Ely the elephant, son of the late Echo the famous matriarch of Amboseli, was born in 1990, crippled in his front legs. He walked on his knees for 3 days before his legs loosened up and he could get on his feet. His mother & sister, Enid stayed with him when the rest of the herd had to keep going for food& water, and he survived. I just saw this post on Cynthia Moss's blog for the Amboseli Trust for Elephants with an update about Ely! Moss has been researching the Amboseli elephants for almost 40 years, she was there to film Ely when he was born and she was able to follow him until he went independent at the age of 10. After that, she rarely saw him. The last sighting of Ely in Amboseli was in April of '01. Almost 9 years later, Moss and her team saw Ely this past Monday! He is healthy and very handsome! I love his story so much and I love that Cynthia Moss has researched the Amboseli elephants for so long that you can watch an elephant like Ely grow up and beat the odds!

Here's a little clip from the PBS Nature series, there's just a quick shot of Ely, walking on his knees behind Echo & Enid



And here's Ely now!! Such a handsome bull..


Here's the Amboseli Trust for Elephants blog, Cynthia Moss updates it regularly with Elephant sightings and whatnot.
http://elephanttrust.org/blog/15

It's very exciting to think that some of these elephants migrate into Tanzania, I would be honored to see some of Cynthia Moss's elephants!

How make your own Dead Cat!

Since purchasing my 5D, I have been researching what it takes to make a quality documentary. I have no video shooting, editing or audio recording experience, so this should be interesting... I'm just learning all this along the way, and I figure I got plenty of time in the bush to figure it all out!

The 5D shoots great HD video, but the built in mic is less than adequate. So I got myself a nifty Rode Video Shotgun Mic so that I can hopefully pick up some good animal noises while I'm shooting. In order to cut down the ambient noise, usually from wind, you have to get a windscreen that goes over your mic. So I looked into those; turns out, those fuzzy mic covers are called Dead Cats! PAH! (i've never even used a mic before, don't judge me) I just thought that was the greatest thing I ever heard, so obviously I wanted one! Yea, they're like, $50!? For this fuzzy little scrap of fabric? yea right!

So being the craftmaster 5000 that I am, I went on down to AC Moore (i'm there, like 3x a week anyways) got myself some craft fabric and made one my damn self! I looked all over the place for directions on how to properly make one, I didn't think I'd be the only person who didn't want to waste $50! But I couldn't find directions anywhere, so I thought I'd put some up. Here it is, for all you crafty, amateur film makers out there, making your own Dead Kitty is quick, cheap & easy!

You need some craft fabric, scissors, needle and thread to sort of match the fur, or not, if you're into contrast stitching, and your mic to measure off of..

I just laid my mic on the underside of the fabric, wrapped it around loosely and cut, leaving about an inch off the end. My piece came out to be 7" x 7.5", in case you have the same mic..I sewed the fabric inside out so the fuzz wouldn't get in the way. Start the seam by stitching several times in the same place to reinforce the edge. I stitched around and around, tucking the bottom edge under the other one as I went. It was a little tricky to work with the fuzz at first, but it definitely does not have to be pretty, so don't worry if it looks sloppy. Just make sure you're stitches aren't too far apart. And reinforce your end stitches, too.After sewing the whole seam up, turn your tube inside out by tucking one edge inside itself, then just kinda roll the non-fuzzy side down. See if you're Dead Cat fits! It should be snug, but not too tight, don't force it on. If it's too tight or loose, cut your stitches, re-measure & try again!
I left the piece on the mic to sew the end together..I just pinched the end flat & stitched it together in the middle..
..so it looked like this....
..then squeeze the opposite sides together, kind of like wrapping the end of a present...squish the seams together and sew it flat!
And there it is!! Your own Dead Cat! BAM
Hopefully this works out okay, sure looks like the ones that cost $50...mine was $2.99 + 20 min. Once I get my 5D back from Cannon I'll do some audio tests to see if it compares!

So In Taranguire National Park there is an old baobab tree that has grown with a huge hollow space inside. It's known as the poachers hideout. While poachers are no longer hiding inside sniping animals, you can still crawl through the small opening and hang out inside the tree! We fit our entire group in there, maybe 10-12 people!

This is a dried up baobab fruit that some critter ate. I tried to keep it, but you're not allowed to remove anything from the parks. lame!

3 weeks till departure: cue crisis!

So this week has been very busy; I finally got my first grant check so i have been able to get a lot of my last minute supplies and camera gear! I got a Rode mono video mic so that I can pickup some decent audio while shooting video. I got myself some first aid supplies, some all natural, herbal soaps and solid shampoo bars and 10 months worth of tampons!! I've never shopped for summer clothes in the middle of winter before, but I would highly recommend it!! I got 2 pairs of Rainbow flip flops on super clearance from the Boarding House and some skirts at TJ Maxx for $3 each!!

So I got all my shots, summery clothes, heavy duty tent, grant money and what do you know, my friggin camera FAILS!!! On Monday I was at Orleans Camera & Video trying out the Rode mic... I turn my camera on, take off my lens cap..no picture. No image at all..I can't even see through the viewfinder!! When I try to take a picture, all I get is a black screen with a faint light spot in the middle... apparently the sensor that is at a 45 degree above the mirror inside the camera body fell down. How, I have NO idea. My camera bag has been sitting in the living room for 2 weeks and I just used the camera a few days before that......and I leave in 3 weeks.

You have got to be kidding me

So I express shipped the thing out to the Cannon Repair Service center in Jersey first thing Tuesday morning...I better get it back before February 2nd!!!

And my 100-400 Zoom lens just came yesterday and I can't even try it out!! RARRR!

Toys!!

Today i got a whole bunch of sweet gadgets for my super-photo-safari-camping trip!

I got the HUGE Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 Image Stabilized zoom lens...

...this super cool rechargable LED lantern with a solar panel & hand crank..

..THREE of these 1 Terabyte External Hard Drives to store and back up all my enormous photos and HD videos..

..and this awesome Power Inverter that I can hook straight up to my car battery and charge all of my stuff while I'm cruisin around in the bush!

WOO!

the contents of your life in 100lbs or less

30 DAYS AND COUNTING until I leave for 10 months of camping in West Kili, Tanzania.

Up until now-ish, this blog has mainly been nothin but logistical jargon about visas, permits and the dealing with the Tz Embassy & Fulbright bureaucracy. Well, all that is taken care of for now, (until I actually get there and have to pick up all those permits and go to the Embassy!) so now it's time to start writing about the more exciting part; GOING!! (and freaking out about going)

How the heck do you pack for 10 months in a tent? How am I even going to get my 74lb tent over there?!? I have to buy a truck, I don't even know how to drive standard!! I'm going to an Elephant Research camp that's staffed by 30 dudes...WHO am I going to talk to?!?! How am I supposed to make mac n'cheese?! do i have to drink Sanka?? ohgod!

Now's the time where I actually have to think about traveling there. And of course I've planned it all out in my head and thought about what I'm going to bring, what it's going to be like, etc. But it' waayyy different when you actually have to put your stuff in a bag and GO. There are so many things I'm going to miss! Goodbye cheese...goodbye ice cream...goodbye houseplants...goodbye Wilma, Hoggerbots, Bobaflogg, Ginger, Lily, Fidget, Arusha and Chui... and the lame things that even I'm surprised I will miss...mascara (like, the only makeup I wear, okay!) dresses, patterned tights, snow boots, sweaters!? Now, I am not a girly girl, but I do enjoy dressing up and going out! I am going to have to seriously man-up to live at this camp!I already bought an entire new arsenal of beaters and man shorts...hot.

There are a few body products I know I cannot go without..judge me however you want, everyone has their vices..St. Ives Apricot scrub, Neutrogena Facial Moisturizer and shaving! I personally cannot go very long before shaving my legs/armpits...I mean, I consider myself to be pretty crunchy..but not that crunchy..and I think this list is pretty modest in comparison to most ladies out there today!

Food is going to be the hardest part, I think. I eat pretty healthy in general, but I do have special relationships with cheese & chocolate.. When I was there for 2 weeks in '07 I lost 8lbs..so if that's any indicator as to how my body's going to react to a severe change in diet, oh boy...I'm going to look like a stick all over again.

Packing will sure be interesting..I have to get my entire life into 2 large bags under 50lbs. I am very excited for 10 months of living relatively clutter-free, with only the things I really need. I do have to pack all the art supplies I will want because you can't really get colored pencils, fine point pens, or nice paper there. Books are also a tough one..how do you pick and choose? They certainly add a lot of weight, so I'll have to choose carefully. I'll have to choose each and every item carefully..