Preparations for our friend’s arrival in three days…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 14, 2022 with 0 Comment

This morning we stopped at Louise’s office, the Marloth Park Info Centre, to discuss the housing needs for our guests arriving in three days. Initially, it was going to be only Connie and Jeff, but now their adult daughter Lindsey will be joining them since she has been able to get a passport in time for tomorrow’s journey from the US.

Instead of staying in our house, they’ll be staying in the two additional guest houses on the property, next door to one another. Since Jeff may need assistance at night, having easy access for Connie and Lindsey will make all the difference in the world. The two guest houses are next door to one another with their own mini kitchens, refrigerators, coffee pots, linens, and amenities. This will make them all most comfortable.

Stringy, giving us a look, wondering where the pellets are hiding.

Vusi and Zef will clean the two units five days a week, making it easy for all of us. Plus, they’ll be able to spend their days with us on our veranda animal watching, when we aren’t in Kruger. Louise will check and ensure we can do a few guided game drives if Jeff can sit in the vehicle’s front seat next to the driver. It’s quite a challenge for anyone to climb up high into the safari vehicle, let alone a person with any limitations.

Tomorrow, after breakfast at Stoep Cafe with Rita, she will drop me at the pharmacy to pick up the new prescription for the medication I have been taking for my head and facial pain. Over the past few weeks, I upped the dose from the original 5 mg to 10 mg to 20 mg and finally, last night, to 25 mg, and miraculously I am so much better today that I can’t believe it.

When I saw Doc Theo last Monday, he gave me a new prescription for 25 mg, saying if I wasn’t better by now, to get the script filled. How did he know that 25 mg was the magic number to provide me relief? No wonder I love this guy! Of course, I have to be realistic that the pain could return at any moment, but I am optimistic about the future. If a positive attitude can impact pain, I am all over it.

Anyway, after the stop at the pharmacy, I walk to the Spar Market and start grocery shopping. I asked Connie for a list of foods they eat, and oddly, for us, this will be the first time in years I shopped for bread, juice, fruit, sweet yogurt, and a variety of snacks. This won’t be a problem for me since I have no trouble avoiding such foods, even if they are in front of me.

I do not doubt that Tom will partake in some of these non-Keto items since he has no health issues and little motivation to avoid them when they are in the house. After we left Louise this morning, we headed to Daisy’s Den to purchase lucerne to be delivered to our garden on Monday and Thursday next week. Plus, we bought another bottle of non-toxic dust mite spray.

Then we headed to the meat market at the Bush Centre to purchase prawns and some meats typical for South African tastes and diets. Connie, as a professional chef, is especially curious to experience some local foods. But since there are dozens of cultures in South Africa, it’s not easy to pin down one or two. Once we get out to eat, she’ll have a better opportunity to experience some of the foods.

Medium Daddy is on his way to becoming a Big Daddy.

Speaking of food, suddenly I am hungry. Now that the power is back on after load shedding for the past 2½ hours, I can head to the kitchen and see what I can roust up for a quick bite to eat.

We have excellent leftovers from the freezer to get us through the next two days. Then, on Friday, we’ll head to Jabula for dinner and social time, as usual. With our guests arriving on Saturday, we’ll be busy that day getting ready for our guest’s first dinner in the bush. It will be such fun to share this life with them!

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, September 14, 2021:

Thick Neck and/Bad Leg with mud on his horns from digging for food. For more photos, please click here.

Zebra Day and Baby…On a rainy morning…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 13, 2022 with 1 Comment

Mom and baby zebra. Of course, Lollie is photobombing.

What a way to start the day with nine zebras hanging around for a few hours, including a mom and very young foal, suckling every few minutes. Typically, zebras kick, yip, and pass gas when pellets are tossed. It was cute to see how the mom scooted the foal out of the way of the commotion. Zebras are not ruminants. They have only one stomach. Constantly grazing on vegetation, they become bloated and gassy.

The zebras approached the railing for their pellets.

The zebras never seem to injure one another when they get into a frenzy, but, let’s face it, the animals are hungry. No wonder they carry on over a few pellets. They all still look healthy, and we pray they can remain so until the “greening” of the bush. We’re moving into spring in a mere week or so.

The baby is tiny compared to the adults, as shown in these photos.

Three months later, it will be summer when the heat, humidity, insects, and mozzies will be in full force. But, the magic of summer is the beautiful green bush for the wildlife to eat. With so much food on hand at that time, you’d think they stop by less and less for pellets, but the fall and winter habits have been established, and they continue to stop by regularly.

Fortunately, this morning it’s drizzling, the perfect type of rain for the bush as opposed to a downpour that merely runs off. It must have rained at night since we see a touch of green in the usually dry, brown bush. This indicates times to come when the rainy season begins soon.

Mom is determined to keep the baby away from the rowdy others.

As soon as I stepped outdoors this morning, after another fitful night’s sleep, it was exciting to see nine zebras, including a very young foal, in the garden. Tom had already taken several photos and tossed several batches of pellets. Of course, I decided to try for more shots to be added to today’s post, hopefully.

They moved closer to the veranda railing.

The animals were finally returning to our garden with the drones overhead last week and a bush weekend packed with tourists. We were a little concerned when it was sparse of wildlife with friends Connie and Jeff arriving in four days. We hope all of our regulars and more will stop by to meet them. The thought of sharing this wonderful environment with our friends is exciting.

Further out in the bush, away from the others.

I’m feeling slightly better today. The headache and facial pain are about 50% better. Maybe after 18 days of taking the tablets at night, relief is coming. I am hopeful. Having this pain for the past five months has been challenging and frustrating. I’ve tried not to complain or limit my activities. In the realm of things, this may have been the best way for me to handle it rather than lying in bed, feeling sorry for myself.

A few zebras were lying down in the background.

Unfortunately, the medication makes me sleepy during the day. I may have to take the drug for a long time, hoping the sleepiness goes away. On the 15th, if the pain isn’t completely gone, I am to increase the dose by 5 mg per day for a total of 25 mg per day. I started at 5 mg, and it knocked me for a loop. But today, I feel a little less groggy and maybe won’t need a nap in the afternoon, which was a rarity for me before Covid-19.

Little zebras seem to be dazed most of the time.

With our friends coming, I don’t want to be sluggish and tired. I will do my best to stay alert and engaged in sharing the wonders of the bush with them. We hope to go on a few game drives with a guide and do several self-drive safaris in Kruger National Park. Once they arrive, we’ll be able to plan our events based on how Jeff feels and can maneuver in his wheelchair. We can only wait and see how it goes. The long journey from the US is exhausting and requires a few days to recover.

A little grooming of the foal by the attentive mother.

Tom is sitting at the table on the veranda, which has a roof while watching football on NFL Game Pass, an app for which he pays an annual fee to watch all NFL games while out of the US. I came inside to sit at the dining room table when Vusi was here cleaning the veranda and have stayed here, now and then, getting up to do something. Tom is no more than four meters from me, and from this location, I can partially see into the garden in case a visitor stops by.

It’s blissfully cool today, and we’re both wearing hoodie sweatshirts. I love days like this when it’s cool and rainy.

The baby is fearful of leaving his mother’s side.

May you have a blissful day, as well.

This zebra stood in the garden sleeping for over an hour. Typically, zebras sleep standing up to ensure they can dash in a hurry if danger approaches. With the hungry lions in the park, they are mainly on guard.

Photo from one year ago today, September 13, 2021:

Little was using a rock for a pillow. For more photos, please click here.

Interesting observation of relationships between species…Awful load shedding over the weekend…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 12, 2022 with 0 Comment

Spending the better part of each day on the veranda, it’s not surprising that we have an opportunity to see various species interact. Many tolerate one another with minimal interaction, and others are aggressive. Most fights we’ve seen over the years are within a species, such as wildebeests, warthogs, kudu, and impala, primarily during the mating season and over territorial issues.

In Kruger National Park, we’ve seen hippos, wildebeests, and Cape buffalos engage in aggressive behavior among their species, and some may fight to the death. However, we’ve never witnessed such an event. Occasionally, animals in the garden will get in a scuffle over pellets, most often zebras, kudus, warthogs, and, most recently, bushbucks.

The animals are hungry—the bush is dry and parched. Few leaves remain on trees and bushes. Sitting here, I see a Big Daddy kudu pulling down branches on a tree with his massive horns to get to the few remaining leaves he can’t reach.

Norman and Noah have been here twice already this morning. Tom was outdoors the first time they stopped by, but I was there the second time. When they stopped by the first time, he and his son Noah jumped the little fence, and Tom tossed them some pellets.

A single zebra stops by, wondering what’s on the menu. Two kudus are in the background, one lying down, another standing.

When I got up a short time later, they were gone, but within minutes they arrived. I assumed they must have heard my voice echoing through the bush and wandered back for more treats. I cut several carrots from the big bag into bite-sized pieces suitable for them to chew. For the duikers and bushbucks, I cut them into much smaller pieces. The warthogs can manage an entire large carrot, but for safety’s sake, I cut those up into three or four chunks.

A Big Daddy kudu approached the fence as Norman and Noah enjoyed their carrots. He was no more than three meters from Norman, who saw him from the corner of his eye. He never turned to look at the kudu. Instead, he fluffed up his mane and tail to make himself appear larger and scooted sideways toward the fence to the kudu. We both watched in amazement.

A Big Daddy was standing on a mound in the garden.

A full-grown male nyala weighs 275 pounds, 125 kg. Male kudus with much larger horns can weigh about the same but appear much larger due to their massive horns. When Norman fluffed up, he appeared much larger to the kudu. As Norman inched his way toward the fence, in the sideways motion we’d never seen, the kudu retreated and moved away.

Gingerly, Norman returned to the carrots and again began munching to his heart’s content. During this interaction, Noah never stopped eating and paid no attention to what his dad and the kudu were up to…the blissful ignorance of youth.

It was a busy weekend in the bush, with many tourists visiting and staying in the myriad holiday homes throughout the park. Sometimes, we wonder if the day will come when there are too many holiday homes in Marloth Park, stripping the animals of their much-needed vegetation.

If that day ever came, I’d doubt we’d return. As much as we love the wonderful friends we’ve made here, our interest would wane substantially without the animals. We can always visit our friends throughout the world, but nothing can compare to the experiences we’ve had with wildlife.

A Big Daddy approaches us, looking for pellets.

In five days, our friends Connie and Jeff arrive. We’re looking forward to their arrival and will soon be getting things ready with a grocery store and liquor store shopping and stocking the little house with supplies they may need, such as toilet paper, extra towels, repellent, etc.

Over the weekend, load shedding escalated to stage four, resulting in a total of 10 hours, in 2½ hour increments. without power in a 24 hour period Our only worry was the food in the refrigerator. We managed to be without power during our dinner party on Saturday night. We used lanterns and candles for light at the table on the veranda. As planned, dinner was served before the load shedding started at 7:00 pm, 1900 hrs, ending at 9:30 pm, 2130 hrs., at which point, everyone had gone home.

Noah and Norman have already visited us three times today.

Unfortunately, I forgot to take photos of our food. I was still under the weather and preoccupied with getting the meal served before the power went out. It all worked out, and we had a lovely time. Everyone seemed to enjoy the cashew chicken stir fry, with some returning to the kitchen for seconds.

Now, with no social events planned until Rita and I go to Stoep Café on Thursday and Jabula on Friday night, I can spend the rest of the week taking it easy and preparing for our friend’s arrival on Saturday.

Be well.

Photos from one year ago today, September 12, 2021:

Broken Horn stops by at least twice daily, checking out what’s on the menu. For more photos, please click here.

Stumbled across a few new Botswana photos…Prepping tonight’s dinner party…Menu…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 10, 2022 with 0 Comment

This monkey appeared to be promoting the cocktail menu.

No, I am not feeling better yet, but I’ve decided to go about living life to the fullest to the best of my ability. So far, the constant head and face pain hasn’t kept me down, and I don’t intend to let it happen if I can help it.

I got up early this morning to chop and dice for tonight’s dinner. Unless we braai meat with baked potatoes, veg and salad, making dinners requires some time and effort. I tried to keep tonight’s meal simple to avoid standing in the kitchen for hours on a scorching day.

Elephants were at quite a distance on the bank of the Chobe River.

So far this morning at 11:00 am, it’s currently 90F, 32C, with an expected high of 98F. 37C. The humidity isn’t too high, making the heat a little more tolerable. According to the online weather, the heat will continue into the evening, when we’ll all be outside on the veranda. Once the sun sets, it usually cools down considerably. We’ll see how that goes today.

Knowing it would be hot today, I decided to make an easy meal as follows, although it requires a few hours of washing and dicing vegetables, most of which I’ve already done this morning. With a lack of a wok or super large pans, I make the main entree in batches, the only way that will work.

Here’s the menu:

Starters

Maasdam Cheese with Crackers, both Wheat Based and Keto

Hummus Dip with Crisp Vegetable Sticks

Peanuts & Potato Chips

Main

Chicken Stir Fry Topped with Cashews or Peanuts (as preferred)

Stir Fry Vegetables

Fluffy Buttery Jasmine Rice

Hearty Salad with a Variety of Greens tossed with Homemade Salad Dressing

This was as easy as I could plan, considering not feeling up to par. All I have left is to stir-fry the already diced, marinated chicken breasts and then cook the vegetables in a separate pan. I chose to separate the vegetables from the chicken when a few of our men aren’t big on veggies. Then we each have the option to decide how much veg we want on our plates.

A monkey was contemplating her next move.

The chicken and vegetables will be stir-fried separately with fresh garlic, ginger, mushrooms, onions, and a plethora of Asian spices. I’ve made this dish for us recently and have figured out the perfect combination of sauces and spices based on what is available in South Africa, which is less than what we’d be able to buy in the US years ago.

Last night, we had dinner at Jabula with new friends Roz and Les. Whom we’d met a few months ago on a Friday night. Rita and Gerhard didn’t join us since she was also under the weather. However, they will be here tonight along with friends Fiona and Alan, who soon leave the bush during the summer heat.

We had a lovely evening with Roz and Les, not leaving Jabula until after 10:00 pm. 2200 hrs. We were both ready to hunker down for the night when we returned to the house. Once again, taking the tablets Doc Theo0 prescribed, I got a good night’s sleep. I still awaken in the middle of the night, but I fall back asleep. Right now, rest seems to be more therapeutic than anything.

I was feeling a little under the weather in Botswana.

Load shedding is back and operating at Stage Four over the weekend, resulting in 7½ hours a day without power spread over the 24 hours. While our guests are here this evening, we won’t have power between 7:00 pm and 9:30 pm, 1900 hrs, and 2100 hrs. Hopefully, we’ll have eaten dinner by then and remain outdoors in the dark on the veranda by candlelight. We’ve done this in the past when we had guests, and we have a good system with candles and lanterns.

That’s it for today, folks. I will try to remember to take photos of the food and the people. I will get back to you soon.

Photo from one year ago today, September 10, 2021:

Tom was tossing pellets to Broken Horn and a young male kudu we call Medium Daddy. For more photos, please click here.

Trail cam wonders…The loss of a monarch impacts many of our English friends and others worldwide…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 9, 2022 with 0 Comment

Today, I will be working on chopping and dicing for tomorrow’s dinner at our house with Rita, Gerhard, Alan, and Fiona, who are leaving the park during the hot spring and summer months and will return when it’s cool again next winter. Rita and Gerhard changed their plans and are staying until the beginning of October, which we’re thrilled to know.

This was the first photo the trail cam picked up this morning.

Rita, Gerhard, and new friends Roz and Les are joining us at Jabula for dinner tonight. We met Roz and Les several months ago at Jabula, and now we are looking forward to fun social plans with them as permanent property owners in Marloth Park. How fortunate we are to make new friends, enabling us to enjoy social activities during those times of the year when many of our other friends are away.

Soon, she lost interest and moved along.

In 10 days, on September 17th, our friends Connie and Jeff will arrive and stay until around October 1st. They will live in the charming guest house on this property, which is ideal for their needs. It reminds us of when friends Lois and Tom came to Marloth Park in 2018, and the four of us had the time of our lives, leaving them reeling with beautiful memories of this unique environment.

We had lunch with Lois and Tom in March when we were in Florida awaiting the transatlantic cruise; we all reminisced over all the fantastic times we had. On one occasion, while driving through Marloth Park searching for wildlife, we spotted Norman for the first time, longing to see it up close. But that never happened, leaving us all disappointed.

“Should I bother to bend over for a drink?” she asked herself.

Now, two or three times a day, Norman and his family, Nina and Noah bless us with their visits starting early in the morning, as shown in one of today’s trail cam photos. Norman wastes no time coming to visit in the early morning. This morning we weren’t up when he arrived, but a short time later, he was here with the family while we revelled, once again, in their beauty and grace, tossing lots of pellets their way.

Is that “thing” I was looking at still there,” she wondered.

Yesterday, at Spar Market, I purchased a huge bag of carrots. as shown in the photos below. I’ll be using some of them for tomorrow’s dinner and salad, but at the cost of ZAR 17.90, US $1.04 for the 3 kg bag, 6.6 pounds, we’re delighted to be sharing them with our animal friends. Norman loves them. Maybe next time I’ll buy two bags.

The weight of this huge bag of carrots is not listed on the bag, but we think it’s about 3 kg. Many of the animals love them.

Tomorrow, for dinner for the six of us, we’re making cashew chicken stir fry with vegetables and rice, along with a big green salad. I’m not making fussy starters for sundowner time when everyone gets too full to enjoy the main meal. I’ll serve a few crackers, pate and cheese, and julienne vegetables with hummus, nuts, and chips. The main meal will follow a few hours later.

Today, I will work on cutting some vegetables and chicken, but I’m a bit slow with this ongoing headache and doing one task at a time. I chose to make this dinner since it’s easier than making many starters and now different from something we would have made for ourselves. The only difference is the amount of chicken and vegetables I need to prepare. The rest will be easy.

A moment before we wandered outdoors, Norman appeared.

Sure, I could pamper myself and avoid planning social events at our house until I feel better, but I’ve found staying active is good for me, and once the parties begin, I forget about my aching head and face for a while.

I couldn’t avoid mentioning the passing of the Queen of England, sending our condolences to the Monarchy and all of our British friends who have been feeling her loss since it was announced yesterday. Our friends Linda and Ken, living in England, sent the photo below of Buckingham Palace after the news of the passing of the Queen was announced. Wow! Amazing!

Buckingham Palace after the announcement of the Queen’s passing.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, September 9, 2021:

No photos were posted on this date, one year ago. For the text, please click here.

Off to Komati with Rita…Planning for Saturday night’s dinner party…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 8, 2022 with 0 Comment

Danie is having a JoJo (a water storage receptacle) installed. Then, when the water is out in the park, we’ll have water we can use to shower, flush the toilet and do dishes. Many properties in Marloth Park have such JoJos. Having this will be very helpful for us.

Soon, Rita will arrive to pick me up for our outing to Stoep Café in Komatipoort. Afterward, Rita and I will head to Spar Market to shop for groceries. Since I need quite a few things and don’t want to keep Rita waiting while I shop, she will drop me off, and Tom will pick me up when I’m done.

He always loads the food at the register while I help the bagger pack the groceries into our various bags, some insulated, some not. He loads the car and brings everything into the house. Next, he empties all the bags while I put everything away. It’s a practical system that works well for us.

Since I had that dreadful open heart surgery 3½ years ago, I have had trouble bending over, a common lingering side effect of having one’s sternum cut in half. Tom pulls up a chair to the refrigerator so I can load the food neatly on the lower shelves and in the produce drawers. This would be impossible for me to do otherwise.

Stringy was taking a nap in the side garden. I took this photo through the kitchen window.

Besides that, I can do almost everything required for household tasks and cooking, but I have a fantastic helper who makes life much easier. I never have to ask for his help since he pays attention to everything I’m doing, either out of curiosity or love. In either case, I always appreciate sharing tasks chosen by one’s abilities, strengths, and interests.

How lucky we are to have one another, and neither of us ever forgets that for a day. Often, in the evening, while sitting at the table on the veranda, watching the animals, while listening to oldies (not too loudly) using the fantastic JBL Bluetooth speaker. It’s our favorite time of the day. Sometimes, we have sundowners, and sometimes we drink iced tea, but we enjoy this pleasant break from responsibilities and household tasks.

The only exercise we get on those evenings is getting up and down to feed the wildlife. Speaking of iced tea, this is the first time in our travels that we’ve been out of Crystal Light iced tea. As mentioned, our shipment is tied up in customs to ensure the iced tea isn’t a bomb or toxic chemical. Good grief.

I made cinnamon green tea, using tea bags to make iced tea for me. I added non-caloric sweetener, and it tastes pretty good. But Tom doesn’t like it, and right now, he’s drinking water or Sprite Zero since he ran out of Crystal Light only yesterday. We should have had the package delivered weeks ago but now it’s held up in customs due to the many packages of Crystal Light.

We’ve had this tea sent to us while in South Africa in the past and have never had such a problem with it. We can only wait and see what happens in the next week. It would be nice to get this shipping fiasco off our minds. I am considering if we’ll ever order supplies again and make purchases in the country we are in at any given time.

Within the year, an Amazon facility is opening up in South Africa. Hopefully, they will carry most of the products they sell in the US. If so, that will eliminate the need to ship items to us from the US.

Have to run now, folks. Rita will be here shortly and I am trying to get this uploaded before I leave the house.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, September 8, 2021:

Flowers bloom in the front garden. After all, it’s almost spring. For more, please click here.

Last night together with new friends along with old friends…The frustration with our shipments…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 6, 2022 with 0 Comment

Zebras stopped by this morning for pellets. As mentioned, they “eat and run.” Of course, that’s Lollie and Busybody photobombing in the background.

As it turned out, Rita and Gerhard didn’t get back in time from their trip to join the rest of us for dinner last night at Jabula. Louise, Danie, Lee, Marylin, and Gary, and we had a great time together, knowing this would be the last time we’d see Marylin and Gary, and Lee for a while.

After Marylin and Gary followed our site since 2012, we easily fell into a close and meaningful friendship, one we’ll always treasure. Hopefully, we look forward to their return to Marloth Park while we’re still here or at least down the road when we’ve returned after being away on our future adventures.

The seven of us engaged in lively conversation that flowed easily as we sipped on our beverages and ate our usual delicious food. Owners Dawn and Leon were away for a few days, but David, their reliable assistant, was as warm, efficient, and helpful as always. His support staff was always on the ball to ensure we had everything needed. It was a lovely night.

If we don’t quickly deliver pellets to them, they rush off, whereas others will wait patiently.

Back home before 9:00 pm, 2100 hrs., we streamed one episode of The Blacklist, season 9, and hunkered down for a much-needed good night’s sleep. It was the first night in a week that I’d doubled the dose of the medication I was taking to help with the pain, per Doc Theo’s instructions. I repeat that 10 mg dose tonight, and then tomorrow night, I double it again to 20 mg, hoping to take care of it. If it works, I’ll continue to take the medication for a few months and see what happens when I gradually reduce the dose.

The good part about this off-label use of the drug, it causes drowsiness; that’s why it’s taken at night. Last night, I slept much better on the 10 mg, although I woke up several times in the middle of the night but easily fell back to sleep right away. We’ll see how it goes.

In July, I ordered a shipment of supplies to be sent to us using UPS through our mailing service, MailLinkPlus, in Las Vegas, Nevada. We ordered everything we needed from the US to be sent to the mailing service, and then they packed it up into one box and sent it to us in one box weighing 23 pounds, 10.4 kg.

They are handsome but don’t have much personality when around humans. I suppose that is why they were never domesticated and used for farming or riding.

The box was received in Johannesburg on August 2; we still don’t have it. So far, we’ve had to pay customs fees of about ZAR 400, US $23.35 but expect more fees to be assessed before they release the package to be delivered. The health minister doesn’t like the several packages of Crystal Light Iced Tea in the box, concerned it is a health hazard to the “community.”

Yesterday, after staying on top of this for weeks, we received a request for product information on the iced tea, which is in the form of a powder to be mixed with water. This product is the top iced tea mix sold in the US. Similar products are sold in South Africa but we don’t like their taste after trying several.

Subsequently, we’ve always brought in the iced tea or had it shipped to us in the past, never having had an issue in the past. We will be charged a “health inspection fee” for an undetermined amount, for which we’ll be notified within five business days. Go figure. Why??? We must comply, or per their comments, the entire package will be destroyed or…

This is Jasmine, who often visits with her young son, Johnny.

It’s frustrating, to say the least. We had an equally awful scenario with a package when we were in lockdown in India for ten months, awaiting to receive a package from the US. We thought it was due to the pandemic but the amount of paperwork required for us to receive the package was unbelievable. Was this a UPS issue in both cases, or is this an issue generated by customs and import laws? To us, it’s a means for countries to make money by receiving innocuous supplies from foreign countries.

I hesitate to say this, but perhaps this should be the last time we order supplies from the US. How prepared will we have to be when visiting the US next time to ensure we have everything we need on hand? It’s tricky. It is one of those things that result from our long-term commitment to continue to travel the world.

This morning I got up extra early to ensure I sent the pdf document to UPS per the requirement, but it wasn’t easy finding it online. As a result, I made a document copying information I found on Amazon, where we purchased the iced tea using the product information supplied to them via Crystal Light Corporation. I requested they email with an acknowledgment of receipt of the information, which they did promptly, and now we wait for four to five business days to see what happens next.

This is the ramp Danie made for our friend Jeff coming from the US in about ten days. It’s very sturdy.

Marylin and Gary stopped by this morning before they fly to Joburg for a few days, and then they are off on a cruise. They gave us a bag of leftover food for the mongooses and some items. How sweet of them. Tom eye-balled the potato in the bag and a can of syrupy pears. He said we could give the animals the potatoes but he’d eat the can of pears. Besides, we’d never give the wildlife food containing sugar.

It was hard to say goodbye, but we know we’ll see them again. What a wonderful time we all had together. Tonight, we will stay in. Tom will have leftover meatballs and Italian sauce, topped with grated mozzarella cheese, and I’ll have a salmon salad. We’ll both have a crispy lettuce salad with homemade dressing.

Have a lovely day!

Photo from one year ago today, September 6, 2021:

Pretty female kudu at Frikkee’s Dam. For more photos, please click here.

Back from Komati..Doc Theo appointment and grocery shopping…Back at the house for a nice surprise…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 5, 2022 with 0 Comment

It was my second appointment with Doc Theo this morning after a series of blood tests were done last week at the lab across the road from his office. All of my tests were normal except for a few, which prompted him to order additional tests I had this morning. I will call him back tomorrow at 10:00 am for the new test results and a plan of action, if necessary.

In the interim, the pain in my left forehead and cheek remains, but only after testing a very low dose of a drug to help trigeminal neuralgia, which I started a week ago. Now that we know I can tolerate the drug, he’s doubling the dose tonight, again in two nights, and then if there is no relief, on September 15, we will up the dose again.

My fingers are crossed that this will do the trick and get rid of this headache and facial pain I’ve had since April when I got Omicron. I don’t like taking medication but there are times it’s necessary and this seems to be one of them.

After we were done there, we headed to Spar Market where we shopped for enough food to last until we shop again just before Connie and Jeff arrive around September 17, only 12 days from now. Speaking of Connie and Jeff, when we returned to the house with our groceries, Danie had a crew here building a ramp at the front door. Our friend Jeff is in a wheelchair due to a neurological illness and he’d never been able to walk up the two uneven steps to the front door.

With the ramp, we can wheel him inside our house, through the living and dining room and outside onto the veranda where there is a very small half step that we’ll be able to maneuver to help him outdoors onto our veranda, where we’ll spend the bulk of the time while they are here, other than when we are all on trips to Kruger National Park and other game drive activities.

We’d mentioned to Louise and Danie weeks ago that we’d need a ramp, but not surprisingly, they remembered, and as we speak now, the ramp is done. They began working on it while we were in Komatipoort, and we returned to the surprise that it was nearly done. It will be easy to wheel Jeff into the house with this wide and sturdy built-in ramp. We are always so grateful to Louise and Danie for all they do for us.

It’s very hot today, already 95F, 35C, with a slight increase expected before the afternoon winds down. Tuesday and Wednesday are expected to be much cooler, with temps not rising again until the weekend. The humidity is low at 10%, making the high temps easily tolerable as we continue to sit outdoors on the veranda.

We’ll get ready to go to Jabula tonight for dinner in a few hours. This will be the last dinner for this group of nine, including Rita and Gerhard (who are returning today from their trip away) and their friend Lee; Marylin and Gary (who are leaving in a few days); Louise and Danie, and the two of us.

Bad Ear wonders when he’ll get some pellets.

Rita and Gerhard leave for several months on September 18 and don’t know when they’ll return. But we have no doubt we will all be together again before too long. Indeed, before that time, Rita and I will have one more “girl talk” event at Stoep Cafe in Komatipoort.

With all the groceries put away and the kitchen organized as well as possible with the limited cupboard space, I won’t have to cook again until Wednesday and Thursday since we’ll return to Jabula again on Friday night. In the interim, we’re working on planning a get-together at our place with Rita, Gerhard, Fiona, and Alan (who also leave soon) before Connie and Jeff arrive.

Bossy and three kudu babies and other family members. She must have been babysitting.

Once Connie and Jeff leave around October 1, many of our friends will be gone as we work through the heat of the summer months, which often drives part-time residents away. But die-hards like us and permanent residents like Louise and Danie and several other friends who stay during the summer, we’ll plan get-togethers regardless of the heat.

That’s it for today, folks. I am anxious to do a little more kitchen organizing and then get ready for the evening out. Although I am not feeling 100%, I am still up for a fun evening with friends.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, September 5, 2021:

We scurried indoors when this Big Daddy came right up to the door from the house to the veranda. For more photos, please click here.

Seven giraffes in the garden!…What a pleasure to behold!…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 4, 2022 with 3 Comments

Yesterday early afternoon, we were gifted with the presence of seven giraffes in the garden. We couldn’t have been more thrilled, holding our breath in awe as we shot as many photos as possible. With their heads in the trees munching on a few sparse trees, it wasn’t easy to get great images of their heads and faces, but we did the best we could.

Photo from the trail cam a few nights ago.

Taking the above video was the highlight of the experience, and we hope you’ll take a moment to view it. I know it can be annoying to watch videos on a website, considering the possibility of advertisers, which we have. Still, you may be pleasantly surprised by what you’ll see on the many videos we’ve posted over the years.

They all stood close at certain points while eating from the treetops.

Often, when giraffes stop by, they don’t stay for long. They fall into the “eat and run” visitor status, but we are always happy to see them regardless of how long they stay. They don’t interact with humans at all here in the park, although there’s enormous interaction with them at a resort in Kenya called Giraffe Manor. I’ve always wanted to visit there, but both times we had booked such events, they were canceled, once by us due to heart surgery and another time due to the pandemic.

There were a total of seven, but they mostly stayed in two groups.

Giraffes are fascinating animals. Here are 14 facts about giraffes you may find to be enjoyable from this site:

14 fascinating facts about giraffes:

There are four distinct species of the giraffe: Northern giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis, Southern giraffe giraffa, Reticulated giraffe G. reticulata and Masai giraffe G. tippelskirchi.
Giraffe are already extinct in at least seven countries in Africa.
Just like human fingerprints, no two giraffe have the same coat pattern.
Giraffe feet are the size of a dinner plate with a diameter of 30 cm.
Giraffe tongues are bluish-purple and between 45 and 50 cm long.
Both male and female giraffe have horns already at birth. These ossicones lie flat and are not attached to the skull to avoid injury at birth. They only fuse with the skull later in life.
It was exciting watching the giraffes enter the garden.
The giraffe is the tallest mammal in the world. Even newborn giraffe are taller than most humans.
Female giraffe give birth standing up. Their young fall about 2 m to the ground and can stand up within an hour of birth.
In some populations, over 50% of all giraffe calves do not survive their first year.
A giraffe’s neck is too short to reach the ground. To drink, giraffe first have to splay their forelegs and/or bend their knees, and only then can they lower their necks to reach the surface of the water.
Giraffe only drink once every few days. Even when water is readily available, evidence shows that many giraffe do not drink regularly – sometimes not at all.
To protect the giraffe’s brain from sudden changes in blood pressure when it drinks, the jugular veins have incredibly elastic walls and large one-way valves that allow the veins to expand significantly and prevent the blood from flowing back to the brain when the giraffe’s head is lowered.
We hoped they’d drink from the pool.
Alternatively, to help fight gravity when blood returns to the heart from a giraffe’s feet, their blood vessels are thickly walled and muscled, and the skin on the legs is so tight it acts like giant compression socks. These unique adaptations have been studied by scientists at NASA to get inspiration for human space suits.
A giraffe heart weighs approximately 11 kilograms (almost 25 pounds) with an average resting heart rate of 40-90 beats per minute. While people thought that the giraffe had a larger heart compared to other mammals to pump blood around its body, this is not true. Rather the giraffe’s heart has a thicker muscle on the left side (ventricle) of the heart so it can generate enough force to fight gravity.

More Giraffe Facts

One curious giraffe turned his head and looked at us.

When reading #10 in the above list, it makes sense why giraffes aren’t interested in eating pellets from the ground. I suppose if the pellets were on a high ledge, they’d probably like the pellets since they are herbivores. So far, other than carnivore animals that only eat meat, we’ve yet to see an animal here in the park that doesn’t care for the pellets other than a variety of cats including civets, lions, leopards, genets, lizards, crocs, snakes and mongooses.

Who’d ever imagine sitting on the veranda and seeing giraffes stop by?

Bushbabies are omnivores and eat fruit, nuts, insects, and small rodents occasionally. We’ve never seen a bushbaby eating a pellet. Also, the commonly seen helmeted guinea-fowl love to eat pellets. They usually break them up into small pieces since they are the size of half a human finger, but they will occasionally swallow them whole. Other birds don’t seem to be interested in the pellets.

Today will be another warm day with a high of 91F, 33C, with a low of 56F, 13C. As the temperature rises, so does the humidity, which is why it may be unbearably hot here in the summer months and why there are so many mosquitos. We’ve yet to turn on the air-con in the bedroom at night. There are not a lot of insects yet, but as it warms up, there will be insects everywhere. Between the heat, the humidity, the mosquitos, and other insects, many tourists stay away during the summer months.

The sparse trees and bushes make life hard for the wildlife, especially right now, before the rainy season from November until April, when the bush is lush with bright green foliage for the animals to eat. For the next few months, unless we get some rain, the bush will be dry, a fire hazard, and lacking in food for the animals. For this reason, we don’t hesitate to feed the animals pellets, fruit, and vegetables.

This afternoon at 3:00 pm, 1500hrs., we’re heading out to visit friends Sindee and Bruce at their home in Marloth Park. I did a little baking this morning so we could bring them an entire pan of homemade coconut banana bread. We seldom visit anyone’s home empty-handed.

The recipe called for two cups of ripe bananas, but we were left with several ripe bananas. Norman, Nina, and Noah stopped by, and they each ate a few of the bananas. We had enough to share with the four bushbucks in the garden. We couldn’t stop laughing when Jasmine literally peeled her banana with her mouth before eating the insides. We’d seen kudus do this but never a bushbuck. It was the cutest thing.

Now, at noon, the garden is quiet after a busy morning packed with many species. Enjoy our photos from the past 24 hours and our above new video.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, September 4, 2021:

Fred and Ethel lie butt-to-butt in the garden with a helmet guinea-fowl looking on, hoping for more pellets. For more photos, please click here.

Finally, Norman returned today…Streaming our favorite shows…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 2, 2022 with 0 Comment

This is Marigold, resting comfortably in our garden. There were still uneaten pellets, but she was content to lounge rather than eat.

It’s Friday already. The week flew by in a blur. We haven’t done much since dinner at Marylin and Gary’s holiday rental on Monday evening other than research for future travels and “paperwork” and bookkeeping we needed to tackle. We’re hoping to go to Kruger National Park next week.

This annoying headache has made me not feel like doing much since we returned from our trip. On Monday, we’ll return to Doc Theo when he’ll up the dose of the medication I’m taking based on how I am feeling. There’s been no improvement yet, but I am on a low dose to see how I respond to the drug. Hopefully, a higher amount will cause the progress we’re seeking.

She’d look away from time to time when she heard a noise.

We’ll head to Jabula as we always do on Friday evenings. Although Rita and Gerhard don’t return until Monday, Lee has stayed at their holiday home while they are away. Tonight, Lee will join us at 5:00 pm, 1700 hrs., at the bar where we always sit until dinner, often ending up eating our meal at the bar as well. As you know, it’s an enjoyable ritual we repeat weekly.

This morning at 8:00 am, we called friends Kathy and Don, who live in Hawaii when they aren’t in Marloth Park, and had a great chat. They wanted to hear about our trip and visa situation, and we wanted to hear how they were doing. It’s always so wonderful to chat with them. Kathy and I stay in touch almost daily on WhatsApp. We are so fortunate to have such great friends all over the world.

Our boy Norman is always happy to see us and us, him.

While I was getting ready for the day, Tom popped his head into the bedroom to let me know Norman was in the garden. I couldn’t get dressed quickly enough to bolt outdoors to see his adorable face. When I called out his name while he was bent down eating pellets, his head snapped up to look at me. If a nyala could smile, Norman was smiling at me. It warmed my heart.

Hopefully, the drones will be gone after today, and all of our animal friends will return. We now have warthogs Mom and Babies who are almost fully grown. Also, bushbucks Tulip and Lilac are munching pellets in the side garden. It’s always a delight to see any of our bushbuck friends. They are so gentle and adorable.

We are always thrilled to see our favorite male bushbuck, Gordon Ramsey from the old house, whom we call Gordy.

This past week we’ve been streaming season eight of the series, The Blacklist. Wow! Has that show been exciting? Usually, after many seasons, some dramas lose their appeal when themes are repeated too frequently. But this show has ramped up to a fantastic eighth season. I looked online to see if there will be a season nine; much to our delight, it is showing in some countries.

Since we use a VPN, Express VPN (a virtual private network) set to the United States, we can watch Amazon Prime, Hulu, Netflix, and other streaming services available in the US. After researching and reading some articles about the show online, it appears season nine has been streaming from different countries, including India. After resetting the VPN to show we’re watching from India, we can watch season nine now instead of waiting until it’s released in the US.

Mom Tulip, who always visits with her daughter, Lilac.

We pay an annual fee for Express VPN of about US $99, ZAR 1714, plus the monthly or annual fees for the above streaming service. This unique service blocks the location from which we’re browsing online to show we’re coming through from the city/country we designate. Plus, it provided an added layer of security and a secure tunnel between us and the internet, protecting us from online snooping, interference, and censorship.

You can use this link from Express VPN for coupons, promotions, and free trial periods. We do not benefit from your membership but are happy to share this information with our readers. When we consider how much we spent on cable TV in the US and how much less we pay now for the above-combined services, the costs are about 70% less.

Noah is getting much bigger than his mom Nina as shown on the right.

It’s pleasant that at night when we’re done spending time outdoors, we can hunker down in the bedroom and stream a few episodes of our favorite shows before we’re ready to fall asleep. The trick is staying awake while watching when either of us has been known to nod off now and then.

Have a great weekend! We’ll be back tomorrow with more.

Photo from one year ago today, September 2, 2021:

Tag: Africa

14 fascinating facts about giraffes: