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| “Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, if you like than you should have put a ring on it!” |
“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”
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| Mongoose are very clever little animals. They stare at us to bring out some eggs which we often do. |
OMG! In a “notification” post I accidentally hit “Last posting today” when I meant to write “Late posting today!” Good grief, that must have made those of you who read the short notification post wonder, ‘What the heck is going on?!!!”
No, this is not the last posting. It’s a late posting. It’s simply one more step the continuing documentation of our daily lives of world travel; some fascinating; some mundane; some educational; some adventurous and exciting and some, let’s face it, at times, totally uneventful.
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| We never tire of visits from Big Daddy kudus. |
Today, was definitely not uneventful for us. We’re back at the house at almost 2:00 pm and here I am just getting starting on today’s post. Of course, I’m concerned about all of our readers throughout the world clicking on our link to still find yesterday’s post.
Sorry for the inconvenience. I’m typing as fast as my relatively uncoordinated fingers can fly across the keyboard in an attempt to explain why we’re changing the content of today’s story from that which we’d entered earlier today, discussing the issue of Bovine Tuberculosis in Marloth Park.
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| They are majestic animals, gentle and yet well aware of how powerful their big rack can be. |
I must add that after this morning’s interactions with several wonderful people we received valuable information that changes our plan to post the Bovine TB story until we conduct further research which will be accomplished over the next week at the latest.
This is a topic near and dear to our hearts based on our love and appreciation for the health and well-being of the wildlife in Marloth Park. We’ll keep you updated on the progress of this upcoming story.
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| This male has been chasing after this female for weeks. |
So here’s how the morning rolled out: Tom’s laptop has been having monitor issues over the past few weeks after we’d returned from Zambia on the 18th. Every so often, for no apparent reason at all, his monitor turns into a rainbow of colors and he’s unable to bring up his home screen.
Me, as somewhat of a geek, got to work trying to figure out a solution by utilizing online information some of which indicated it could be a loose ribbon cable. Tom unscrewed all 18 tiny screws after we’d tried a number of suggestions, including a Windows 10 “system restore,” all to no avail.
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| These two young ladies stop by making intense eye contact, surely looking for pellets. |
Opening the back of the laptop seemed a logical next step to see if we could tighten the loose cable. No luck. A total waste of time. After several hours, we resigned ourselves to the fact that we needed to head to a tech store for help. Ugh! Usually, we’re able to resolve our own technological issues. Not this time.
With Tom’s dentist appointment scheduled at 11:00 am with Dr. Luzaan Du Preez, one of the best dentists in the land, located in the little strip mall near Wimpy’s in the Spar Centre, we needed to stay mindful of the time.
He needed two fillings replaced. We’d decided to leave early to go to the market in Lebombo (10 minutes from Komatipoort) to purchase carrots and apples for the wildlife. Before we walked out the door, we had an unexpected visitor, Kerstin, a new friend I’d spent a few hours with yesterday here in Marloth Park at her bush home.
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| A banana farm the road on the way back from Komatipoort. |
Kerstin had contacted me to get together to discuss our mutual world travel experiences when she’d seen a post on Facebook on the Marloth Park Honorary Rangers’ page a week ago when we’d done the story on alien invasive plants. (See this link for details).
This morning Kristin delighted us with an unexpected visit but unfortunately, we were heading out the door when she arrived. Surely, we’ll get together another time soon to continue our intriguing conversation. She has quite an illustrious story of world travel.
In no time at all, we were on our way, first to the computer store, then to Lebombo, then to the dentist, then to the supermarket, then to the meat market and then, returning to Marloth Park, most likely a two-hour turnaround at most.
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| It’s always a pleasure to see one of our striped friends on the road. |
At the computer shop, we were warmly greeted by staff member Samantha who immediately introduced us to Nico who looked at Tom’s laptop to inform us it wasn’t sensible to fix or replace the monitor. Instead, he showed us yet another workaround which so far, since we returned to the house, seems to be working. Tom merely has to press the screen with his fingers in a specific location and the screen returns in full.
Nice people, thoughtful people, honest people. What more could we ask for? Where does one find service such as this? If you need a computer repair anywhere near Marloth Park, Komatipoort and a number of surrounding towns, this is the place to go:
the TechSHOP
Office: 013 013 0310 / Fax: 0866 529 491
Shop 19, Komati Spar Centre
Rissik Street, Komatipoort
http://www.techshops.co.za
Yet, our visit to the Tech Shop wasn’t over. As we packed up the laptop to head out the door, Arno stopped us saying he remembered us from “movie night” in the bush some months ago. A conversation ensued and somehow got around to the topic of Bovine Tuberculosis on which we’re hell-bent on getting our information “right” before we post the story. He directed to Deidre who is the director of “Wild and Free” rescue, rehabilitate and rescue centre.
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| Impalas are very shy around humans seldom visiting us in the yard. |
He explained she’s currently involved with considerable research and study on Bovine TB and this was who we should see. Once this post is uploaded, we’ll call Deidre and set up a time to meet with her at her facility and learn more about this important topic.
Once we were out the door of the Tech Shop, we were reeling from the kindness and consideration of people we’ve met along the way. Off we went to Lebombo market where we purchased eggs for the mongoose, free-range eggs for us and carrots and apples, all at excellent prices. Time was running short. We headed to the dentist’s office.
Tom was taken in promptly for his appointment. I joined him for a few minutes and then took off to grocery shop. We’d parked the car close to the supermarket so once done shopping, I could put everything in the car and then walk the short distance to the dentist’s office which is coincidentally located next door to the Tech Shop.
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| Two males checking available treats. |
While I’m grocery shopping, our dear friend Don (of Kathy and Don) approached me with a hearty hug and welcoming kiss. They’d just returned a few days earlier from Pretoria and were excited to accept our invitation for homemade pizza at our house this upcoming Saturday night.
Joining us will be Linda and Ken, our mutual dear friends from the UK who are returning to Marloth Park in the next few days. I was thrilled to hear they all could make it but I was especially thrilled to discover this while at the supermarket in order to buy the items I’d need for the dinner party for six.
Well, wouldn’t you figure, Kathy had a dentist appointment, the same dentist, right after Tom’s appointment was completed at noon? Another coincidence. Moments later we spotted Kathy also shopping and the three of us engaged in delightful chatter. When does one have such fun at the market.
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| Obviously, warthogs aren’t quite so shy near humans other than an occasional few. |
By the time I’d gathered all the items to round out the upcoming meal, I loaded the groceries onto the check out counter, paid for the groceries and began walking toward to car to find Tom entering the market, done with his appointment and ready to load the car for me. He was thrilled with the ease of his dentist appointment and was very relieved and cheerful.
After loading the car, Don found Tom in the parking lot and the two of them chatted enthusiastically. Afterward, we drove the car across the lot to the meat market and made purchases to last for about 10 days. After adding the bags of meats to the car, we ran into Kathy and Don again. Her appointment was done and she too was thrilled with her first appointment with the good dentist.
They invited out for a drink at the bar at the golf course but with all the perishables in the car, we needed to be on our way. We’re looking forward to seeing them all again on Saturday.
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| Male impala drinking from the cement pond in the yard. |
Finally, we were on our way back to Marloth, anxious to put everything away while still reeling from the day’s interactions with the wonderful people we encountered along the way.
Whether it was the sweet cashier at the market, the friendly meat market owner who helped with our order, the staff at the computer store or our friends adding a special touch to the day’s activities, it was a spectacular day.
After years on the move often without nearby friends or at times, overly friendly shopkeepers, we appreciate every moment of kindness and generosity of spirit we stumble upon in our day-to-day lives.
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| Every evening the bushbabies entertain us. |
No more than a minute after we returned, we had more visitors, this time of the wildlife kind. We put down the grocery bags and immediately got pellets ready for our animal friends.
Tonight, we’ll cook a nice dinner and prepare the veranda for another blissful evening in the bush. Is it any wonder we love it here in Marloth Park, here in South Africa…here on the African continent and here, on this planet?
May you love it wherever you may be!
Photo from one year ago today, May 30, 2017:
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| Our two new pieces of luggage in easy-to-spot colors. Tom chose the purple while I chose this peachy color. Each bag is expandable and lightweight with four double-wheel rollers. (As it turned out these bags are holding up well after one year’s use). For more details, please click here. |