperature has  dropped to 49 degrees. a long way from 75....So we had to crank up the  heater to keep warm.

We've passed the most interesting scenery. small wooden houses that belonged to another age clustered in villages.

Huge pavillions that host the twice yearly antique fairs and I found this wonderful pavillion.

 

 

These are older barn vents. I loved them.

even bullet holes.

There was so much to see. We took our time driving and enjoyed the speciality of the area.

inspiration, relaxation, perspiration and imagination.

Its been a week of inspiration, relaxation,  perspiration and imagination.

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” - Albert Einstein 

 

Inspiration flows from being at the International Quilt Festival and Market in Houston. I leave with so many new ideas and  I need to have time to compartmentalize them all. I try to put them down on paper, I really  don’t want to forget any thing. Writing, drawing and photographing are my tools and it takes time to analyze it all.

I will continue with the blog photos when I get faster internet.

 Of course it's an affirmation of the talent in the industry that I work in and I believe it all begins with imagination

Einstein put great faith in imagination for a good reason, because it was a part of his own experience, I guess.

Each idea for the design of a quilt begins with imagination, it's only the most imaginative who can translate imagination into the art shared at Festival. In saying that, I believe that anyone can do it given the opportunity to expand the mind.

 Relaxation was the time spent off the cruise visiting three different countries in three days. We were only able to  capture just a small snipped of life in that environment. To sit by the turquoise ocean and eat lobster in the company of friends is one heck of a job perk and we all embraced it.

 Perspiration  it was hot in all three countries, we drank lots (water) and then to be able to sleep in our cabin with the door open and the sound of the sea and the motion of the ship…. it was heaven.

Down in the conference room, the sewing machines hummed and some would say, that was perspiration !!!!

 

Imagination  blossomed as I captured, the colors and imagery of the  Caribbean, another quilt is being designed and will be shared soon.