First time sighting since arriving last January!!!…Too cute for words!!!…

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Three little pigs are less than two days old. The Mom was here with her big belly 48 hours earlier by herself. Then she appeared yesterday with the three little pigs in tow. She is the mom of Barbara and Lori, whom she “kicked to the curb” a few weeks ago.

Although we’ve been here since last January, we’d yet to see newly born piglets. Now that our favorite mom, the mother of Barbara and Lori (Shark Tank), sent those two youngsters on their own to fend for themselves, she was getting ready to give birth to more piglets, this time three.

It was such fun to see them and how active and alert they are after only being born a few days earlier. We were happy to toss pellets to mom, knowing she must feed these three little ones. Surprisingly, the piglets seemed interested in the pellets and ate some. It was very cute and funny to watch.

She is a good mom, paying lots of attention to what the piglets are doing. She snorts when she calls them to be at her side.

Watching the antics of these newborns is hysterical. We couldn’t get enough until finally, mom had her fill, and the four of them wandered off to their following location, enticing other residents to toss pellets her way. It was as cute as it could be. We have no doubt, they will be back many times in our remaining time in Marloth Park, and we can fawn over them again.

It will require constraint not to publish more and more photos of them as they grow. But, our goal is always to include a variety of photos, not the same over and over again.  But, as all of you have seen, that’s not easy to do, especially when the same animals stop by over and over again with few new visitors.

The piglets weren’t concerned about being so close to Broken Horn, nor did Broken Horn mind sharing pellets with them.

We always strive to keep it as varied and exciting as possible. In a few months, when we’re in Apollo Beach, Florida, with our friends Karen and Rich, awaiting their upcoming wedding, the scenery and subsequent photos will change dramatically. Except, after a few months in a country, the photos can easily become repetitious and it’s also the case when we’re in the US.

However, right now, as mentioned repeatedly, we are thoroughly enjoying our time in Marloth Park. Last night was no exception when we attended yet another fantastic braai for eight of us at Kathy and Don’s riverfront home.

Mom, with the perfect curly tusks, has been a regular here. Now, we expect to see them all often.

At many braais in South Africa, guests bring their preference of drinks and the meat they’d like to cook on the prepared fire the hosts have prepared. The hosts prepare all the side dishes such as potatoes, vegetables, and salad. Kathy goes over the top in making each of the sides delicious and unique each time.  Plus, she always ensures there are sides that I can eat. What a fantastic host!

Don is an equally fabulous host when he often plans fun games for all of us to play after dinner. Last night we had a blast playing “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” with questions he designed suitable for the guests. It was such fun!

The piglets were unfazed by the impalas, and they were unfazed by the three of them. So sweet! The piglets ran about the garden exploring every thing in sight.

As for the food, as picky as Tom and I are about only eating steaks without a lot of fat. We brought two good-sized fillet mignons, which Tom cooked rare for me. When we make fillets at our house, I usually butterfly Tom’s steak so we can put them both on the braai at the same time. Mine will be rare, and his will be his preferred medium-rare.

Yesterday, when I cut our steaks from the huge piece of tenderloin, I asked Tom if he’d like me to butterfly his portion. He said it wasn’t necessary. Thus I cut them both the same size, which was very thick. Three minutes on each side would result in “blue” rare servings.

Kathy, Louise (another Louise), and me. Lesley was busy chatting with the four guys at the fire. I wish we’d included her in this photo and that I would have smiled.

As it turned out, mine was perfect as usual, but then Tom’s was too rare for him. He ate it anyway, not wanting to leave the table to return his to the now waning fire. Now I know why he kept cutting off chunks of meat and putting it on my plate while he sat across from me. Later, he mentioned that it was too rare for him. Next time, we’ll do better and butterfly his or start his on the braai earlier.

Tom, Kathy, Lesley, Manie, Louise and Andrew.
Don and Tom.

We had a fantastic evening once again and were back home after 10:00 pm, 2200 hrs, for a good night’s sleep, waking joyfully this morning, ready to tackle another day. )Today’s high will be 95F, 35C with relatively high humidity. Tonight, Kathy and Don will join us for our usual Friday night dinner at Jabula for the last time before they depart Marloth Park for Hawaii next Wednesday, when we’ll take them to the Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Airport. We will miss them.

May you have a lovely and fulfilling weekend!

Photo from one year ago today, November 12, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #234. It’s a challenge with these unusual fruits in Hawaii, which we could not identify after searching hundreds of photos. For more photos, please click here.

Another fabulous evening on the river with friends…

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    Two hippos lounging in the Crocodile River.

Note; Please excuse our lack of clarity in today’s photos, taken at dusk and from quite a distance.

With one delightful social event after another, we are reeling from the flurry of activity over these past many weeks. Tonight will be one more enjoyable event with dinner at dear friends Kathy and Don’s home, overlooking the Crocodile River. Soon, they will be leaving to return to their other home in Hawaii. We will miss them.

Many of our friends leave the bush for the holiday season, partly due to other commitments and partly due to avoidance of the heat of the upcoming summer. For some, they leave due to a plan they’ve made to spend many months here and then spend the remainder of the year in their other homes, often located in equally enticing areas.

On average, hippo males weigh 3,500 to 9,920 pounds, 1588 kg to 4500 kg,0, and females weigh 3,000 pounds, 1361 kg.

We’re content we don’t have multiple houses in various locations, leaving us free of concern over upkeep and expenses necessary to maintain another home elsewhere. We love the fact that we don’t have the expense and maintenance of one home anywhere.

Renting holiday homes that include maintenance, utilities, and WiFi costs is a must for us. With nary a thought about how much our utility bills, property taxes, and upkeep costs will be, make our lives all the easier. Oddly, we don’t miss the feeling of being rooted in one location. We never give it a thought.

We realize this life is not for everyone. The only couple we’ve met in years that live like us is Carrie and Jim, who joined us at our house for sundowners over a week ago. After they return from a surprise event for Carrie’s birthday, we’ll be getting together again, meeting at Two Trees on the Crocodile River. The four of us have so many stories to share.

A hippo group is called “bloat.” Often they wander off on their own.

Last evening, we joined Louise and Danie and eight of their family members at the chalet they rented at resort Ngwenya for a week. We were honored to be included for a “family night” and have the opportunity to meet two more of Danie’s grown kids. They were all wonderful. I’d baked two low-carb cheese pies to bring, and they served a wide array of delicious foods and treats.

Not only was it fantastic to commiserate with all of them, all of whom live in South Africa, most from Cape Town. They were all curious about our way of eating, our time spent in lockdown in India, and our overall world travels. They flattered us when saying they hope to travel someday, like us, and of course, we encouraged them to do so if they could.

Another lone hippo, but other members of the bloat are nearby.

When we left, Louise loaded our chill box with a loaf of homemade bread and a popular South African dessert, Brandy Tart, both of which Tom loves and will savor over the next several days.

This morning Tom had the Brandy Tart with his coffee. South African’s love these types of desserts, anything with doughy tarts covered in a caramel-type custard sauce. It’s quite the go-to dessert in South Africa. Of course, I’ve never tasted it, but Tom said it was fantastic this morning with his coffee.

We were fortunate to take some good hippo photos last night from the veranda on their place in Ngwenya. The views from the veranda were outrageous!

This afternoon is easy peasy. It is hot again today but only with a high of 90F, 32C. We can easily handle that without even noticing. It’s funny how we’ve adapted to the hot weather as it’s gradually heated up. Next month and January will be another story.

Have a pleasant day wherever you may be.

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

Tom’s beautiful bird photo, a small Green Parrot in Costa Rica in 2017. This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day # 233. For more photos, please click here.

Excellent weekend with friends…Fantastic ninth anniversary…Memories of one year ago…

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This is an injury of Thick Neck’s side. We used to call him Thick Neck/Bad Leg, but the leg healed. Should we now call him hick Neck/Bad Side? It seems to be healing nicely, though, over the past few days.

It was an excellent weekend. Busy cooking for guests for two nights was easy when it wasn’t too hot, and I felt so good after several nights of good sleep. Tom helped quite a bit, keeping the endless stream of dishes, pots, and pans under control. He’s happy to help with anything I need, but when I am busy cooking, his help with some of the chopping and dicing and the dishes is more helpful than anything.

Both evenings were fun and lively, with great conversation, laughter, and banter back and forth. Last night, when only Alan and Fiona could come to dinner, we ended up having a fantastic anniversary dinner. We had our favorite song mix playing on our portable JBL speaker, not too loud, and we had an excellent time. We won’t see them again until we return in 2022 or early 2023, when they return from being away for many months.

Big Daddy was chewing on the core of a massive head of cabbage. He loved it!

Today at 3:00 pm, 1500 hours, we’re meeting Dawn and Leon and another couple at Buckler’s Africa for Crocodile River watching and later for dinner., which undoubtedly will prove to be yet another fun event.

After that, we don’t have any social plans until Thursday at 4:00 pm, when we’re meeting up with a new couple, Louise recommended, who are also from the US. It’s not that we prefer meeting Americans over people from other countries. It makes no difference to us. We love making friends with people from all over the world.

Two Big Daddies stopped by for some goodies.

It helps when they speak English, but over our past nine years of world travel, we’ve developed friendships with some who don’t speak English (or very little English), with whom we found a magical way to communicate. Of course, sharing a language makes it lots easier to build closer connections.

On another note, as I make my way through the corrections, I am now down to 14 more pages (of 20 posts each). Since I started from the oldest posts, working toward the most recent ones, I am working on those we posted in lockdown for those darned long ten months in India.

They were both enjoying the cabbage, even going as far as sharing. The bigger horned of the two may have been dad and the younger son.

At the rate I am going now, I plan to be done by the middle of November, one page per day. But, more interesting to me than getting it done soon, I am fascinated reading the old posts from one year ago as I work my way through typos, grammar, and line spacing issues. Did we really do that? Ten months in a hotel room? Oh, good grief! How did we ever get through it?

But, yesterday as we reminisced on our ninth travel anniversary, we patted ourselves on the back for the depth and quality of our relationship, that, without it, we would never have made it to the end of those many months still sane, still in love, and still enjoying time spent together.

Such a handsome beast.

Nothing was lost by us as a couple during those ten months. If anything, we grew more attached and attracted to each other (if that was even possible) in admiration for each other’s patience and resiliency. Did either of us ever think we could get through such a scenario, or yet, did either of us ever think such a scenario could occur in our lifetime?

This morning I did three loads of laundry, did my nails, paid all the bills for the month, fed lots of pellets, carrots, and cabbage to the animals. At the same time, Tom busied himself with his usual tasks and, of course, Monday morning’s viewing of yesterday’s Minnesota Vikings game.

Stingy came right onto the veranda, looking for treats.

Once our daily tasks are done, we have little to do on less socially active days, and yet, we are content and grateful.  We are thankful to be able to stay here until January 23rd. We are grateful to each other for the love, companionship, and friendship we share. We are thankful for our friends who have stood beside us through thick and thin. We are thankful to our family members for putting up with our crazy lifestyle.

And most of all, each new day of good health is an indescribable blessing. We wish this for all of our friends, our family, those we encounter along the way, and of course, all of you. Thank you, dear readers.

Photo from one year ago today, November 1, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #223. We found this bloom in Hawaii, known as Kimi Pink Ginger. For more photos, please click here.

Human visitors tonight and tomorrow night…New Itinerary tomorrow!!!..

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Once the rains come, the bush will be greener, providing more food for the wildlife. In the interim, many of us are feeding them.

Note: Tomorrow, on our ninth travel anniversary, we will be posting our new itinerary!!! Please check back!!!

Last night’s dinner at Jabula was enjoyable as always. Kathy and Don joined us for our usual Friday night dinner of fabulous food and service at Jabula Lodge and Restaurant. The conversation flowed with ease as we each shared the stories of our adventures over the past few weeks. They had spent time in Kruger at a few remote lodges and us, our time in Zambia, and eventual return without issues from immigration.

We have been so blessed to have such good friends in Marloth Park, and as time goes by, we continue to make more and more friends. Today, as mentioned in a prior post, at 4:00 pm, 1600 hrs, our long-time readers, Carrie and Jim, will be joining us for the first time for sundowners. They found us and also Marloth Park due to our posts and are also world travelers. It will be fun to visit with them.

Since our return on Tuesday, this is the first male kudu who stopped by, whom we call “Medium Daddy” instead of “Big Daddy” with much larger horns.

For today’s appetizers during sundowners, we’re making sliced bacon-wrapped pork tenderloin, served chilled with a cucumber dip, with roasted vegetable slices, and our usual and popular apricot almond brie puffed pastry with crackers, olives, and nuts on the side.

At the moment, I am cooking the chicken for tomorrow’s dinner, a low-carb chicken and sausage cassoulet baked in a single large pan, which we’ll serve with chunky roasted vegetables, coleslaw salad, with a variety of light starters served during the cocktail hour.

We now have three young “Spikeys” who hang around most of the day. This morning we finished off the first of the three heads of cabbage.

Today, I am doing as much prep for both evenings. We don’t usually plan two social events in a row. But tonight’s food will be comparable to making an easy dinner for us, which we would have done anyway, even if we didn’t have guests coming. As of this moment, I have a good handle on both nights’ prep.

It’s hot today, so I thought I’d get as much prep as possible out of the way before the temps rise to over 90F, 32C. It will be cooling off for tomorrow with a high of 79F, 26C, making the final prep for tomorrow’s anniversary dinner easier on a cool day.

Impalas, who seldom care to be near humans, have been stopping by lately. They are hungry too.

Yep, tomorrow, October 31, 2020, is our ninth anniversary of traveling the world. With six of us, Alan, Fiona, Nick, and Joan,  for dinner on the veranda for whom we’re delightfully reciprocating for hosting us recently and me busy prepping the meal, we won’t be posting a recap of our prior year. However, we will post photos of our evening celebration.

After posting so many historical photos during our ten-month lockdown in Mumbai, India, we’ve already posted an endless stream of old photos. Next year, we’ll prepare a special tenth-anniversary post, providing our health is good, and we can continue for another year. At this point, it seems it’s entirely possible.

First, two males stopped by, who were later joined by a female.

A few moments ago, Louise sent us a message stating she’s renting a property to an American couple who will be here until December, asking us if we were interested in meeting them. Of course, we said “yes” and will contact them later today to set up a get-together in Marloth Park.

Next week, on Friday, Tom has his first appointment with Dr. Singh’s wife. Also, a dental surgeon, to have his two implants started from the teeth he had extracted over three months ago, leaving a gaping hole in his mouth; obvious when he smiles. We have no idea how uncomfortable he’ll be after the appointment, so we’ll play it by ear for any possible social events next weekend. But, for now, we’re thrilled to have plans for tonight, tomorrow, and Monday.

This morning we had 12 antelopes in the garden, sharing pellets.

This weekend, there’s no load shedding since Monday is a national holiday in South Africa, voting day! It’s nice we’ll have a reprieve when we’re cooking for guests, and it will be great to have the outdoor lights at dinnertime.

Have a fantastic day!

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

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #221. A sunny view from our veranda at the Kenyan resort where we stayed on our first travel anniversary. For more photos, please click here.

They’ve all found us again!…Little, Thick Neck, Benny, Henny and Lenny, multiple Franks, and more…Meet Barbara and Lori from Shark Tank…

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One Tusk is becoming quite popular around here. Perhaps, a replacement for Tiny, who never returned after we visited the US in July 2021.

We didn’t assume they’d all return to our garden within 36 hours of our return. We thought after being gone for six days that it could take several days until they’d return, having looked for us for the entire time we were gone. But, beginning yesterday morning, our regulars started arriving, leaving nary a single “familiar face” behind.

Little was thrilled we’d returned when he stopped by at his usual 4:00 pm. Immediately, he positioned himself on the right side of the veranda, near where I sit, waiting for his treats and words of affection (from me only).

Yesterday, at the little local market, I purchased the last head of cabbage for the bushbucks and kudus, and it’s already gone. Tom has refilled the big bucket of pellets at least three times already. Soon, we’ll be heading to Komatipoort to buy groceries, and we’ll undoubtedly purchase several more, plus a 10 kg bag of carrots to round out the pellets.

It was fun to see Benny, Henny, and Lenny this morning. We’ve seen Penny on her own but no longer with these three. She could be pregnant and no longer interested in hanging around with them.

Need I say, we’re having a fantastic time. The weather is relatively cool but cloudy. And, although load shedding is currently occurring three times a day for 7.5 hours per day, we are managing fine. Fortunately, as mentioned, we aren’t losing the WiiFi signal during these most recent outages.

With WiFi, the outages don’t bother us at all. With 2.5 hour outages, our food in the refrigerator and freezer stay safe, and with the WiFi working, we can still stream our shows at night when we hunker down for the night. Sleep comes easily for us both, now that our minds are free from worry about where we’d have to go if we hadn’t been allowed to stay in South Africa.

Frank and The Misses, back eating their seeds and drinking from their little container of water. They were so happy. They chirped the entire time they were pecking at the seeds.

Our friends and readers have been writing to us with the warmest of wishes that we’re able to stay, and we look forward to lots more socialization over the following months in Marloth Park.

Our long-time readers, Carrie and Jim, have arrived in Marloth Park for six weeks, and they’re coming over on Saturday for sundowners to meet us in person for the first time. What a joy this always is for us when readers like a location we’ve visited and end up meeting face-to-face! They came to Marloth Park based on our posts.

For a while, Little hung out with Barbara and Lori and their mom. Now, he seems less interested in the two girls. Could he be the dad of mom’s future piglets? There could be several little Little’s on the horizon. We’ll keep you updated.

Sunday is our ninth travel anniversary, and our friends Alan and Fiona and Nick and Joan will join us for dinner to celebrate with us. What a great way to celebrate the special day! We’re making one of our favorite dishes, and hopefully, they’ll be able to enjoy it, along with us.

Last night we made bacon-wrapped fillet mignon on the braai, along with red wine infused sauteed portabella mushrooms, salad, and rice for Tom. We both enjoyed the satisfying meal and are making a repeat for tonight since we had plenty of uncooked tenderloin and mushroom left for a second round.

Are these two young girls Barbara and Lori? See the photo below.

Of course, as usual, as we sat on the veranda at sunset, Little appeared for the first time since we returned. He, like Broken Horn, let us know he was happy to see us. Whoever said animals aren’t emotional hasn’t lived in Marloth Park. Many of them appear animated and enthusiastic when they see us each day, let alone after we’ve been gone for a while.

The mom with the perfect curly tusks has kicked her two daughters to the curb now that she’s pregnant again. Now, the two girls with big white whiskers hang around here nearly all day. We’ve named them Barbara and Lori after the two female leads on Shark Tank, a show we often watch in the evenings. We’ve gone back and re-watched every episode from the beginning. We’re now on season 8 of 13 seasons. We only watch one episode per evening, so we have plenty more to go with as many as 25 episodes per season.

This is Barbara and Lori, now ‘kicked loose” from their mom, arriving on their own with their big white whiskers and bossy attitude, just like their mom. She arrived yesterday with a big pregnant belly without these two in tow.
The power just went out. In an hour, we’ll head to Komati, so hopefully, by the time we return, it will be back on, and we can put away our groceries without much worry over the door to the fridge being open as we load it up once again. Before we left for Zambia, we finished off most of our food, and now it’s time to restock.

Starting tomorrow, Friday, we have social plans for four nights in a row. We love being busy with human friends, as well!

Enjoy the day and weekend to come. Stay healthy and content!

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

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #219. Cows are always curious, and we laughed when this grazing cow picked up her head to check us out while we were in Fiji. For more, please click here.

Final photos from Livingstone, Zambia…Final Expenses will follow tomorrow…

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Zebras were grazing on the grass at the Royal Livingstone Hotel.

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Wow! The time has flown by so quickly. Tomorrow morning, we head to the airport to return to South Africa. At the moment, we’re awaiting printed copies of our PCR test results and a copy of proof of our airline tickets proving we are exiting South Africa on January 23, 2022, which may help at immigration if we run into any issues for our short time away.

Our favorite photo is of the sunset from the hotel veranda.

In the past, we only encountered one negative comment from an immigration officer upon return to South Africa, but we were allowed re-entry. However, we felt by showing our airline tickets for January. They may be convinced we’re not “border-hopping.”  We’ll see how it goes.

The past 24 hours have been relatively quiet while we both worked on projects on our laptops. I am working on the corrections fast and furiously and now have less than 19 pages of 20 posts left to correct. At this point, I can correct 30 posts a day when in the beginning, it was slow and cumbersome when I could only get through 15 posts a day.

The spray from Victoria Falls from the Zambia side of the river. We visited the fall on both the Zambia and Zimbabwe sides last time we were here in 2018.

No, the old posts won’t be perfect. It is easy to miss a few corrections on each page, even after reading and re-reading it. Halfway through, I added the paid, highly-rated editing program, Grammarly. But, it, too, like humans, is not exempt from making errors. Yesterday. I did a post that had 126 errors on a post prepared while in lockdown in India. I had all the time in the world to proofread, and yet, I still made countless mistakes, mostly commas, occasionally sentence structure, and less so spelling.

I often say if someone asked me if I’d write an essay every day, 365 days a year, that would be presented to the world online, I would have said they’re out of their minds for asking me to do that, and I would have flatly refused.

An elephant on the opposite side of the Zambezi River, most like more than a kilometer from our view from the hotel veranda.

Weirdly, I am doing exactly that now, 3355 posts later. Good grief! How in the world did that happen? How in the world have I continued to motivate myself to keep doing this, day after day, month after month, year after year? Now, as we approach our ninth anniversary of traveling the world, having begun posting on March 15, 2012 (before we left), even I am shocked by how consistently this mission has continued.

The first year or so, we only posted a few times a week. But, as time marched on, we realized we needed to write more often to maintain the continuity of our peculiar lives without a home, without storage, and with only a few bags in our possession.

A bloat of hippos in the Zambezi River, rarely picking up their heads.

Based on interest and comments from readers, they’ve always seemed more interested in the challenges we face daily, not unlike their own. Life isn’t always about famous sightseeing venues and tours. At times, daily life is tough and for many of our readers, seeing how we resolved a particular issue(s) is equally, if not more interesting.

We try to “shake it up” with a mix of exciting events and daily life events. But, like most of you, some days are dull and uneventful. Have you ever wondered what you’d write about after 3355 days of writing a daily essay? It, in itself, is sometimes challenging.

A halfhearted yawn from a hippo.

Regardless of how often my mind is blank when I sit down to begin. Within minutes, my fingers fly across the keyboard as if possessing a mind of their own, and the words flow. Once I start, the rest follows suit. But, the easiest part is writing down the thoughts. The hard part is editing, editing, and more editing.

Then, the photos always take a good portion of the time I spend at my laptop, formatting, positioning, and editing. Although I may do a few photo edits, mainly consisting of brightening or resizing a scene. Remember, I am not a professional photographer and have little interest in pursuing that path when I know how much time it would take to learn more. Gee…I want to have time left in my day to embrace it!

The spray from the falls at sunset.

The concierge just dropped off our negative PRC tests. Tomorrow morning, we should have time to do another post with our expenses for the six days, five nights we’ve spent in Zambia. Please check back for that.

More spray from Victoria Falls on the Zambezi River.

Happy day and evening to all of you, dear readers!

Photo from one year ago today, October 25, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in a hotel in lockdown in Mumbai, India, on day #216. The waterfalls at Vuodomo, Fiji, were still, at quite a distance. We gasped with delight over our first peek at the waterfall, which is much larger than it appears in this photo. For more photos, please click here.

We made it through the 104F, 40C, day with ease…Today? The same…Six days and counting…

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Due to WiFi issues today, I am unable to post a caption under the main photo below. Instead, the caption is listed below in a paragraph. 

Caption for above photo: “Above is the photo we took this morning of Bad Eye. Her eyelid has improved tremendously without medical intervention. To see her immediately after the injury occurred, please click here.”

It was so hot last night when we went to bed; the pair of jeans I’d washed after dinner was dry this morning. Usually, it takes two to three days for jeans to dry indoors on the drying rack.

Sleeping was easy with the aircon on all night, and it was true, load shedding had ended for now. We both slept through the night without the aircon going off due to another power outage. Over these past eight or ten outages, oddly, we didn’t lose WiFi which was unusual. Power outages aren’t quite as dull when we have nothing to do but stare at the walls or play dumb offline games on our phones when we don’t have WiFi.

Starting Sunday, the temperatures will drop to a high of 69F, 21C, and a low of 59F, 14C. Go figure. Cloudy skies and much-needed rain may follow these low temps. The animals are hungry. This morning I cut up dozens of carrots and a half head of cabbage for the antelopes.

We took this photo of Bad Eye this morning. Her eye is doing so much better. See the photo and link before for the injury when it was new.

A short while ago, we had 14 antelopes in the garden, as shown in today’s photos, all at once, including a duiker, bushbucks, and impalas. It was apparent they were all hungry and thirsty. Many of them drink from the freshwater we put in the birdbath each day. We even ensure Frank has clean water in his little container each day, along with his separate container of seeds.

When checking the weather report, we see it is sweltering in Livingstone, Zambia, right now and will continue during our five-night trip. In a mere six days, we’ll be on our way to Zambia. Packing will be quick and easy, only bringing hot weather casual clothing. None of the restaurants or venues in Livingstone require anything other than very casual attire, although, like South Africa, it generally cools down by about 25 degrees after sunset.

I took a break from preparing this post when I noticed Bad Eye standing at the edge of the veranda.  It was the first time we saw her alone without her three female friends/family. She was never found and treated, or perhaps, the rangers felt she’d heal on her own, which she did. She almost looks like herself again with this injury, as shown in today’s main photo. Her eye has healed beautifully on its own without any medical intervention.

This adorable bushbuck Spikey was among the many visitors this morning.

These animals are tough. They get through the outrageously long barren months of winter with barely any vegetation they can consume available. They exist on the offerings of people like us who don’t hesitate to feed them freely. This must have been going well this winter since few of the wildlife look undernourished or scrawny.

Soon, the rains will come, the trees, bushes, and grasses will grow, and once again, the wildlife will flourish in their environment. We are thrilled this will occur while we prepare to leave, giving us a degree of comfort, knowing they will graze without our intervention.

Today, we do what we can to stay cool, and then tonight, we’ll head to Jabula at 5:00 pm for our usual Friday night social time and dinner. It’s always such fun chatting with the locals in an upbeat environment. It will be hot sitting inside at the bar or outside, but we’ll dress accordingly and be fine.

They were spread out in the garden, preventing us from taking a photo with all visitors.

A few minutes ago, I heard back from Chris (Chris Tours), the same reliable tour and transport guy we used the last two times we were in Zambia, and he did such an excellent job for us. The only inconvenience is that he requires cash payments, not credit cards, to visit an ATM on the drive from Livingstone Airport to our hotel. Easy peasy. He will also arrange and transport us should we decide to do any tours we haven’t already done.

So there it is folks, post #3343 as we rapidly approach our ninth anniversary of traveling the world.

Be well. Be safe. Be happy.

                     Photo from one year ago, October 15, 2020:

We posted this photo one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #206. This male lion was resting after a mating session in the Maasai Mara, Kenya. For more photos, please click here.

Hoping it was Tiny!…Photo comparison…

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Yesterday afternoon, when this warthog stopped by, we were hopeful that it was Tiny. After careful examination of the photo of Tiny shown below, we were certain he was not Tiny.

Since we returned from the US at the end of July, we haven’t seen Tiny, who, along with Little, was our favorite warthog. Expressive faces, eye contact, and response to the names we’ve given them, these two warthogs always make me smile. On the other hand, Tom isn’t quite as attached for me but has kept an eye out for Tiny when we haven’t seen him since we’d returned.

This is a photo of Tiny we posted on February 21, 2021. The differences between him and the pig we saw yesterday are distinct.  Note the eye bags, the size and shape of the facial and temple warts, and of course, the size and shape of the tusks.

Little often visits two or three times a day, seldom missing a day. If we don’t see him during any day, we can always count on him stopping by around 4:00 pm, 1600 hrs. He loves to appear when we are sitting on the veranda, ensuring he gets our attention to toss him pellets. This always makes us laugh.

Day after day, we continually check every giant tusked warthog to see if it’s Tiny, keeping in mind many such animals look very similar. But over the years we’ve spent in Marloth Park, we have learned to 0observe identifying characteristics that distinguish one animal of a particular species from one another.

Such characteristics on warthogs include:

  • Size of tusks and variance in each tusk’s size
  • Size of facial warts on males on both their cheeks and temples. Females don’t have facial warts and small temple warts but have white whiskers in varying sizes that aid in identifying them.
  • Body size can vary considerably, but, along with the above, it helps identify warthogs.
  • Bags under the eyes, most prominent in older males
  • Personality – it’s easy to detect a particular warthog when they are overly timid or bossy (Little is bossy and persistent while Tiny was not) along with the other identifying characteristics
  • They appeared alone, as a twosome or with more warthogs, with “sounders” as small as three, as large as ten or more. Often males are “friends” and graze the bush together and groom each other. It’s a rarity to see females together without piglets. Moms will often hang out with another mom and her young, supporting each other and even going as far as nursing each other’s piglets.

We must admit we are more interested in male warthogs based on their seemingly more quirky behavior. As I write this, there is a lone female in the garden, whom we call Lonely Girl. She is shy without much of a distinctive personality.  And yet, there are many male warthogs we see over a week that we can easily identify as a regular or new visitors.

We only observe one or two new male visitors each week. They eat and wander off, never to return. Daily, we see “regulars,” all of whom we enjoy and seem to respond to their various names and the sounds of our voices. Tom isn’t as excited about warthogs as I am, but as mentioned above, when I am busy indoors, he keeps an out watchful eye, always looking for Tiny.

Regardless of what I am doing, when he tells me there’s a large, sizeable-tusked warthog with huge, droopy warts on his face on the premises, I come running outside with the camera to see if it’s Tiny. Sadly, time after time, we’ve been disappointed.

Was he culled while we were away? We haven’t heard that warthogs have been culled in the past few months. Most impalas and kudus were taken to Lionspruit to thin out the huge populations in Marloth Park and provide food for the lions, Fluffy and Desi, who reside in Lionspruit, henceforth the name.

Yesterday, Tom hollered out to me when I was in the house, “Hurry,” he said, “There’s a large pig with big tusks in the garden.” I grabbed my phone to quickly bring up a photo of Tiny I have on my home screen. I was extremely excited that it was him upon first inspection.

However, when comparing the photo of Tiny with the new visitor, we both sadly realized it wasn’t him. Now, we wonder if we’ll ever see him again in our remaining three and a half months in Marloth Park. It’s hard to say. He was huge, and he looked very old. He could easily have died from old age or illness, been hit by a car, or made his way under the fence into Kruger National Park, never to return. We’ll never know. He, like Little, was a loner.

On occasion, Little appears with the same female and two fast-growing female piglets. We referred to them as his “family” since the otherwise greedy pig doesn’t share food with anyone but them. Like many animals in the wild, generally, fathers don’t participate in the upbringing of their young. It’s always fun to see ostriches, who can remain as a mating pair for life, and the dad is equally responsible for rearing the chicks.

In any case, we’ll continue to keep an eye out for Tiny and hope we’ll be able to post a new photo of him if and when he returns.

Have a fantastic weekend!

Photo from one year ago today, October 8, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #199. Like all animals in the wild, this female lion is constantly on the lookout for the next meal to feed her cubs, who were lying under this tree. For more photos, please click here.

Exciting day in the bush…New visitors add to the adventure…See our photos!…

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This adorable zebra was lounging in our garden. He must have spotted something interesting on the ground.

I’d stepped inside the house to hang wet laundry on the indoor track. Tom, who was outdoors, whispered in an excited tone through the screen door, “Hurry and come outside. We have a zebra lying down in the garden.”

His friend posed nicely for us between two trees.

Dropping what I was doing, I gingerly opened the screen door with the camera in hand, on and ready to shoot. And there he was, a handsome young-looking male, lounging as if he’s done this many times in our garden. He had not. This was the first time we’d seen him. Moments later, we noticed another male standing nearby, checking us out.

The standing zebra inched his way forward to the awaiting pile of pellets on the ground while the lying zebra contemplated whether or not he should get up and check out the situation. Were we safe? And, of course, did they have pellets? Without waiting for a second, Tom began tossing pellets their way.

A convenient spot to scratch one’s head.

We laughed. Was he that well-fed from residents in Marloth Park that his protruding belly was full? They both looked well fed.

Zebras are “non-ruminants, so plant matter passes through their system in one fell swoop. Their single, relatively small stomach necessitates several small meals a day. The nutrients from cellulose digestion are absorbed into the zebra’s blood next via the large intestine walls.

Before arising, a little preening was necessary.

As a result of this and their daily consumption of the plant, matter results in frequent expulsion of gas: “Large quantities of gas are released as a by-product, and this inflates their bellies so that they always look fat and healthy. It is also the cause of the flatulence experienced when zebras take fright and run away.”

We’ve been well aware of these facts about zebras since we came to Africa in 2013. Mainly, their big bellies alerted us that they have only one stomach, unlike many other animals. Most antelopes, buffalo, and other wild animals are ruminants.

Once on his feet, he began staring at us for pellets while his friend was already eating.

What precisely is a ruminant?”

“Ruminants include cattle, sheep, goats, buffalo, deer, elk, giraffes, and camels. These animals all have a digestive system that is uniquely different from our own. Instead of one compartment to the stomach, they have four.”

Here is an interesting article that further explains the ruminant digestive system, if you’re interested. However, I anticipate few readers will be interested in this information.

Once he was on his feet, I noticed an injury on his rear right leg. Zebras are mighty kickers. This injury could easily have come from another zebra.

But, as somewhat obsessed observers of animals in the wild, this becomes an exciting fact that further explains animals’ eating habits and associated behaviors. After all, we’ve spent the better part of over two years observing wildlife. Each new visitor brings a wealth of opportunities for us to learn more.

Finally, the lying zebra perked up, using his front legs to lift him with a bit of effort, and he joined his cohort in the pellet eating frenzy. Tom must have tossed ten one-quart (about one liter each) containers of pellets to them, and they easily could have stayed for more.

Zebra’s tails appear to be braided, but they are not. The pattern on their tail hair creates this illusion.

During their visit, several kudus joined in and Broken Horn, who was lying in wait in the bush and could hear the sound of Tom tossing pellets. There were numerous helmeted guinea-fowls, a few warthogs, and bushbucks. We realized that the ten-day school holidays starting today with holidaymakers flooding the park that this plethora of wildlife may be the last we’ll see for a while.

Zebras form strong bonds with the same sex, often spending their lives together.

This morning, the two zebras returned, remembering the generous pellet offering, ate their fill, and took off. Since then, we’ve seen several bushbucks, including Torn Ear, Spikey and Thick Neck, a few warthogs including The Imposter, Fred and Ethel, Little and Frank, and The Misses, who are always here regardless of the numbers of tourists in the park.

Tonight, we’re off to Jabula with Rita and Gerhard and Kathy and Don. For us, this will be one of three remaining Friday nights at Jabula until it’s time for us to go on October 21st.

Lots of playful teasing and biting occurs, especially around food and other distractions.

Have a fantastic first day of October!

Photo from one year ago today, October 1, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #192. Tom was thrilled to be in Hawaii in 2014. For more photos, please click here.

Thick Neck/Bad Leg and Broken Horn, two of our favorites…

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It’s easy to see why we call him Thick Neck. His neck is almost twice as thick as other bushbucks.

At the moment, Thick Neck/Bad Leg, Broken Horn, Frank, and the Misses are here. We’ve hardly seen many warthogs since last week’s holiday ended on Sunday, and by Monday, most holidaymakers were gone. Starting tomorrow, a new round of tourists will flood Marloth Park for the ten-day school holiday. We’re preparing ourselves because we may only see the wildlife mentioned above until October 11th, after the holidaymakers leave.

Now that I’m beginning to heal from the dry socket and feeling more like myself, we’ll make a point of staying busy with our friends during this period, knowing few animals will entertain us during the day and evening. We will attempt to keep the knowledge we’ll be returning in December 2022 amid the realities of the Christmas season in busy Marloth Park and focus more on having fun with friends during that visit.

This is Mom from “Mom and Baby” bushbucks. Baby was in the bush while Mom checked out the pellet situation. We have countless helmeted guinea-fowls in the garden all day.

We’re still contemplating applying for the four-year retiree visa. Still, the problem is it requires an extraordinary amount of paperwork, legal fees, and lots of our time to get everything done. Plus, it must be done while we’re in the US. Once approved, the four-year time clock begins. Ultimately, we could lose the first eight months of the four-year visa before we get back to South Africa. It’s a lot to consider.

Before we return to Africa, we’ll have to decide if we’re only staying the three months allowed by our visas or if we should book a visit to another country in Africa for the new 90-day visa stamp to be able to stay for a total of six months less the short break in between.

He spends his days and nights in our garden. He’ll have to find another location when we leave in three weeks. It will be sad to think of him waiting for us. But, with the bush turning green now, he’ll have plenty of vegetation available for him soon.

Many of these types of decisions are based on what happens with Covid-19 over the next 18 months. We do not want to risk losing money or dealing with deposit refunds for housing, flights, and other travel-related expenses. We’ve already been through this five times since the onset of the pandemic and don’t care to deal with this again if we can avoid it.

Speaking of Thick Neck/Bad Leg, we’re considering dropping the second part of his name and going back to Thick Neck only. His bad leg seems to have healed, and he’s no longer limping. A long time ago, Danie told us how many wild animals have robust health and strong immune systems, often healing without incident from various injuries they may get living in the bush.

This morning, Broken Horn has a muddy face. He could have been digging in the dirt or rolling in mud at another location.

Over the collective two years we’ve spent in Marloth Park, since 2013, we’ve witnessed countless animals with injuries, only to watch them heal over time. Recently we posted about a female kudu whose eyelid had almost been ripped off. It looked awful, and we contacted the rangers when blood was dripping down her face. You can see that post with her photos here.

Now called Bad Eye, she stopped by a few days ago, a full two weeks since her injury. It looks as if it’s already begun to heal nicely. She may never be able to close that one eye, but she’s alive and appears to be thriving. Often, injured animals attract the attention of wildlife-lovers such as us, and we feed them more than the others. The added food surely must be instrumental in their recovery.

Broken Horn spends considerable time in our garden with his head down, looking for pellets. He doesn’t look undernourished.

Broken Horn, a wildebeest, is also known as a gnu, pronounced “new.” I recall learning about gnus in grade school but didn’t realize they were also called wildebeests until we arrived in Africa in 2013. They are fascinating animals with prominent personalities, memorable bark, and a keen sense of their safety and protection ability. Broken Horn has a quirky disposition we’ve thoroughly enjoyed.

After speaking to Louise yesterday, we may consider a different, larger house when we return. My only hesitancy is we won’t see these same familiar animals when they only wander a specific area. It’s a big decision we’ll address in the future.

Guinea-fowls don’t fly much, preferring to walk. But they do fly when they are frightened of seeking higher ground to check out their surroundings, as in this case.

May your day be pleasant!

Photo from one year ago today, September 30, 2022:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #191. My dinner in 2013  in Kenya was seasoned grilled red snapper with sautéed non-starchy vegetables. For more photos, please click here.