No food police for Tom in the USA…

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Those spice drops and the black licorice would be those I liked the least. Then again, the others aren’t very appetizing.

It’s not that I give Tom dirty looks when he chooses to eat unhealthy foods. He knows how I feel, and he’s adopted some healthy eating habits over the years.

But, when certain foods he can’t find when we’re living in certain countries, he can’t resist buying some of his favorites, like donuts and candy, which is the case while he is in the US right now.

It’s not that he’s out dining in restaurants eating unhealthy foods. His choices mostly revolve around certain snack foods, including candy and donuts. Mainly, the meals he eats are relatively healthy and nutritious. Whatever he consumes in these ten days away won’t harm him in the long run. He takes no medications and has no dietary restrictions.

Norman continues to stop by several times a day. It was fun for my sundowner guests to see him.

During our first conversation after he arrived in Minnesota, he said he stopped at a Fleet Farm store, his favorite spot to buy candy, none of which ever appealed to me at any point in my life, including childhood.

He loves jelly-type candies (not gummy candies), which he hasn’t found anywhere in Africa. A trip to Fleet Farm, a farm and supply store in Minnesota, has always been his favorite place to go for the candies, as shown in today’s main photo.

It’s been wonderful talking to him. Hearing his voice over the phone is odd since we are always together. It reminds me of many years ago when we spoke on the phone before we lived together.

Many impalas have been visiting.

Everything is going as planned in Minnesota. The wake and funeral are over, and the burial at Fort Snelling has yet to be scheduled, as far as I know. If the burial occurs after Tom is supposed to leave, he won’t stay and will return to the bush as planned.

If I think about it, being alone in the bush is quite an adventure. There are snakes, spiders, scorpions, and countless insects surrounding us. Add the eight lions hunting in our area, along with leopards, hyenas, and other potentially dangerous wild animals in Marloth Park, and a person living alone could easily become frightened.

This impala, we call Chevy, is often here.

Oddly, I am not afraid. The only apprehension I may have is human intervention. Occasionally, there are break-ins, burglaries, and violent crimes in Marloth Park. Our alarm system is tied to a local alarm company only minutes from here, which gives me peace of mind, but I never leave doors unlocked and unattended, even when I go to the bathroom.

I keep the keyfob in my jeans pocket and can hit the panic button in seconds. Hopefully, the loud blaring alarm would keep any potential predators at bay. In any case, I spend no time worrying, instead focusing on safety measures, which Tom and I observe when we are together.

Norman makes close eye contact with me when he’s here.

Yesterday afternoon, Dawn, Leon, and Louise stopped by for sundowners. I appreciated the companionship, and the four of us had an excellent time together. It meant the world to me that they came to visit.

To my lover… enjoy your candy and your remaining time in Minnesota with family, and know that I am looking forward to seeing you in six days.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, March 9, 2022:

Rapids near the bridge at the Sabie River. For more photos, please click here.

Cooking for one…This is what a single life would be like…

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A warthog mom with lovely tusks.

There’s never a day that passes that I don’t appreciate having Tom in my life. Now that he has gone away for ten days, it’s become more evident to me how much he does daily, not only around the house but to enrich the quality of my days and nights. He is a fun and loving husband and partner who also shares equally in the running of the household and its daily tasks.

Aside from all of that, his companionship, laughter, and countless warm and loving interactions are sorely missing right now. We chatted on Whatsapp at length yesterday, but with our sleeping times opposite, talking on the phone at will is a little more complicated.

Today, he’ll be busy prepping for the eulogy at Jerome’s funeral and mingling with his huge family and many friends who will attend. The immediate family alone is well over 100 people. Chatty and friendly as he is, I expect I may not hear from him today, which is fine.

Dawn and Leon gave me these thorny cactus plants that hopefully will keep the baboons away.

He’ll spend the remainder of the week with his kids, grandkids, siblings, and other relatives. If time allows, he may visit a few old friends. He’ll have plenty of stories to share when he returns a week from today, and the time can’t pass quickly enough as far as I’m concerned.

I thought I might spend some time in the evenings talking on the phone to some of my old friends in the US, but after a poor connection last night with my friend Chere, I may not do so. I use Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger, which are excellent free services with normally a good WiFi signal. The signal here is very poor at night, with many people in Marloth Park online streaming shows.

Calling using my cellphone’s Google Fi service is too expensive, especially when calls to friends can easily last for an hour or more after not speaking for a while. In any case, I’m not one to talk on the phone much. I prefer in person conversation.

Big Daddy was on a prance in the garden.

It’s surprising how well I’ve slept alone the past three nights, although I wake up when I reach for Tom, and he’s not there. That’s weird. I am still waking up at the same time as always and listening to podcasts when I awaken each day. It’s easy to maintain my usual routine.

Living this way reminds me of what it must be like for single seniors and those who have lost a spouse or are divorced. At times, it’s lonely and unsettling, especially since I have no transportation and can’t jump in the car to shop or meet friends for lunch or dinner. I can’t tell you how much I look forward to going to Jabula on Friday and Saturday nights. My friend Sindee will be picking me up and driving me home.

Our large braai broke, so we now have this smaller version which should serve us well.

It was terrific when Louise stopped by for sundowners on Monday night. Those few hours we sat together on the veranda chatting up a storm and sipping on wine were delightful. I’m sure I’ll be getting together with her and Danie before Tom returns a week from today.

There’s not much on the horizon today. I cooked enough chicken yesterday for another round for tonight’s dinner. All I have left to do is make a salad to go with it, which I will do shortly. The meals for one person have been easy, requiring little prep time.

That’s it for today, folks. Have a great day, and be well.

Photo from one year ago today, March 8, 2022:

It’s a rare occasion that Tom has a milkshake, but yesterday’s anniversary was the perfect day to indulge. For more photos, please click here.

Tom’s off to the US, returning in ten days…

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This looks like Bossy and her new baby! Ironically, Bossy had a new baby one year ago that we posted in the below photo.

It is peculiar that I will be alone in the bush house for the next ten days while Tom travels to the US for his brother Jerome’s funeral, which will be held in Minneapolis on Wednesday. By leaving today, he’ll arrive tomorrow after over 35 hours of travel time with layovers in Cape Town, South Africa, Washington DC, and then the final leg to Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Leaving today rather than waiting until closer to Wednesday,  allows him a day to recover after losing considerable sleep during the long journey, especially the 16-hour red-eye flight, which is, by far, the most difficult of the flights. The cost to book an upgraded seat in Business or First Class is thousands of dollars, which we don’t care to spend for the 16-hour convenience.

This Big Daddy has been visiting several times a day.

After all these years of flying worldwide, we’ve become used to long flights, frequently getting up to walk around, wearing compression stockings, and busying ourselves, watching countless movies to avoid boredom.

I charged and tested our new portable phone charger, which works great. He took it with him so he won’t run out of power on his phone while on the plane. Then, while in Minnesota, where he’ll surely be using his phone often, he won’t have to worry about running out of power when he’s out and about.

Bossy, her baby, and another female.

All he has to remember is to charge the portable charger overnight while he’s sleeping. I will remind him of this when we talk. He can easily become distracted by the activity around him and forget this new step in his routine. He will stay with his daughter Tammy and undoubtedly be distracted in their busy and active household.

I am staying in today. I already made a hearty salad with various greens and am cooking chicken in the oven right now to go with it. Load shedding occurs this afternoon at 1:00 pm, 1300 hrs, when I can’t use the oven, so I decided to cook the chicken now. It’s enough to last me for two or three days.

Zebras started lining up along the fence for a treat.

Breakfasts are easy with eggs and avocados. I don’t plan on cooking much while Tom is gone, so I purchased plenty of wild-caught tuna and salmon to get me through several days. I don’t snack often, but if I feel like I need something, I purchase plenty of imported Emmenthal cheese which is always a satisfying snack to hold me until the next meal.

It’s going to be very weird to me with Tom gone. I doubt I will do sundowners on the veranda, especially since some disgusting slimy black worms are slithering around. Once they are gone in the next few days, as predicted, I’ll look forward to spending more time outdoors with our wildlife friends. But, I don’t drink wine alone, even my lightest of wines, so most likely, when I do sundowners, it will be with a big chilled mug of cinnamon green iced tea.

Perhaps, a few of our friends may stop by to visit while Tom is away, but if not, before I know it, Friday will arrive once again, and I’ll be heading to Jabula with friend Sindee who offered to pick me up and bring me home. I only agreed to allow her to do this if she let me buy her dinner both nights. It will be a fun “girl’s night out” for both of us, along with all of the other locals we’ll chat with who often appear at the bar.

There were six of them.

Before I know it, I will be writing here that Tom is returning, and we can settle back into our old routine of this glorious life in the bush, enjoying abundant wildlife and friends.

Sending love and prayers to Jerome’s children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and new great-great grandchild, Tom’s siblings and all of their family members, and everyone who knew and loved Jerome, of which there are many, including us. W will miss him.

Tom just sent me a Whatsapp. He arrived safely at the Nelspruit/Mpumalanga/Kruger Airport, checked his bag, and is now boarding the plane. I have a feeling we’ll be sending lots of messages back and forth in these next ten days.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, March 5, 2022:

Bossy doesn’t bring her baby to see us every time she visits. In time, she will get her more often. For more photos, please click here.

Tomorrow is the party!…Busy baking the two cakes today, knowing there’s 4.5 hours of load shedding tomorrow…

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Earl was rolling around in the dirt, having the time of his life.

When we noticed that tomorrow morning’s load shedding starts at 11:00 am and doesn’t end until 3:30 pm, 1530 hrs., and since we can’t use the oven during load shedding, I felt it was best to bake the two double layer cakes today, rather than risk it and try to do it tomorrow.

Besides, with the effects of Cyclone Freddie making an appearance tomorrow, we could easily lose power altogether, and then again, we wouldn’t be able to use the oven, the only appliance we can’t use when our inverter is operating.

Having left all the rest of the planning in Louise and Danie’s hands, at their insistence, we have little else to do between now and then.  We invited Doc Theo, Doc Mel, and Doc Philip to the party, and they and their wives have confirmed. As a thank you for Doc Theo saving my life in 2019, we’ve offered them to stay overnight at the Khaya Umdani house, and we’re bringing over all the breakfast fixings for Sunday morning.

We’re leaving them orange juice and Prosecco to make mimosas along with coffee and fresh cream, eggs, bacon, sausage, fresh fruit, two types of heavy grain bread, butter, apricot, and strawberry jams,  This way; they can get up at their leisure and make a nice breakfast while they lounge at the beautiful house for as long as they’d like….a mini holiday in the bush.  They won’t have to do a thing… no dishes…no cleanup. It’s all taken care of.

Louise arranged for Vusi to stay this weekend to help with the party wearing his traditional Zulu attire, and he will assist in food and beverage service. He is a fine young man who has worked for Louise and Danie for many years. He will be paid and tipped generously for his meticulous work. He takes great pride in his work (as does Zef, as well), and it is evident in everything he does for them, their other clients, and us.

Earl found this spot to roll around in the dirt, which we’ve seen other wildebeests use in the past.

As for the mess at the end of the party, Vusi will take care of everything as well as cleaning up the dishes and cleaning the house after the doctors and their wives leave sometime on Sunday. There will be nothing for us to do. I’m sure Louise and Danie will be very busy throughout the party as they are today and tomorrow, preparing all the food and drinks.

Fortunately, the Khaya Umdani house has solar power, installed recently, so even if the storm knocks out the power, and of course, during load shedding, the food will be kept safe and the guests comfortable. We won’t be sitting outdoors in the dark or eating food kept in a refrigerator that wasn’t operational due to load shedding for over four hours.

All four layers for the two chocolate keto cakes I am making are now cooled and in the refrigerator. I couldn’t leave them out due to flies and high humidity. Tomorrow morning, I will make the frosting and frost and decorate both cakes. Photos will follow in tomorrow’s post.

We had an excellent breakfast this morning, as we always do. After almost 32 years, I’ve finally learned how to make Tom’s eggs properly. I’m a good cook, but I’ve always had trouble making eggs over easy without breaking the yolks. My issue was always impatience, turning the eggs too soon or too late.

Torn Ear and Broken Horn are hanging out by the pool.

Now, I turn the eggs and immediately remove the pan from the burner and remove them onto the plate so they stop cooking. Voila! Perfect over easy eggs. Tom is thrilled, even though it took me so many years to get it right. Sure, he could make his eggs, but I am the chosen cook in the household. He handles countless other tasks I dislike, such as dishes. We’re both content with our selected household tasks.

Those black worms are still around. Last night, we left the still-wet laundry outdoors on the rack. I had a dream that when I got up in the morning, I went outside to discover thousands of those black worms on the clean clothes. That was not the case. I only found one black worm on the laundry on a black washcloth. I flicked it away, and we were good to go on the rest. Whew!

Tonight, we’re headed to Jabula at 5:00 pm, 1700 hours, but much to our delight, we’re meeting people at the bar for sundowners who are from the US and are relatives of the wife of a very wonderful man that worked for me over 20 years ago. It will be fun to have a drink with Roger’s wife, Barb’s sister Victoria, and her family members, Small world, isn’t it?

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today,  February 24, 2022:

Ironically, yesterday, Tom and I went to Stoep Cafe, and I had this same salad. One year ago, Rita and I each had this fantastic smoked trout salad at Stoep Cafe the prior day. Coincidence.  For more photos, please click here.

Another humid scorcher!!!…A busy morning left me sweating…

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Four Big Daddies stopped by for pellets this morning. They share nicely with one another.

At the moment, I am in the bedroom at 1:00 pm, 1300 hrs., after sweating in the kitchen for the past three hours. I made breakfast, cooked and chopped the cooled sausages for homemade keto pizza, made three pizza crusts, chopped and diced all the vegetables, and pre-cooked the pizza crusts.

Since we can’t use the oven during load shedding, which occurs at dinnertime tonight, we decided to cook all three pizzas now and can heat our servings in the microwave when it’s time to eat this evening. All I have left is to make the salad which I’ll do once I cool down.

Zebras don’t get along when vying for pellets. They snort, head-butt, and kick one another. But, they do fine when drinking from the pool.

With all the rain lately and the mozzies on a rampage for human flesh, I am again wearing long pants and a long sleeve Bugs-Away shirt with the sleeves buttoned at the wrist on the tighter button to ensure none will fly up the sleeve for a nibble. It’s the only way to protect myself, especially when sweating wears off the DEET repellent. I can’t stand the thought of reapplying that toxic chemical any more often than I have to.

Although I reapply repellent every six hours, when it’s supposed to last in dry conditions for eight hours, I still end up with lots of bites. I wake up during the night itching like crazy when, even with the aircon on, I still sweat under the light blanket. It seems that warmth exacerbates the itchiness.

Recently, I’ve found that using Benzocaine numbing cream stops the itching for several hours, but it doesn’t work well during the day when using repellent with it. It never seems to work out using multiple cream products on the skin, such as applying any body lotion while using repellent.

It’s always a pleasure to see these big boys in the garden.

Once the bedroom cooled down, I turned off the aircon and am fairly comfortable with the fan running at its highest speed. I may end up spending the next few hours in the bedroom working on today’s post and other projects, such as researching holiday homes for upcoming locations.

We feel we’re somewhat on hold from booking much more right now while we await the answer to our visa extensions. If we don’t get the approval to stay until June, leaving in March would impact what we’d do next. We can only wait and see what transpires in the next few weeks.

Last night, we had another fun-filled evening at the bar at Jabula. Locals we’d met in the past were there, and the conversation was lively and animated. Later in the evening, back home, we watched another episode of the Good Doctor, a show we are binge-watching at night. Its quite an enjoyable series with lots of episodes.

Bossy stopped by to see what was on the menu.

We’d planned to go to Kruger tomorrow on my birthday, but the Crocodile Bridge is still closed, and we don’t want to drive an extra three hours to go up and back from the Malalane Gate. We’ll go another day as soon as the river settles down.

I’ll upload a short post tomorrow morning since we’re meeting Dawn and Leon for my birthday lunch at Tamborina, located in Komatipoort. This way, neither of us will have to drive in the dark, if we’d gone for dinner. We rarely go out to dinner to any restaurants that would require us to drive home at night. It’s not safe on the roads.

Today, we’re content to stay home, enjoy our pizza and salad dinner, and later hunker down in the cool bedroom for some mindless drivel, the end of a perfect Sunday in the bush.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, February 19, 2022:

Seigfried and Roy were sharing pellets. For more photos, please click here.

Another fine weekend in the bush…

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He’s so comfortable with us that he often lays down to rest in the shade.

The weather today is a little more comfortable. The humidity is at 90%, the dew point is at 77, and the temperature is 80F, 27C. It was not a lot lower than this time yesterday. It’s a busy morning around here. I folded all the laundry on the rack that took over 24 hours to dry, but most of the little rugs I washed and hung in the outdoor laundry room were still wet.

With the new inverter system keeping us from experiencing load shedding, we aren’t using the clothes dryer since it uses too much electricity, which we’d instead save for more critical power needs. Everything is working well, and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the new system.

Seeing Gordy (aka Gordon Ramsey) in the garden is always pleasurable.

We can tell by a familiar blink when load shedding starts and ends; sometimes, the WiFi goes out for five or ten minutes. Other than that, we can’t tell that it’s load shedding. We love not worrying about our food spoiling and being able to buy enough meat to last for a few weeks.

Tom hand-grated the massive block of mozzarella cheese we purchased at the local Wild Butchery a few days ago, and tomorrow, once again, we’re making keto pizza, enough to last for several nights. My party isn’t until next Saturday, the 25th. We’ll share details about the party in the next several days, held at the Khaya Umdani house, a much larger house than our holiday rental. Need I say, we both are excited about this special celebration.

Bossy stopped by to see what was happening.

Monday, the actual day of my birthday, we’d planned to go to Kruger, but we’re waiting to see if the park will be opened by then with the Crocodile Bridge flooded over, off and on, over the past few weeks. If it is open, we’ll head out Monday morning, have breakfast at the Mugg & Bean and see what wildlife we can find. We’ll have leftover pizza when we return in time for sundowners on the veranda and quiet dinner together.

Another female kudu we didn’t know stopped by.

If the Crocodile Bridge is still closed, we’ll stay home, which I don’t mind not making a big fuss about my actual birthday, with the party coming up several days later. We’ll celebrate then.

Last night, we headed to Jabula for another fun Friday night, hanging out with locals and dining on consistently excellent food. We never fail to have a good time. Dawn and Leon had been away for a few days, and it was great to see them again. Leon still seems to be feeling well after the fourth month of his terminal cancer diagnosis, for which he was only expected to live for three to four months. He looks and feels good, so we hope a true miracle has occurred. We can’t imagine living in the bush without him here.

Since it’s the weekend again, the animal visits are few, and we’ve been scrambling to find enough photo ops to post here. We’re doing our best to develop interesting photos, but it’s tricky right now. The roads are still too muddy to venture out for photo ops in the little rental car. It’s the nature of the beast (no pun intended).

The helmeted guinea fowls have returned. They were gone for a few months, as they do each year.

Tonight at 5:00 pm, 1700 hrs., we’ll head back to Jabula for Saturday night’s entertainment. Amazingly, we are always assured of a great time heading there every Friday and Saturday evening. We never tire of visiting the establishment and always look forward to seeing people we know and meeting new people.

Not much is required of either of us for the remainder of the day. We’re waiting to hear about our visa extensions to begin booking holiday homes in Scotland before the upcoming two cruises. We have about six weeks to book after we leave South Africa on June 8 and until the first cruise begins on August 1, 2023. We should have an answer in the next few weeks.

That’s it for today, folks. We hope you have an enjoyable weekend!

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, February 18, 2022:

Bossy arrived with her baby and another mom and baby. We couldn’t have been happier to see her young one. For more photos, please click here.

Still raining off and on.. Evacuation warnings for bush homes along the Crocodile River…

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Please zoom in to see Aggie, an agama, which changes colors at will, on the right side of this tree when he chose to look like the tree bark instead of his usual colorful style.

The Crocodile River continues to rise. We’ve never been anywhere in the world when it rained as many days as it has here in the past ten days.  Last night, warnings were posted on Marloth Park Facebook groups that residents in bush homes along the river may have to evacuate.

All guests residing in camps and resorts in Kruger National Park were evacuated yesterday, and the park is officially closed. All entrance gates (nine in South Africa and two in Mozambique) to the vast national park are now closed due to flooding, washed-out roads, huge potholes, and mudslides.

It is one of the largest national parks in the world, with an area of 19,485 km2 (7,523 sq mi). The park is approximately 360 km (220 mi) long and has an average width of 65 km (40 mi).”
A small band of mongooses stopped by for paloney.
We feel bad for the tourists that spent fortunes to get here since airfare is so expensive, hoping to do multiple game drives and camp and resort stays in the park and now will not be able to do so. Let alone those currently staying in Marloth Park, the roads to their holiday homes are washed out, and they can’t enter or leave. Can you imagine their frustration?
We are safe here at our bush home. Water isn’t leaking into the house, and there don’t appear to be significant issues on our dirt road. As much as we’d like to see the roaring river, we avoid the area for the above reasons. Nor do we want to get stuck driving with the lightweight KWID car rental. It hardly had enough oomph to go up a hill with the aircon on, let alone maneuver out of a deep mudhole.
Some of our readers have written to us inquiring about how excessive rain and flooding impact wildlife. These animals are so resourceful and intelligent. They know what to do to stay safe as long as they aren’t caught in the rivers’ fast-moving current, which may prove deadly. But many animals are excellent swimmers, and many others are wise enough to know to maintain their position on the banks of the river.
At any given time, there are impalas in our garden. If we can help it, we don’t feed them since they may scare off many other species, and there are too many to feed regularly.
Numerous waterbucks have been stranded along the Crocodile River, unable to swim across the raging waters. They can survive on the Marloth Park side of the river since there is plenty of vegetation for them to eat. However, if nosey locals approach them, they can become stressed, panicky, and die. There have been numerous warnings for locals and guests to stay away from the river, not only for their safety but also for the safety of the wildlife.
Tom woke up early this morning to watch the US Football Super Bowl. I watched for a few minutes of the halftime show, which I usually enjoy, but this time it was just OK, not as exciting as some I’ve seen in the past. Although his favorite team, the Minnesota Vikings, wasn’t playing in the game, he enjoyed it anyway.
Last night, while on the veranda at sundowner time, we enjoyed ourselves with Norman. He is funny, animated, and so attentive to our voices. He always makes us laugh. Afterward, we had a great dinner but experienced a WiFi outage for a few hours, preventing us from streaming our favorite shows.
Impalas are good-looking animals with interesting markings and adorable faces. Only males have horns.
Instead, we watched a mediocre movie on the external hard drive that Rita and Gerhard gave me last year for my birthday. With the 1000 movies Gerhard loaded on the four terabyte devices, it has been a lifesaver when there’s no signal. Right now, we’re working on watching movies beginning with the letter “b,” thus, we have a long way to go.
We always have a good time regardless of what we do each day and evening. Tonight, Tom’s having pork chops on the braai with rice and salad, and I’m having prawn salad. As always, it will be a lovely evening.
Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, February 13, 2022:

A foam tree frog nest hangs over the pool, made by a female frog during the night. For more photos, please click here.

Still raining…Wildlife under cover…Mudslides on the N4…My four-year “heartaversary!”

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Big Daddy and an impala we call Chevy, sitting close to one another.

With both of us outdoors, the temperature is tolerable at 81F and 27C, but the comfort factor is minimal. It’s still raining heavily, off and of, and the humidity is outrageously high at 84%  with a dew point of 76, 11 points above “tropical,” which makes the air heavy. We’d rather have a much higher temperature with low humidity which is considerably easier to tolerate.

This morning when Norman, Nina, and their baby stopped by, it started raining so hard that they immediately searched for a good spot under a tree. Norman seemed most annoyed by the rain, which interrupted his pleasant days of meandering about the bush at a leisurely pace with few distractions.

Norman wasn’t thrilled that this kudu was sitting in “his garden. He fluffed up his hair and tail and hung his head low, making himself appear larger.

The three found shelter under a dense tree and waited it out. They were on the move again when the heavy rain evolved into a drizzle. They stayed around our garden for quite a while, eating pellets, carrots, and cabbage before they took off to continue grazing in the bush.

Most wildlife spend most of their days and nights grazing, occasionally napping from time to time, especially after dark. But they are always on the lookout for predators for potential dangers. Doing so is in their DNA. With fewer predators in Marloth Park, we still have lions, leopards, and smaller cats like genets and civets. Other dangerous predators may occasionally enter the park, including jackals, hyenas, and wild dogs.

The Big Daddy didn’t seem concerned about Norman.

This morning there was a notice on Facebook about the N4 that the road we travel to Nelspruit is closed due to mudslides. This doesn’t impact us since the closures are beyond Nelspruit, where we don’t have to travel until we go to Johannesburg to renew our passports sometime in March. But we’ve read that the road is backed up for hours.

Today is the fourth anniversary of my open heart surgery in Nelspruit on February 12, 2019. I am grateful to be feeling well and not having any heart-related symptoms at this time. But, the experience resulted in six surgeries (angiogram, heart surgery, and two surgeries on each leg), including infections in both legs from where the veins were taken for the triple coronary bypass. The recovery was slow and painful.

There’s no doubt about how traumatic this surgery may be for many patients, especially with complications like those I had. Emotionally, I am fully recovered, but I have experienced many changes in how my body works since the surgery, as do most patients after this type of surgery.

The male kudu develops swelling in his neck during the mating season. He has a few oxpeckers on his head and back.

What are the lingering effects over the past four years? They include:

  1. Weakness  in my legs
  2. Difficulty bending over
  3. Reduced small-hand skills
  4. Concerned about every pain in my chest, neck, jaw, and shoulder, wondering if something was wrong.

It’s normal for heart patients to become concerned over every twinge. How could one not be concerned when remaining arteries throughout the body have blockages. But I can go for weeks without thinking about it. Over time, those concerns have diminished considerably.

Nina, Norman, and their baby were sheltering from the rain.

I do everything I can to maintain good health by staying very active;  getting in a lot of steps each day; eating healthy, unprocessed foods; continuing on a low-carb/keto, sugar-free, grain-free, starch-free way of eating; don’t smoke; low alcohol consumption; good sleep and above all a low-stress lifestyle which includes a positive attitude combined with our joyful way of living.

Of course, having a loving and playful relationship with my fantastic husband and cultivating positive relationships with family and friends…thus, a social network that has been proven to be instrumental in healthful longevity.

As mentioned, I am very grateful to have survived the surgery and had the loving care Tom provided in the many months that followed, along with the support of many friends here in Marloth Park, our readers/friends, and people we’ve met throughout the world. Thank you, Tom. Thank you, readers, friends, and family.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, February 12, 2022:

A young daddy with lots of growing to do. For more photos, please click here.

Less flooding but still raining…No problem out and about…Giraffes in the garden…

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It’s always a joy to see giraffes in the garden. This one made eye contact with me when I talked to her,

Whenever giraffes make their way into our garden, our hearts are filled with pure joy, feeling honored they’ve come for a visit. Although we see giraffes while driving on the roads in Marloth and Kruger National Parks, it’s all the more of a thrill to see them in our garden, especially while sitting at the table on the veranda.

What a sight this is when we see them coming our way!

We’ve seen this “tower” of six giraffes in the past, along with many others living in Marloth Park. We were surprised when they stopped by while it was still drizzling, but they didn’t seem to mind a bit and scoured the treetops with the same enthusiasm as usual. Giraffes have no competition for food since no other animals are as tall. However, certain trees can produce toxic-tasting tannins that drive giraffes away, as described here:

“Tannins are the bitter chemical you taste when you’ve left the teabag in for too long. They’re found in many plants, including giraffes’ preferred foodstuffs, such as Acacia trees. Overbrowsing by giraffes activates the trees’ defense mechanism and prompts increased production of these tannins.”

We often wish we could feed them something, but they don’t eat pellets or offerings made by humans in the wild.

Wow! Isn’t nature unique? Trees and plants can’t run away from predators. Instead, many produce a variety of toxins to protect themselves, as described in this interesting article from this site:

“Naturally Occurring Toxins in Vegetables and Fruits

  1. Fresh vegetables and fruits contain nutrients, vitamins, and minerals essential for growth and health and are important components of a healthy diet. However, some vegetables and fruits may contain natural toxins that could harm our health. Now and then, there have been reports of food poisoning cases suspected to have been caused by the consumption of raw vegetables and fruits containing natural toxins.
  2. Natural toxins are poisonous substances present naturally in fruits and vegetables. They are produced by plants to defend themselves against fungi, insects, and predators and offer a protective mechanism for the plant.

For the balance of this article, please click here. For those on specific diets, consideration, and education on this topic may be helpful.

Giraffe heads hidden in the bush while dining on fresh green leaves.

As for the rain, it has decreased in the past 24 hours, although, according to the weather reports, some rain and frequent drizzles are expected over the upcoming week. Fortunately, the river levels have gone down, and life is returning to normal in many areas.

The rain has been significant for the animals providing lush greenery for the voracious appetites.

Last night for the first time in days, we headed out to make our way to Jabula and experienced no difficulty on the paved Olifant Road or on the dirt road to the restaurant. Once inside, load shedding started, but with their generators running, we didn’t notice a thing. We had a friendly and chatty time at the bar, where we stayed to eat our dinner. By 8:00 pm, 2000 hrs., we were out the door and were thrilled to walk into our house, knowing load shedding wouldn’t impact us as it continued off and on over the next several hours.

We streamed the fifth episode of Yellowstone’s 1923 and were disappointed when the episode ended. Yellowstone and its multiple spinoffs are each worthy of watching. We enjoyed every episode of each show and look forward to more of these excellent series in the future.

“75 pounds, 34 kg per day is what It takes to fuel these large mammals. A giraffe will spend most of its day eating. Giraffes only need to drink once every several days because they get most of their water from the luscious plants they eat. Acacia trees host their favorite leaves.”

We both had a good night’s sleep and looked forward to another pleasant day in the bush.

Be well.

Little was having a spa day in the green algae. Photo from one year ago today, February 11, 2022:

“Pig in a pond.” For more photos, please click here.

The rains continue…More flooding…We’re hunkered down until tonight…Another sad animal injury…

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Roads have been closed in sections of the Kruger National Park due to heavy rain.
Image: SANParks

The rain stops for an hour, drizzles for another hour, and then comes down with an unspeakable force. It’s expected to continue until Tuesday. There continue to be more and more warnings in the Marloth Park Facebook groups about flooding on certain roads, vehicles getting stuck, and road closings. A lot could happen in the next four days.

We were so sad to see that this Big Daddy kudu, whom we’ve named Torn Horn, suffered such a horrific injury, most likely from a fight with another male kudu.

We’re considering heading out to the little market for a few items as soon as the rain lets up. The videos and photos online are astounding, and as much as we’d like to go out and take some of our own, the little rental car,  a lightweight KWID, would surely result in our getting stuck if we attempted to travel on any of the dirt roads. Neither of us cares to get soaked.

I just touched base with David, and he said it should be OK for us to get there. By going out soon, we can determine if it will be safe and sensible to go to Jabula tonight for dinner. If Olifant Road, the paved main road in Marloth Park, is passable, we will go. It’s about a 10-minute drive from here.

We’ve been surprised that many animals have stopped by during the storm. This morning there were four bushbucks and one duiker in the garden. We tossed pellets to them, but if they don’t eat them right away, they turn into mush from the rain, and they don’t eat the mush.

We put pellets, apples, and carrots on the railing so he wouldn’t have to bend to the ground.

We hadn’t seen Norman, Nina, and the baby for a few days, but they were here for a few hours yesterday afternoon when the rain let up for a while. It was good to see them again. We had more animals in the garden than we’d seen before the Christmas holiday. It was great to see them all together.

Even the mongooses stopped by a few times in the past two days, and we couldn’t cut up paloney fast enough for them. It was fun to see all their babies, already indoctrinated into the frenzy of eating paloney, cut into bite-sized pieces. They also recognize our clicking sounds that attract them to the garden. When a few show up, we make the clicking sounds, and they all come running from everywhere within earshot. It’s quite a sight to see.

Today’s photos of the injured kudu broke our hearts. We fed him apples, carrots, and pellets. He was looking thin. An injury as severe as losing a horn can cause significant disability and even death while the animal tries to recover. Nothing can be done other than to wait and see how he does.

Hopefully, this wound will heal, and he can go about his life in the bush.

Most of the wildlife is sturdy with robust immune systems and often recovers without infections or further harm to their health and well-being. We hope this will be the case with the now-named “Torn Horn” (a mouthful to say). We hope he’ll return to see us again so we can check his progress.

The sun is peeking out right now as it continues to rain. There’s an expression in the Afrikaans language, taught to us by our old friend Okee Dokey, frequently used when describing sunshine when it’s raining. It’s stated as follows:

Jakkals trou met wolf see vrou…which translates to “The fox married the wolf’s wife.” Go figure.

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, February 10, 2022:

Rita sent me this photo on Whatsapp of a tiny newborn bushbaby they found on the veranda. One of the Honorary Rangers, Nadine, picked up the baby to have the bushbaby cared for and eventually released it back into the bush. So sweet. For more photos, please click here.