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| The 4th of July invitation we received weeks ago. These two sure know how to put on a party! Thanks, Kathy and Don, with lots of help from Linda and Ken, staying with them this week until Sunday when they all depart. Sadly, we won’t see them again for many months. |
“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”
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| Last night’s sunset from Kathy and Don’s third-floor veranda overlooking the Crocodile River. |
Leave it to Kathy and Don to once again host a unique evening in their lovely home in Marloth Park located on the Crocodile River. With 12 of us in attendance, it was the perfect number for their huge table on their veranda on the third floor.
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| Fern and Tony, otherwise dressed as Dolly Parton and Uncle Sam. |
Arriving by 17:00 hrs., (5:00 pm) we had little time to take sunset photos until soon it became dark while the evening cooled during these chilly winter nights in the bush. We all bundled up in jackets we’d brought along, giving little thought to the chill as the drinks flowed and festive began to the point of pure delight.
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| Tom and Andrew. |
Once again, Don and Ken displayed their singing and dancing talents performing as the Blue Brothers from the 1980s. We howled with laughter cheering them on as they danced many popular dances over the past five decades.
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| Long-time friends Linda and Ken, originally from the UK, live in South Africa while they also travel the world. |
The dinner was great as always, with plenty of items I could eat. For dessert, Kathy and Linda presented Ken (his birthday was actually yesterday) with a lit birthday cake with those hysterical candles that won’t blow out resulting in yet another laugh fest.
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| Leslie won the 4th of July quiz, although she isn’t American. |
Before we knew it the evening came to an end and we made our way home, mindful of the possibility that the lions could be nearby. We gingerly got out of the car, closely monitoring our surroundings until we were safely indoors.
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| Don had made Long Island Ice Teas for the hot dog and other starters. |
Regardless of how practical we attempt to be, there’s no way there isn’t an emotional impact when we watch or hear of a predator killing and eating another animal. It’s exciting to many of us here in Marloth Park that lions are on the loose, only adding to the mystique and wonder of this unusual place.
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| Kathy, as always, had set a beautiful red, white and blue, theme-appropriate table for 12. |
But most people here in the park also have become very attached to these beautiful creatures and it’s never easy to see one taken by a predator. In any case, we spent several hours driving through the park yesterday when notices came out (via Messenger) that someone had spotted the lions.
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| We didn’t have any costumes, so we wore red, white and blue. |
Who knows how long they will stay in the park? There’s no competition here for food sources, and they could easily decide to wait for the long haul.
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| Kathy, priming the audience for the upcoming “Blue Brothers” show. |
We’d love to spot the lions to take photos. We’ll continue to head out each day on a mission to see if we’ll get lucky. In the interim, we’ve had several incredible sightings in the past 24 hours, which we look forward to sharing in a few posts over the next few days.
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| Don and Ken had practiced well for their performances, including lines to memorize and a wide array of dance steps. |
Tomorrow will be a busy day, posting and preparing a birthday dinner for Kathy, whose actual birthday is tomorrow. Our friend, Linda’s birthday is in less than two weeks. It’s cold outside. Since we really don’t have room at a table indoors for six of us we’ll make it work staying bundled up.
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| As always, we were pretty impressed with their performance. |
That’s it for today, folks. We’ll be back with more fun photos tomorrow. Please check back.
Photo from one year ago today, July 5, 2017:
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| Miles, Madighan (front), with me, Maisie, Camille, and Greg. We were winding down to leave Minnesota to head to Nevada for more family visits. For more details, please click here. |