Another glorious day, the air as delicious to the lungs as nectar to the tongue.” John Muir
Some may say John Muir never had allergies, but Lyssa and the rest of the pack and I agree with his assessment. The forest has been delicious this week; we’ve been savoring it. The warm weather, coming on the heels of last week’s wetness, is extracting rarefied earthy perfumes from the forest floor. The vegetation, crushed, bruised and battered by the heavy rains and winds is also giving up ephemeral drafts of delightful deliciousness. To me the scents are faint and fleeting, but how they must fill up the senses of the dogs, whose noses are many thousand times more sensitive than mine. They must be absolutely dizzy! No wonder they get so excited when it’s time for a hike!
Solio Ranch Conservatory
Given the enthusiastic companionship of the dogs and the gift of sunshine and warmish temperatures, I made some good progress on my Virtual Marathon to raise money for the Rhinoceros Conservancy in Kenya. As of this evening I am 328 kilometers into the race and the next stop is Solio Wildlife Conservancy. 
The reserve is a fenced, privately owned area that has played a key role in rhinoceros conservation. In the 1970’s and 1980’s the black rhino population in Kenya was decimated by rampant poaching- it went from 18,000 to 400 animals in 20 years! At the same time the owner of Solio Ranch, Courtland Parfet, was fencing off 13,500 acres of land and dedicating it to conservation. The Kenyan Wildlife Authorities asked him to take in surviving black rhinos who escaped poaching but were living in small remnant populations that were cut off from each other and at risk of annihilation. Solio Ranch was also home to buffalo, zebras, gazelles and leopards. The effort was successful and as the years passed small groups of black rhinos were translocated to other protected reserves.
On the surface, the Solio Ranch success story sounds like a Disney movie, complete with happy ending. But dig a little deeper and the fragility of the situation is apparent. Poaching is still a huge and ominous menace- an ever-present black cloud on the African landscape. Prolonged drought destroyed the fertility of the land; topsoil was blown away by arid winds. A portion of the ranch was sold to the government to build houses and farms for a large population of homeless “squatters” who had been removed from their lands in years past, and were living in huge makeshift camps alongside the roads, having nowhere else to go. Many animals living on the land that was sold were at risk from poaching and drought, and had to be relocated. 
In the midst of these events, seemingly paradoxically, a luxury lodge for international tourists was opened up on the portion of the ranch still functioning as a wildlife reserve. This is the Solio Lodge of the present, where you can take a luxurious safari vacation. It’s the Yin and Yang of Africa.
Here in the Sierra Foothills the girls and I are walking every chance we get, exploring and rediscovering old roads and paths forgotten by history, new to us. Always, we feel fortunate and blessed to live in a land that is still alive and regenerating, especially in a neighborhood where the ladybugs are having their winter convention! If you can afford it, go to Africa to Solio Lodge and take a safari and see the animals in the wild. Those dollars are mighty important to conservation. If that’s out of your budget maybe you can kick in a penny a mile to my virtual marathon race and support the cause. (It’s only a few pennies a day but your support means a ton to me). Or if that’s not an option just go out for a walk, savor the air, and give a nod to old John Muir.
Thank you sponsors and Happy Trails to everyone,
Shirley & Crew
(All the African photos are from the Solio Ranch website.)
