Elephants visited us again this evening. This time early enough for Emma to be awake and see them. They moved in from the ring road and munched their way around the house, feeding on trees, grasses and our last houseplant - evicted from the house for being a spider hider.
The Elephants had no fear of being close to the house and we could see them really clearly, so clearly that I was afraid they could see us inside the house and would get upset, but luckily they did not seem bothered by us.
After watching them for about 20 minutes Emma became bored and it was getting to the time of evening where she is irritable and almost ready for bed. I realised I was going to have to bath her. It seemed strange and irreverent to do such a mundane activity as a bath when the house was surrounded by at least 25 elephants. She splished and splashed happily oblivious to my ponderings and discomfort. It was also disconcerting to put the lights on so that she could have her ten minutes of quiet play and reading before bed. Turning on the lights made us visible and the Elephants out in the darkening dusk hidden amongst the bushes.
Emma nursed and then I swung her to sleep in my arms, humming Hobo's lullabye and listening carefully to the swish and crunch of grass being torn up and eaten just outside the bedroom window.
The evening and the visit ended with K and I playing a game of speed scrabble at the dining table, tete-a-tete, while listening uneasily to a tummy, a very large tummy, rumbling somewhere outside and close by.
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