I wish I felt comfortable driving a car in South Africa. However, after not driving a stick shift vehicle for 35 years, I don’t trust myself. Also, driving on the opposite side of the road while shifting with my useless left hand only adds to the potential hazards.

Since having open heart surgery over two years ago, I am less coordinated than I used to be. I’ve read that others have experienced the same phenomenon. Perhaps it’s a result of what is referred to as “pump head” from losing some brain cells after being on the heart bypass machine for several hours during the surgery. Luckily, doing so didn’t impact my memory as it has for many others.

If there were a choice between memory loss and lack of coordination, I’d opt for the latter. My memory is as clear and concise as it was in my youth, for which I am very grateful. On the other hand, my coordination is only worse than it had been a few years ago when even then, it was lacking.

That’s not to say I won’t ever drive again in countries with driving on the side of the road I’m most familiar with, the right side. Most rental cars in the US, for example, are not manual transmissions. As mentioned in the past, I am not a good driver anyway and have never been.

At some point in my old age, I will have to face the fact that driving is not safe for me, as is the case for many seniors as their coordination and adeptness fail. I’m always sad to hear when an aging or ill friend has had to give up driving for the safety of themselves and others.

What brought up this driving thing is that today before 1:00 pm, 1300 hours, I’m heading out to visit a local friend, Debbie, in Marloth Park. She didn’t have access to a vehicle to visit us here, so I offered to come to her home, and today was the day. Tom will drop me off at her home and pick me up a few hours later. It will be great to have some “girl talk,” something I’ve missed off and on in our travels.

Most get-togethers we’ve experienced since getting to Marloth Park months ago have been as couples, which undoubtedly we thoroughly enjoy. But, those special one-on-one conversations with friends are something both of us had to forgo in our life of world travels.

Fortunately, I’ve stayed in touch with most of my old friends in Minnesota and have an opportunity to see them when we return to the US for visits every few years. And, from time to time, I speak on the phone, on Skype, or Messenger to my dear friends. from my “old life” and also those new friends I’ve made in our travels.

This Saturday night, our dear friends Linda and Ken, headed to Marloth Park from Johannesburg in a few days, will be coming for dinner. It’s always fun to hang out with the two of them. When dear friends Kathy and Don arrive from Hawaii in June and July, we girls will certainly arrange some “girl time” as we’d done in the past.

Also, our dear friends Rita and Gerhard will be arriving in the next few weeks and surely Rita and I will have some girl time during the almost two months they will be here. It’s comforting to know that social interactions will increase down the road, adding to the pleasure of our time in Marloth Park.

This morning, it was busy in the bush. We saw several “new” (to us) warthogs, some with exciting characteristics that make it easy to identify them when they return. Each morning, we’ve been checking the photos from the trail cam’s overnight photos. So far, no porcupine or unusual visitors. As soon as we see any less frequent or nocturnal animals, we’ll certainly share them here. In the interim, it is fun anticipating and checking out the photos each morning.

While Zef is washing the veranda, we are inside the bedroom, waiting for it to dry so we can go back outdoors. Big Daddy is looking at us through the bedroom window, wondering when we’ll come out to toss him some pellets. Hold onto your shorts Big Daddy! We’ll be there soon!

We’ll be back with more tomorrow. Have a fantastic day!

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

Mr. & Mrs. Hornbill was eating seeds off the veranda table. We weren’t able to put up the birdfeeder with monkeys nearby and placed the seeds on the table after they’d banged at the window with their beaks to remind us to feed them. For more photos, please click here.

It was a good thing it wasn’t hot last night. Sunday night, the power was out for almost 12 hours, and we couldn’t use the air-con in the bedroom. On Saturday, in the middle of the night, I awoke Tom from a deep sleep and asked him why he was clapping. He wasn’t clapping. The air-con was making a clapping sound every 10 to 20 minutes. What was that about? We shut it off, knowing the sound would keep waking us up.

We didn’t want to disturb Louise over the weekend, so we tried it again last night, Monday, to discover the clapping continued. With a cool night, we used the fan instead, and that worked out fine. Today, Louise set up an afternoon appointment with Chris, the air-con guy, to come out this afternoon. It certainly is better to get air-con repairs handled on cool days like today. Next week it will be hot again when it is tough to get an appointment for a repair person to come out.

Soon, we’ll be heading to Komatipoort to grocery shop and stop at the pharmacy for a few items. On our way, we’ll stop at the home of the woman from whom we’re renting the treadmill. The following payment for the upcoming three months is due now. I am so grateful I’ve had the treadmill to keep me in shape during these many lazy days in the bush.

Late in the afternoon, our friend and local author, Alan, and his girlfriend Fiona come for sundowners. When we return from the market, I’ll get to work to make a few appetizers to serve during their visit. I’ll make enough items, some of which I can eat, and thus, we won’t be making dinner tonight.

Usually, happy hour continues until 8:00 pm, 2000 hours, or later, or when the mosquitoes and other insects are at their worst. It varies every evening, so we’ll play it by ear and wrap up the evening when nature dictates. In any case, we’re sure it will be another lovely evening with friends.

Socializing in Marloth Park has been kept to a minimum with Covid-19. Many are afraid to get together, even in small groups, especially after a few deaths from the dreaded virus here in the park. We only socialize with others whom we know are being careful like us.

Speaking of Covid-19, this morning, after applying for the vaccine four times, Louise finally got the SMS message stating my application was finally accepted. Now, we are waiting for a date and time for both of us. We hope this all works out with the timing before leaving South Africa on June 30th for our visa stamps.

Here again, we’ll play it by ear. Our ultimate hope is that President Cyril Ramaphosa will extend visitor visas for yet another 90 days. That would be wonderful! If not, we’ll make a plan, last minute, to fly out for a few days and then return.

I’ve already started making the appetizers for this evening. Right now, as I prepare this post, we have to leave to bring the money for the treadmill to the owner, and then we’re off to Komatipoort. When we return, I’ll finish this post.

We stopped at the home of the lovely woman who loaned us the treadmill, and we hit it off so well, we hope to socialize soon. We paid her the ZAR 1800, US $126, for the next 90 days.  It’s been so helpful to me to have this piece of exercise equipment easily at my disposal.

We just returned from Komati after grocery shopping, a visit to the pharmacy and the liquor store. We have everything we’ll need for the next few weeks. Everything has been put away. A few plates of the treats for tonight have been prepped. Soon, we’ll set up the table. The house is clean and tidy after Vusi did another fantastic job this morning.

Now, Frank and The Misses are drinking water from the little container we set down for them with fresh water a few times each day. I’d forgotten to put the container down on the floor when we returned, and he made his funny noise at me to let me know he and The Misses wanted to drink.  The Imposter is here by himself, without his buddy, Narrow. Mom and Babies just left the garden after eating pellets.

Last night, just before going to sleep, I came out of the bedroom to fill a glass of water for my bedside table. I happened to turn on the outside light to take a peek to see if anyone was there. And there she was, Bossy (kudu) and one of her offspring, a handsome young male. Of course, they were staring at me through the glass door, wondering if pellets were served so late at night.

Sadly, I declined to offer pellets since the alarm had already been set, and I didn’t want them coming around at night in the dark with expectations. I kept an eye out for them, and a short time later, they left. This morning they were back, and we tossed plenty of pellets their way. We often wonder where and when they hunker down at night and how long they sleep.

Most wild animals sleep in short bursts and for very few hours a day, from what we’ve read. It’s ingrained in their DNA to keep out a watchful eye for predators. Here is Marloth Park. Few predators exist for most of the wildlife. But, still, they remain alert and diligent to protect themselves and their young.

At the far end of our garden, Lionspruit begins where lions Dezi and Fluffy live.  There are hundreds of other animals in Lionspruit, many possible meals for these two lions. It’s an entirely different situation in Kruger National Park than here in peaceful and less-threatening Marloth Park.

Have a fantastic day!

Photo from one year ago today, April 20, 2020:

Hand-feeding Kookaburras in the garden, re-posted one year ago from Australia in 2017. They are carnivores, so I fed them raw, grass-fed ground beef. For more photos, please click here.

When we read that seven animals were killed on local paved Olifant Road during the long Easter weekend and we hadn’t seen Tiny in days, I was worried. What if he was one of the victims of hit and ran on the busy long weekend. Over the past several days, we watched for him day and night.

Usually, he’d show up in the garden between 4:00 pm, 1600 hours, and 4:30 pm, 1630 hours, while we were seated at the big table on the veranda. But, he never arrived. Day after day passed, and no Tiny. I’ve become so attached to him and his former daily visits, I’d be lost without him.

Alas, this morning while I was showering and dressing for the day, Tom came in to inform me that Tiny was in the garden, looking for pellets, and perhaps, me? Whew! I couldn’t have been more thrilled to see him, his giant warts, his massive tusks, and his somewhat shy demeanor.

But, it’s sad to know that seven of the precious animals in Marloth Park are no more. Either they died when hit by careless drivers speeding on the road, or they were injured to a point where the rangers had no choice but to euthanize them. This is sad for all of us in Marloth Park.

We’re not the only people in Marloth Park who build relationships with the wildlife from a safe distance. When we get together, we frequently discuss our favorites using the different names we’ve created for them. It’s funny to think that other residents have different names for the same wildlife we’ve named to our liking and preference.

Who knows? Tiny may be called “Jumbo” by another long-term visitor or homeowner. What names do others have for warthogs Narrow and The Imposter or their resident francolins instead of our Frank and The Misses? It makes us laugh out loud.

On another note, a few days ago, I mentioned that I hadn’t done any corrections on past posts since we arrived in Marloth Park three months ago. This stuck in my mind, prompting me to start again but with a less lofty goal of only correcting ten posts a day instead of 20 as I’d done while we were in the hotel room in India for ten months. I had more time during that long haul than I do now.

This morning before starting today’s new post, I managed to complete two of the 10. Every few hours, I’ll do two more until the ten are completed. At this rate, I will be done in about 190 days. That’s a long time from now, but I think I can manage this. If I stick to this routine, I should be done by the end of the year, considering travel days, busy days when we visit Kruger National Park, and days I can’t force myself to do it. We’ll see how it goes.

Today will be a low-key day, which we thoroughly enjoy when the wildlife comes to call. We just served up some raw scrambled eggs for about 50 mongooses (I’ve recently discovered the plural of mongoose is mongoose) who’d stopped by. We always love seeing them and feeding them when it’s their presence that can keep the snakes at bay.

Now, I’m off to do my HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workout on the treadmill and then head to the kitchen to prep for tonight’s dinner. Life is simple. Life is good. We like it this way.

Have a wonderful day. Stay safe and be well.

Photo from one year ago today, April 14, 2020:

A gorgeous sunset in Kauai, Hawaii, from the veranda of our condo in Princeville. For more photos from that date, six years ago, please click here. For the year-ago post, please click here.

Note; Due to the time required to add photos to our post. We’ll be back tomorrow with more.

We’re not “on the move” again, but we are “on the road again” as we make our way to Nelspruit today to return the rental car, pick up another vehicle and do some shopping in the “big” (more significant) city. With Nelspruit’s population of over 110,000, it’s undoubtedly the most large city near us, approximately 75 minutes from Marloth Park.

I still experience a little angst going to Nelspruit since it’s the small town where I had open-heart surgery 26 months ago. Although it is also where the tiny airport is located, we’ve been many times over the past eight years since we began visiting Marloth Park in 2013.

At the moment, as I hurriedly write here (we’re leaving in an hour), Tom is at the car wash at the Marlothi Shopping Center, getting the rental car a thorough cleaning. I am seated at the big table on the veranda with three warthogs in the garden; Fred and Ethel, and surprisingly, Little, not Tiny, who seldom visits with so many other pigs as permanent fixtures here in the garden.

Little never liked the competition of other warthogs around him and can make quite a fuss. On the other hand, Tiny is gentle and relatively tolerant of sharing pellets with the other regulars. We’re often in awe of the unique personality traits and demeanor of the various wildlife that visit us frequently. It’s easy for us to detect who is who when we spend most days observing their behavior.

Not only does each animal have its physical characteristics, but its unique behavior also alerts us to those we see frequently, even when there are ten or more animals in the garden simultaneously. Frank and The Misses, three couples, easily determine which of the trio is eating the seeds. The main Frank is a messy eater, and the seeds fly everywhere when he stops to eat and drink several times a day.

All of the females are shy, and if I stand, they run off for a moment to return once I sit back down. But, the main Frank, who must be the dominant male in this territory of our garden, never moves when I put down the seeds and the little container of water which most of them drink from. Also, he will stand right next to me when the others are shy and prefer to stay back at least a meter from where I’m seated on the veranda.

We thought the Francolins would drink from the birdbath, and yet it has never happened when we’re outdoors. They either drink from the short-sided container I put on the ground with fresh water daily or sip from the outdoor drainage hose from the air conditioner in our bedroom, getting only a few drops a day. The main Frank loves the little cup of water and the other cup of seeds, chirping happily when he drinks and eats.

When the seed or water containers are empty, he makes his loud squawk while standing at the screen door to the veranda to alert us more is needed. This occurs frequently. It’s not unusual for us to see him standing at the screen door when we get up in the morning or at other times when we’re busy indoors.

Yesterday afternoon, while we were in the bedroom for a short rest, my favorite kudu, Bossy, came up to the bedroom window peering inside, wondering why we weren’t outdoors offering pellets. Of course, we jumped up to comply. We laugh so hard over all of these scenarios. Tom says they have us trained. So true.

Well, it’s time for me to wrap this up. We’ll be back tomorrow with more, including details of our little road trip to Nelspruit, and we probably won’t be returning late afternoon, and I am seldom motivated to do a post close to dinner time.

Happy day!

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

This morning, this adorable Easter display was at our regular table at the hotel in Mumbai. A short time later, the restaurant closed. For more photos, please click here.