Today is the day our current visas expire…Ordering health insurance…A convenient free online shared calendar app…

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This is Bossy, who is pregnant and contemplating a drink from the swimming pool. There are only small amounts of chlorine in pools here to prevent the wildlife from illness.

All we can do about our visas expiring today is wait until we hear from South Africa immigration that our visas have been extended. In the interim, we’ve decided not to worry. We filed for the extensions within the time frame they require, so we should be fine.

Tomorrow, coinciding with our visa expirations, our rental car is due to be returned by 3:00 pm, 1500 hrs. Tom will drive to Nelspruit without me. I don’t particularly appreciate driving through the gorge halfway through the trip. Tom has no problem going on his own, and I can easily busy myself while he’s gone for three-plus hours in the afternoon.

We’ve arranged for him to pick up another car at a different dealer. We had to do a lot of research to find another affordable rental car. Since the onset of the pandemic, rental car prices have gone through the roof. Every 90 days, when we need a different contract, we struggle to find cars at reasonable prices, even here in South Africa, where prices had previously been affordable when we arrived in 2018.

Her pregnant status is easy to determine from these photos. It will be fun to see her bring her little one to visit us in the future. The gestation period for a kudu is about 240 days.

Staying in any location for extended periods always presents some challenges. Not having a home, our own car, and the insurance that goes with such ownership, on top of the problems due to finding and securing good health insurance. Today, I’ll be renewing my policy with SafeTrip from United Health Care.

With Tom’s excellent health, we aren’t insuring him right now. Once we’re on the move again, especially when some cruises require proof of health insurance which includes emergency evacuation, which makes sense to have when cruising as seniors, we’ll both be insured.

The policy has a limit of US $50,000 due to my age. I purchased the policy today for me beginning tomorrow, ending on April 8, the day we sail away. A few days before the cruise, I’ll sign up both Tom and me for a new 90-day policy. I always post a notice on our combined Cozi Calendar, a free family calendar app available online to keep track of the expiration dates.

Bossy with a few impalas in the background vying for pellets.

If you’re interested in an easy-to-use, conveniently shared calendar for travel or day-to-day appointments, this app is ideal easier to use than those offered by other providers. Here’s the link for the free app. You can choose to pay a fee for a slightly more sophisticated version, but we’ve never needed to do so.

When I awoke at 5:30, I stayed in bed reading news until finally, at 7:00, I bolted out of bed, ready to tackle the day. I decided to make dinner with the leftover ingredients from Friday night’s dinner party. There was a good-sized ziplock bag of cut-up chicken breasts which I’d frozen on Friday.

Last night, after returning from dinner at Jabula with friends, I took the bag of the cubed-cooked chicken out of the freezer and put it into the refrigerator to find it fully defrosted this morning. With that and many leftover vegetables, I had enough ingredients to make three more low-carb pot pies. Tom will have one tonight and another tomorrow, while I’ll eat one tonight and have something different tomorrow, maybe tuna salad atop a big green salad that suits me just fine.

Impalas are quite shy around humans and scurry if we make the slightest sound or movement while they visit.

As for today, a lovely coolish day with tolerable humidity, I did three loads of laundry after prepping the meals and putting away all of the dry laundry on the rack. To increase my steps, I fold one item at a time and walk it to where the item belongs, Tom’s closet in our bedroom, my chest of drawers in the second bedroom, or towels in the kitchen. It’s amazing how many steps I can get in doing laundry this way. I make a point of walking with vigor to increase my heart rate.

That’s it for today, folks. We hope you have a delightful Sunday and a new week to come.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, January 23, 2021:

Love Bird's Nest
View of the veranda and pool at our house in the bush. For more, please click here.

Lovely evening on the veranda with great friends, good food and Mother Nature…

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It was 4:00 am when our regular genet appeared in the garden sitting atop of a rock observing these two female bushbucks.

The weather was ideal, the guests were cheerful and enthused to be at our bush home, and the food, wine, and conversation flowed with ease. Rita, Gerhard, Rita’s sister Petra and brother-in-law Fritz joined us at the table on the veranda for snacks with beverages at sundowner time, beginning at 4:30 pm, 1630 hrs, followed by dinner a few hours later.

All of us stuffed from dinner. After the main course, we waited for about an hour to serve dessert, the chocolate cake I’d made in the morning, with photos in yesterday’s post found here. The low-carb cake was delicious and another treat we appreciated after it was only recently that I’d baked a few cakes, having missed desserts for quite some time.

We turned on the music between dinner and dessert using our JBL Essential Bluetooth speaker, which sounds almost as good as any major sound system. We sent my phone around the table for each of us to say, “Hey Google, play _ _ _ _ _, on YouTube.”

Young kudu male stops by, standing on the veranda to get our attention. We tossed pellets out into the garden to avoid getting too close to those growing horns.

We’d each speak our favorite song on the phone, and it was fun to hear what each of us chose. There certainly was a wide array of music, in part cultural, with our four guests from Germany (although Rita and Gerhard have lived in the US for over 30 years). Tom and I each chose oldies, his more geared toward rock and roll and mine, from the disco period in the late 70s and early 80s. It was great fun.

At one point, Rita and Petra danced to a favorite song from their OctoberFest days. It was delightful to see their favorite cultural dance. Ironically, in yesterday’s post, I’d mentioned cultural dances we’ve observed and enjoyed worldwide over the years and most assuredly enjoy in years to come, health providing, and we’re able to continue.

This warthog stopped by who’d recently had an injury to his left wart. It could have happened in several incidents with other animals.

As always, after dinner, Tom insisted on handling all the dishes, requiring that he load and empty the dishes twice and wash a variety of pots and pans. It helped that we’d all carried the plates and dishes indoors, but, still, he had his hands full for a few hours after our guest left, slightly before 10:00 pm, 2200 hrs.

On and off, throughout the evening, we were entertained by many of our favorite wildlife visitors who weren’t put off at all by our loud banter and not too loud music. We are far from any other houses at our current location and are never concerned we’re disturbing neighbors.

Tom just finished his leftovers while I am munching on the leftover salad and vegetables, cooked green beans, and sugar snap peas. We’d made individual low-carb pot pies and had saved the thick lids used to cover the tin foil pans. After dinner, we passed around the lids and a pen so everyone could write their name on their corresponding leftovers and take them home for today’s lunch.

We just missed a good photo of this monitor lizard.

We won’t eat again until dinner tonight at Jabula, where the six of us will meet up for dinner, which will undoubtedly be another fun evening. We enjoy our busy social life, which will continue after Petra and Fritz return to Germany. Several other friends will be arriving in Marloth Park in the next few weeks, and the social activities will ramp up from here.

We’re pleased to share another sighting of our usual genet from our trail cam, as shown in the main photo. What a joy it has been to see our favorite nocturnal animals these past many weeks, as well as the frequent daytime visitors that continue to entertain and amaze us.

May you have a pleasant day, evening, and weekend.

Photo from one year ago today, January 22, 2021:

There are no less than three mating pairs of francolins in our garden. In a short time after our arrival to Marloth Park, we named this francolin Frank, along with his partner, The Misses. For more, please click here.

More photos from Kruger National Park…Another fun night at Jabula!…Great seasoning recipe…

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This is a side-striped jackal, another less frequent sighting we were delighted to encounter. The side-striped jackal is a canine native to central and southern Africa. Unlike the smaller and related black-backed jackal, which dwells in open plains, the side-striped jackal primarily dwells in woodland and scrub areas.

One year ago today, the third day since our arrival in the bush in South Africa, we had no power for 19 hours and no WiFi. We are enjoying today without any outages, a strong WiFi signal, and a slightly cooler yet humid day. Often, this time of year, the temperature may only be in the 80Fs, 27Cs, but the humidity can be outrageously high, making us sweat until the sun goes down.

The kori bustard is a ground-dweller, hence the name bustard, meaning birds that walk. They have a majestic walk with measured strides. They prefer to walk away from danger and fly only when necessary because of their weight. They take off with hefty wing beats, but they fly quickly and strongly once airborne.

Nonetheless, it’s a good day. I’ve already prepped all the vegetables and ingredients for tonight’s taco salad dinner and only have to prepare the lettuce and cook the mince (hamburger meat) as soon as it defrosts enough to fit in the pan. I made the taco seasoning from scratch early this morning, using the ingredients listed below.

Those little packets of taco seasoning contain many chemicals and wheat, none of which we care to eat. Here is a simple recipe that takes only a few minutes to put together.

Marabou storks I first encountered at the old dump in Marloth Park in 2014. The marabou stork is a large wading bird in the stork family Ciconiidae. It breeds in both wet and arid habitats in Africa south of the Sahara, often near human habitation, especially landfill sites.
Low Carb Taco Seasoning
Ingredients
4 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoon cumin
4 teaspoons paprika
4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 teaspoon dried onion or onion powder
2 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
Add all the spices to a mason jar or large zip-seal bag. Close and shake or stir until fully combined. Store in an air-tight container in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year.
Notes
Use 2 tablespoons for every packet of taco seasoning called for in a recipe or for every pound of meat with no additional salt added. Use 1/2 tablespoon to season 1/4 pound of meat if making individual servings. The individual serving size is about 1/2 tablespoon.

Nutrition
Serving: 8serving (1/2 tbsp) | Calories: 15kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 616mg | Potassium: 78mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 849IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg

Table setting at the boma in Kruger National Park. There we just the eight of us as guests, with several staff members serving and assisting.

This is so easy to make. This morning,  I added sliced olives, diced onions, grape tomatoes cut in half, and chopped lettuce in individual containers. I’ll soon cook the meat until no blood remains, draining it in a strainer, placing it back into the pan, adding seasonings as stated above, based on how much meat I am cooking.

Our plates of meat were delicious.

Then, I add about one cup of water for about 4 pounds, 2.2 kg of meat. Let the meat simmer until most of the water is absorbed, usually about 20 minutes. While the meat is simmering, I cut up one small avocado to serve atop my salad. Serve right away, layering your salad as you’d like. I add a dollop of sour cream to my salad, but Tom doesn’t add any dressing. Some may prefer to add salsa. Cool the meat slightly before refrigerating. It will keep in the fridge for four days or freeze in Ziplock individual servings.

There were several vegetable options, some without sauces which I selected.

OK, enough about food for you non-foodies. Oh, oh, one more thing about food. Last night, Rita, Gerhard, Petra, Fritz and Tom, and I went to Jabula for another enjoyable time together. We lounged at the bar for a while, ordered our dinner while at the bar, and then sat at the usual table for six that Dawn always saves for us and any group of six we may have to join us.

The food is consistently delicious, and the hosts divine, which brings us back over and over again. We never tire of dining and spending time at that great restaurant, unlike any other we tried throughout the world. The bar reminds us of the TV series Cheers, where “everyone knows your name.” And the food never disappoints.

This is the beautiful European roller. The European roller is the only member of the roller family of birds to breed in Europe. Its overall range extends into the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, and Morocco. The European roller is found in various habitats, avoiding only treeless plains. They migrate to South Africa from Europe each summer season. That’s a long flight!

When we returned home, we settled in for the night, watched an episode of a series on my laptop, and drifted off to sleep by midnight.

Today will be a quiet day. I continue faithfully with my new walking regime and haven’t missed a day since I started on January 1st. I’m not one for New Year’s resolutions, but this year was different. I needed to start walking more for my health.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, January 16, 2021:

These two piglets were Barbara and Lori, who are now almost full-grown and visit each day. This mom is now Tail-less Mom who recently lost her tail to an injury. For more photos, please click here.

More exciting sightings from the trail cam…A special day of celebration with friends.

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What a night it was in the bush! These fantastic creatures stopped by after we’d left some bones out after dark. Genets, as shown in the photos, are carnivores. Porcupines aren’t carnivores, but I also tossed out some vegetables, so perhaps that’s what attracted them.

We’ve had a few glimpses of genets, here and there, but never quite as clear as seen in these photos from last night’s shots by the trail cam. Each morning, it is so exciting to see what treasure the trail cam picked up when we aren’t sitting outdoors.

We couldn’t have been more thrilled to see a genet on last night’s trail cam photos.

It rained in buckets last night, and we were inside when these photos were taken. Plus, sitting outdoors in the dark right now with all the insects buzzing around our heads isn’t as fun as it was a few months ago. Although, when we have guests, we have no choice but to sit outdoors when our dining room table only seats four.

Speaking of guests coming for dinner, tonight at Rita and Gerhard’s US citizenship dinner party at the Khaya Umdani house, we’ll plan a night for all of them to come to our house for dinner, maybe next Thursday or Saturday. With Rita’s sister, Petra, and brother-in-law Fritz here with them for a few weeks, it will be fun to entertain them on our veranda.

“A genet is a member of the genus Genetta, which consists of 14 to 17 species of small African carnivorans. The common genet is the only genet present in Europe and occurs in the Iberian Peninsula, Italy, and France. Genet fossils from the Late Miocene and later have been found at sites in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Morocco.”

It’s always so exciting to share the adventures in the bush with first-time human visitors. It’s delightful to watch the expressions of pure joy on their faces when they see a giraffe crossing the road, warthog moms and babies in the garden, and even insects one has never seen in their lives and may never see again.

After all this time we’ve spent in Marloth Park, which Tom and I just figured out has been 30 months, less one month in the US, and several short visa stamp trips, we’ve never become bored for a day. Yes, we’ve been miserably hot, covered in mosquito bites, and suffered some long stretches without power, water, and WiFi. But, as our long-time readers know, none of this keeps us away.

The small, catlike genet is extremely common in Africa. Nocturnal, secretive, and shy, the fox-size common or small-spotted genet has black marks on its face that give it the appearance of wearing a mask. The spots on the back of a genet’s coat are arranged in parallel lines and become elongated as they approach the tail, which has distinct black rings. Blotched genets are close relatives and share a similar facial mask, but they have larger spots and black-tipped tails.

A few minutes ago, I heard the hornbills pecking on the kitchen window as they often do. I jumped up in an attempt to take a photo of them but instead was distracted by five “go-away” birds near the veranda. And when we’re gifted by the constant flow of human and animal visitors, life couldn’t be better than this. I got several excellent shots which we’ll share in tomorrow’s post.

Every day it’s something new. This type of constant stimulation wasn’t as prevalent in our old lives. And, as much as we enjoyed those days and nights, we have a different perspective of life, of nature, from living here in the bush. We’re often asked if we’d live here permanently, and the answer is still an emphatic “no.” It’s the novelty of all of this that keeps us coming back for more.

That’s not to say we’d get bored living here. Many people live here full-time and never tire of the wildlife and their many friends in this hugely social environment. But, our goals remain the same…we are world travelers, and once we can get back out there in the world, we will. Right now, we’re waiting to see if our cruising plans, in less than three months, will once again send us on our way.

This appears to be two porcupines. Could it be a mom and baby?

For now, I’m finished in the kitchen, having made an enormous salad and surprise treat for Rita, which I’ll share in tomorrow’s post. Her birthday is on Friday, and we’re all going into Kruger on a private guided night drive, ending in a dinner in the wild shortly thereafter. We’ve done this in the past and loved the experience, as I’m sure we all will again.

That’s it for today, folks. I have some projects to complete before heading out to Khaya Umdani for tonight’s festivities. It will be fun to be back at that fabulous house where we stayed for a few weeks in 2014 and have been to several times over the years for other social events.

Have a safe and productive day.

Photo from one year ago today, January 12, 2021:

We were no longer in Mumbai, India, on this date, one year ago. Adorable giraffe at rest. For more photos, please click here.

Today is a special one year ago anniversary…Complications with paperwork…Kidding myself about using my phone or camera for scanning documents…

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About three weeks ago, this piglet became separated from her mom and two siblings in our garden. We hope others are feeding her too.

One year ago today, we were finally able to leave the hotel in Mumbai, India, where we spent a few days short of 10 months in lockdown at the Marriott hotel due to Covid-19 to fly to South Africa. Several days earlier, we’d made arrangements but expected the flight to be canceled. It was not, and we made it as far as Dubai on January 11, 2021, as described in this post.

Without a doubt, with Covid-19 in the air; it was scary flying for so long. From the Mumbai airport to Marloth Park, it was 59 hours. We remember that day as if it was yesterday. We were so happy to be here, in this house, with this fantastic garden, backing up to Lionspruit, the exhaustion we felt after 2½ days of travel was incidental.

In a matter of a few days of rest, good food, and sleep, we were feeling great and settled in, thanks to Louise‘s help, dinner at Jabula, and our uncanny ability to adapt to time zone, and long travel days reasonably easily. In no time at all, animals came to visit us. Most exciting was the day that Little appeared, shortly after we arrived, tearing a hole in the screen trying to get into the house.

We hadn’t seen Little in over two years at that point, and the fact he found us so far from the Orange house where we lived in 2018/2019, and I couldn’t have been more thrilled. He visits almost every day, except during this busy now-ending holiday season. Soon, he’ll be back to his old routine of stopping by around 4:00 pm, 1600 hrs, daily.

This poor little piglet is alone. We’ll make a point of feeding her each time she stops by.

At this point, we’re busy getting all the documents the law firm needs, and undoubtedly, it’s been a hassle. We carried a small portable printer and scanner when we first began traveling. But those days are long gone. Both weren’t of the quality of desktop models, and neither lasted more than a few years. Besides, they were bulky, although travel-size, and added a few kilos to our luggage weight.

When we need to prepare documents for visas or other reasons; it is a real pain in the you-know-what. There is a post office here in Marloth Park that does printing and scanning for a fee, but their hours aren’t always convenient, and we could end up waiting for quite a while with other customers in the shop.

Louise has an excellent printer and scanner which we use. But, lately, with the busy holiday season, we haven’t felt comfortable pestering her so much, although she is always happy to oblige.

So I got all the necessary documents together, and some of them weren’t acceptable. Our passport pages couldn’t be adequately scanned on a camera, so we had to run back to Louise to do these. Plus, the immigration department wouldn’t accept airline tickets for our eventual departure without the Expedia (or other vendors) logo on the tickets. It’s impossible to make a PDF of an Expedia ticket for whatever reason.  I ended up having to take a screenshot to comply.

Bushbuck’s hair stands up on their backs when they are around other bushbucks, fearful of having to share their territory.

Then, yesterday, the law firm couldn’t get South Africa’s immigration system to accept any of our credit cards to pay the additional processing fees. I called our credit card companies, spending almost an hour on the phone, to find out nothing was wrong with our cards, which I knew would be the case. It’s a South Africa VSF immigration department issue. Hopefully, today, that will be resolved on their end. Otherwise, I don’t know what they/we will do.

At this point, other than the payments as stated above, we’ve done our part, and they should have everything they need to complete our extension applications. It’s frustrating, to say the least. We’re glad we didn’t attempt to do this ourselves. It would have been even more cumbersome.

On another note, last night, after returning from picking up Rita’s sister, Petra, and her husband Fritz, at the airport in Johannesburg, Gerhard called and said he had a “perishable” treat for Tom. He and Fritz came over to hand Tom two boxes of Krispy Kream glazed donuts. He couldn’t have been more thrilled. With six donuts in total, Tom ate three last night and the remaining three with his coffee this morning.

Soon, we’re heading to Komatipoort to shop.

Have a wonderful day!

Photo from one year ago today, January 11, 2020:

I was wearing my N-99 mask, face shield, and gloves continuously during the entire 2½ days of travel from Mumbai, India, to Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger Airport. The post may be found here.

Frightening visitor to our garden at 4:00 am!!!…What do we do now?…Earlier, a wonderful sighting…

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T75

It started as an ordinary night. We enjoyed time on the veranda during the day and into the evening. After dark, when the bugs came out, we went inside to watch the final episode of season 4, Yellowstone, and another hilarious episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

During the evenings, when we are inside the house, Tom frequently checks the garden to see if we have any visitors. Last night, around 8:00 pm, 2000 hrs, he told me to hurry and come look out the veranda screen door. Our favorite porcupine, with fully extended quills, was not only in our garden but also came up onto the veranda checking out Frank’s leftover bird seeds.

It was the best sighting we had of this exciting and unusual animal. We were hoping they would pass in front of the camera, but unfortunately, no such luck. There was no way we could have used our camera to take a photo since the sound of opening the door would have easily scared the porcupine away.

Since we’ve had the camera set up, we’ve been able to see her in photos in the garden at night, although they were often too far from the camera for a clear shot. Last night would have been perfect if only once she passed in front of the trail cam. But, we were nonetheless thrilled to see it and will continue to watch for another sighting.

Then, off to bed, and by midnight we were both sound asleep. Once, during the night, we were awakened by Tom’s phone ringing. He’d forgotten to turn on the “Do Not Disturb” button before he went to sleep. It was a call about renewing our car warranty. We don’t own a car. Robocall. Disgusting.

Tom drifted off right away while it took me over an hour to return to sleep. When I get startled by a sound during the night, I always have trouble falling back to sleep which I’ve read is due to the release of cortisol and adrenaline, hormones that are released to a “fight or flight” response. Tom doesn’t seem to have the same reaction.

This morning, as usual, Tom was up and out on the veranda before me. He always takes the data card out of the camera and reviews the night’s photos. Today, he was particularly enthused to see the images, hoping we’d have photos showing the porcupine. Alas, there wasn’t a single photo of the porcupine, much to our disappointment.

There have been many burglaries in Marloth Park, often at gunpoint in the middle of the night, and this concerns us. However, there were only three photos from the trail cam…a man in our garden at 3:58 am, as shown in today’s photos!!! Why was this man in our garden so secluded, requiring a walk through dense bush to access?

Immediately upon seeing the photos, Tom showed them to me. I contacted Louise, sending her the three images. She has contacted Field Security, and they’ll be coming out today to talk to us. We will ask them to come by our house several times during the night. Doing so may not ensure they’d catch this man, but at least, if he’s here again, he could be deterred by their presence.

Yes, our house is fully protected by an alarm system with bars on windows, including the screen door to the veranda. We keep the alarm button on the key fob in our possession at all times, including beside the bed at night. In any case, this is still worrisome, and we will feel a little relieved after we’ve spoken to Field Security.

Several of our friends have experienced break-ins over the years. Although there are guards at the entrance gates, anyone can enter Marloth Park since it is a public municipality. The guards at the gates’ job are to ensure that no animals are coming into the park or heading out of the park in the boot of a car.

When we came to South Africa in 2013, we were aware of the high rates of crime in some areas, as is the case, and in our own US and many other cities throughout the world. But, we thought living in the remote bush might offer some security. Over the years we’ve spent here in Marloth Park, we’ve heard many stories of burglaries occurring during the night. Some include guns and, in the case of one couple of our friends, being tied up while the burglary occurred.

That’s the news for today, folks. We will get back to you when we know more.

Be well.

                                         Photo from one year ago, January 4, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #285. The colorful temples in Chennai were breathtaking to see. “Kapaleeshwarar Temple: Dedicated to one of the forms of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati that is Arulmigu Kapleeswar and Karpagambal respectively, the temple should be on the top position of your list of temples to visit.” For more photos, please click here.

Injuries and anomalies in the bush…

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This little duiker has his two horns growing strangely. Typically, males have two small horns atop their heads. This one has a center horn and a second horn, growing from the right side of his head. Most likely, this anomaly doesn’t cause him any problems.

Note: None of today’s photos are ours. This morning while getting ready for the day, Tom hollered out to me, “Hurry and come outside!” Not yet dressed, I grabbed a bath towel, covered myself, and headed out the door. But, I was too late. The sighting he was referring to was long gone.

It was Mom and Babies, who originally included three piglets, but now only two, who appeared in the garden with her tail gone from her injured-looking butt, which we’d noticed was looking bad over the past week or so. She lost one of her piglets last week. Whether it was eaten by the lions or other carnivores in Marloth Park or it was injured and couldn’t continue to carry on, surely being left to die.

No doubt, she was aware of her missing piglet. Then, to appear with an injury to her hind end, only days later must have been quite a blow to her. She continued to care for her remaining two piglets with attentive care, and then…this morning, she appears with the two in tow and a missing tail and bloody butt.

This female warthog appears to have been injured by either a snare or a fence.

It’s so sad,  but we’ll never know what happened to her, her piglet, and when and why her tail fell off. Warthog tails are long with a tuft of hair at the end. They use their tails to stand straight up when in the bush to let their family members know where they are. Also, they use their tails for a vital purpose…to swat off flies and insects. It’s constantly swishing back and forth.

How she’ll manage without a tail remains to be seen. But, warthogs have a robust immune system resulting in relatively quick injury healing and are highly adaptable. I imagine she will improvise and alert her piglets to her whereabouts with grunts and other pig sounds.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get outside quickly enough to get a photo of her injury. Certainly, she and the two piglets will return in the next few days, and I’ll do so at that time and post it the next day. In the interim, today, we’re posting a few photos (NOT OUR PHOTOS) that we borrowed from Facebook posts on the Marloth Park Sighting group.

Was this kudu shot or injured? It’s impossible to know.

We often see anomalies and congenital disabilities in the bush, which may in some cases be due to inbreeding. The photo of the bushbuck with the peculiar placement of his two horns is an example of what may be such a case. It’s hard to say fo sure.These magical wild animals are resourceful. We can only imagine how hard life is for them. Many criticize the confinement of wildlife in Marloth Park. Still, in essence, their life here is considerably easier than for those in Kruger National Park, with fewer apex predators in Marloth Park. Of course, the recent five lions in the park have threatened their safety when numerous carcasses have been discovered since the onset of their presence. It’s not as safe as it used to be.

Although our bush home is not necessarily located in the areas where the lions have been sighted, they could easily change their territory in a few hours and suddenly appear in our area, which is a few kilometers from their current hunting ground. As a result, we keep an eye out constantly when we spend our days and evenings on the veranda.

May be an image of food and outdoors
This piglet appeared to have a broken back. Based on comments on Facebook, the rangers came to where it was spotted and euthanized it. So sad to see. Could this have been the missing third piglet of the mom described in today’s story with the missing tail? It could be.

As for wildlife injuries, the temptation is to contact the rangers each time we see an animal with a potentially life-threatening injury. But, there is a cost factor (who pays for the vets?) and a state of practicality. Warthogs seem to be the least likely animals to be provided with medical care.

Bushbucks, kudu, duikers, zebras, giraffes, and others might be offered care and rehabilitation by the vets that service Marloth Park’s wildlife and Wild and Free, Rehabilitate, Rescue and Release, a fantastic organization run by a dedicated wildlife expert and caregiver, Deidre. They rely upon donations to fund the center.

Of course, the Marloth Park Rangers and the Honorary Rangers are highly dedicated, hard-working individuals that strive to keep the animals in the park safe, healthy, and free from harm. We commend all of their efforts.

Photo from one year ago today, December 30, 2020:

Tom’s burger in Palermo, Buenos Aires, in 2018, with ham, eggs, cheese, and beef plus fried potatoes. This made Tom drool when we were in lockdown in a hotel room in Mumbai, India, on day #280. For more photos, please click here.

Is it coincidence, serendipity or random?…Unusual encounters…

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Please note: The first sentence of the first paragraph is intended to be the caption for the first photo. Due to WiFi issues with many holidaymakers in the bush, I am unable to correct this issue at this time. Thank you.

Barbara of Lori and Barbara (Shark Tank) had what we called “Barbara’s Butt Bush Bouquet” which lasted for quite a while, making us laugh. We met a lovely couple, Marie and Bill, due to our site and a newspaper story about us in 2012. They lived in our neighborhood in our old lives in Minnesota and attended our church in Victoria. They wrote to us a few days ago as they’ve often done, over the years since we left the US.

We became good friends with Marie and Bill, even meeting them for dinner in Minnesota in 2019. Also, they attended our “reader get-together in Minnesota in 2017.

Their recent email read:

Hi Tom and Jess,

We have not forgotten you; we continue to follow and enjoy your daily posts. Our apologies for the long lapse in communicating, though.

We read with great interest your post about being at Jabula and connecting with Rico, whose son was in your photos. I love small world stories, and whenever we have traveled, having a small world experience makes the trip even better. I’ll try to share one experience we had some years ago briefly.

What prompted them to write this particular email was due to a story we’d done a few weeks ago about meeting a man at Jabula for an unbelievable coincidence. His adult son’s photo was on our website when we visited a rescue center in 2014. To see this story, please click here.

Here is Marie and Bill’s message received two days ago, posted with their permission:

“Hi, Jess & Tom,

We and another couple from Plymouth, MN, were traveling by car in France. One day we passed by a winery in Burgundy that Bill knew a lot about. Our friend asked if he would like to stop for a visit. At first, Bill said no because he knew we were behind schedule getting to our next destination. Our friend reminded Bill that he probably wouldn’t pass by that winery ever again, so we should stop. So we did.

As we entered, we learned there was an English-speaking tour beginning soon, so we signed up to join in. We were directed to another building to meet our guide and the two other couples who had signed up. Long story short, the two other couples just happened to be from Victoria, MN, and I knew the daughters of one from teaching. What are the odds of two couples from Victoria, one couple from Plymouth, and we from Chan meeting up by chance and touring together? Amazing! It is indeed a small, small world!

We are sending many good wishes to both of you for the new year. Stay safe and healthy. You are in our thoughts each day.

Hugs,
Bill and Marie”

Barbara of Lori and Barbara (Shark Tank) had what we called “Barbara’s Butt Bush Bouquet.” It lasted for quite a while.

Obviously, Marie and Bil were shocked and pleasantly surprised by running into people from their area in the same way we were shocked to coincidentally have a photo of Rico’s son on our website. That was indeed serendipitous.

But, over the years of our world travel, we’ve met people that oddly appeared before us, again presenting a weird coincidence. We met a woman on a cruise in 2017 who is/was the bookkeeper for Father Bob, from the same church in Victoria, Minnesota we attended for years.

Another big coincidence was when we happened to be dining in a TripAdvisor highly-rated restaurant when we were in Paris in 2014. While spending two weeks in the city, exploring its many unique sightseeing venues, we decided to try the fine dining establishment, when, most evenings we dined at mid-range restaurants.

The restaurant was a historic home renovated in typical Parisian charm with several small dining rooms. At the time, we’d been following another couple traveling the world, whose online story was similar to ours, although they spent a lot of time in Europe, which we did not.

Once seated in one of those tiny rooms with three tables, I told Tom to turn around discreetly. Sitting next to us, engaged in deep conversation, was that couple. We decided not to disturb them. They didn’t know us, but we knew them from their online photos, a book they’d published, and an appearance on a US morning news program promoting their book.

Since that time, they’d stopped traveling when the husband became ill and later passed away. Sad story but a reality for seniors traveling the world.

At that time, Tom and I discussed how uninterested we were in writing books, appearing on TV, and participating in any reality-type TV shows; after receiving some offers, we declined. We didn’t want celebrity and the life that went with it. It’s satisfying enough for us to meet people on cruises who know us from reading our posts whom we’ve never met who’ve greeted us enthusiastically. We are flattered during those situations but humbly decline to make a big deal of it.

Early this morning, Hal and Howie were munching on pellets. Shortly after they left, Broken Horn made a visit.

But, these coincidences and random encounters always fascinate us.

This morning when sitting down at the table on the veranda with my coffee, I commented to Tom, “Gee, lover, we haven’t heard any frogs croaking in days. Tom replied, “No, we haven’t heard a  single croak in days.”

Two minutes later, two frogs started croaking, one in the cement pond and the other in the birdbath. Knowing I was writing this story today, I particularly laughed out loud. Coincidence? Serendipity? Who knows. But it was fun to hear them once again!

May your day be filled with pleasant surprises!

Photo from one year ago today, December 29, 2020:

This photo was posted while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #279. Simple yet lovely flower in Penguin, Tasmania, in 2016. For more photos, please click here.

Broken Horn is a celebrity!…Hot and humid today!…Taco salad day with a great recipe…

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    This photo was on the Marloth Park Sighting Page on Facebook to thousands of viewers. Others recognized him. But, I wrote a comment, “That’s our boy Broken Horn, LOL” He is known by other names at other bush houses, but to us, he is Broken Horn, and he responds to his name!

It was quite a night. After days of heat and humidity last night, there was a rainstorm with thunder and lightning, resulting in a power outage lasting for hours. Fortunately, before we went to sleep, the power was restored, and we were able to sleep in the heat with the air-con on.

This morning is so hot and humid that the air is thick and almost hard to breathe. Our clean clothes are already soaked in sweat. The temperature today is expected to rise only to 93F 34C, but the humidity is the killer. Right now, at 11:00 am, based on the dew point of 72 degrees, it feels like 98F, 37C, and will worsen as the day progresses. It will begin to cool down after 6:00 pm, 1800 hrs.

Gosh, we are grateful we are retired and don’t have an outdoor job. We often think of Danie and his crew building houses in this weather. And it’s just the beginning of summer. Knowing that at any point, it becomes too much, we can always go into the bedroom, turn on the air-con and the fan to cool off for a while. We stay only a short time and go back outside or into the lounge room, whichever is cooler.

Kudus in the garden. Pellets are now like a dessert for them, although they are healthy since they have plenty of vegetation to eat.

Ah, enough about the weather! Cooking on the stove is two pots, one with seasoned beef for taco salad and another with seasoned chicken for me. But, it is difficult not to mention it when we’re sitting here in a pile of sweat. Tom just poured me an icy cold, insulated mug of Crystal Lite Ice Tea. What a treat.

I avoid beef, but I love chicken taco salad with avocado. Of course, we don’t use the shell bowl; instead piling the meats atop a bed of crispy lettuce, with sliced green olives, diced purple onions, diced celery, and hand-grated cheddar cheese and sour cream and avocado for me. It’s a perfect meal on a hot day.

Tom is grating the cheese now, and since I got up early this morning, all the other ingredients are prepared and in plastic containers in the fridge. Hopefully, the power stays on so the meat doesn’t spoil. With so many holidaymakers in the park, it could go out any minute, which has already happened several times in the past week since they started arriving.

One Tusk was sitting in the cement pond to cool off.

This morning, we were pleasantly surprised by the number of visitors in the garden. There were several kudus, bushbucks, and warthogs. It was nice to see them after they’ve been away for the past week tending to the new human’s offerings of pellets and some nasty foods they shouldn’t be eating but love anyway.

Kudus don’t know what’s good for them. They eat what tastes good, just like humans. A bushbuck may never have eaten chips, crackers, or bread but love the taste. But, they too are subject to diseases similar to humans from eating unhealthy processed foods.

This is a perfect opportunity to mention that we no longer use taco seasoning packets and haven’t done so for several years. The packages are available here, but they are filled with wheat and chemicals. I make my taco seasoning as follows in this recipe, not my own, but found online some time ago. Here it is from this site:

“Keto Taco Seasoning

Learn how to make your own homemade Low-carb keto-friendly taco seasoning in just a few minutes for a fraction of the price of taco packets!
 Prep Time5 minutes
 Servings 8 people
 Calories 15kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried onion or onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  • Add all the spices to a mason jar or large zip-seal bag. Close and shake or stir until fully combined.
  • Store in an air-tight container in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year.

Notes

Use 2 tablespoons for every packet of taco seasoning called for in a recipe or for every pound of meat with no additional salt added.

The individual serving size is about 1/2 tablespoon. Use 1/2 tablespoon to season 1/4 pound of meat if making individual servings.

Nutrition

Serving: 8serving (1/2 tbsp) | Calories: 15kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 616mg | Potassium: 78mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 849IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg”

I’m still contemplating what dish to bring to Flo and JiJi’s New Year’s Eve party on Friday night. I’d prefer it to be easy in this heat and be able to sit out in the heat and humidity for several hours. That’s limiting. Maybe a dessert, cookies, or bars would be best since they hold up better than any kind of meat or vegetable dish. We’ll see how the weather rolls out over the next few days.

May you have a pleasant day and evening during this holiday-in-between time.)

Photo from one year ago today, December 28, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #278. Pineapple is a commonly grown fruit in Fiji, often available for the taking in many areas. At the farmer’s market, they mostly sell to visitors, not many locals. For more photos, please click here.

We’re back!…Power and water restored…Nice day in Kruger National Park…

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Mom and baby hippo on the Sabie River.

The electric power has been restored as of yesterday afternoon and the water. This morning I was able to take a shower with water pressure. Also, it’s cooler today, although the dew point is tropical after it rained again during the night. The animal’s feet are covered in mud, and the garden is muddy. But, we don’t mind.

We’re grateful it continues to rain at night to increase the available vegetation for the wildlife. None of our visitors look undernourished after being well-fed over the winter months by enthusiasts like us and can now eat their natural diet of leaves, roots, and grasses.

Wildebeest family resting near what they think is a tree.

We’re keeping a watchful eye for snakes and venomous insects that flourish this year. I may jinx ourselves in saying so, but the mozzies aren’t as awful as they could be. But it’s still early yet. Actual summer doesn’t begin until December 21st. When the weather is tolerable, we remain outdoors and will continue to do so during the summer months.

Yesterday’s trip to Kruger National Park was rewarding, although we didn’t see any cats. We haven’t been lucky with cat sightings in the park during this past year. Although, we still enjoy every animal we see. We don’t spend much time on the dirt roads; instead, spending the majority of our drive on the main paved road.

The first elephant we spotted on our self-drive.

Why don’t we venture out to the more remote dirt roads is a reality we’ve had to accept. We don’t rent expensive four-wheel-drive vehicles based on our extended stays in the country. The prices of rental cars have increased over the years, resulting in our renting smaller, less expensive vehicles. Subsequently, these smaller cars don’t do well on the bumpy roads in Kruger or Marloth Park.

It’s not as if we haven’t experienced countless game drives during our years of world travel. As a result, we’ve accepted the reality that the cars we’ve rented have some limitations. Living life on a perpetual vacation/holiday requires budgetary diligence. We’d rather live in a lovely property, eat great food and be able to dine out as often as we choose than pay two or three times more for a rental car.

We spotted this lone Cape buffalo, close to the Sabie River.

We decided it was essential to go yesterday, knowing we wouldn’t tackle entering the park during the holiday season. During this upcoming period, reservations will be required to enter the park. We have no interest in making a reservation, which would result in many cars on the paved road stacked up when a sighting is found. This doesn’t appeal to us.

After the holiday season ends, well after New Year’s, we will happily return when the numbers of visitors are minimal and no reservations will be necessary.

Several elephants in the Sabie River.

As for yesterday, we spotted more elephants than we’d seen in a long while resulting in many photos we’ll share over the next few days. For the first time in a while, we spotted a Cape buffalo on the bank of the Sabie River, many wildebeests, including some newborns with their umbilical cords still attached, several zebras, a few crocs, and others as seen in our photos.

Today, we’ll stay put. Everything is prepped for tonight’s dinner; the laundry is washed and hung on the rack. It could be another lazy day when I do not feel motivated to tackle any projects after a poor night’s sleep.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 15, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #267. t was only a short walk from our holiday home in Pacific Harbour, Fiji, to the river. For more photos, please click here.