Did this really happen in the garden of our bush house?…A somewhat philosophical viewpoint of life in the bush…

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The strength and coordination required of a giraffe to bend this low are astounding. We could not believe what we were witnessing.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

Later in the day, close to sunset, a wide array of visitors stopped by to check out the action in our garden.  There was plenty as usual.

After six years of world travel, we often say that nothing surprises us, although many things enlighten and enrich our lives. But, on Friday, we found ourselves reeling in awe and wonder over a scene we never expected to unfold before our eyes, a massive giraffe taking a drink from the tiny cement pond in our garden.

When we spotted these beautiful long legs in the neighbor’s driveway, we practically held our breath waiting to see what would happen.  

We say, “our” garden since over this past over nine months, this garden often filled with wondrous wildlife, has been ours in the fact that we’ve cultivated it with generous offerings, welcoming gentle conversation, and a passion that surely, in essence, has brought us so much joy.

In the past nine and a half months, we’ve only had giraffes come to call a few times around the edges of the property and in the driveway but never specified in the garden where all the others gather when they visit.

And for them, a casual visitor, with endless options of other gardens to visit in this wildlife paradise and wonderland, when they are here, we almost feel as if they belong with us.

The sound of the dry sekelbos branches cracking was earsplitting as she made her way through the dense bush.

Yes, we’ve given them names they only hold while in our garden. Yes, we talked to them in sweet voices with intense eye contact hoping for that moment when they understand our love and desire to bring them a modicum of joy, comfort, and nourishment.

As she approached, we stayed still and quiet.  Giraffes don’t interact with humans. They don’t eat pellets or any other food sources offered by humans.

In many ways, it’s all a mystery. Do they have the mental prowess and ability to connect with us on an emotional level? Or, as some say, they come for the food and, in today’s example, a cooling drink as a respite from the hot and dry weather.

I couldn’t help but zoom in to capture her pretty face.

We choose to believe beyond the obvious. Wildebeest Willie surely likes the pellets, despises the apples, carrots, and pears but brings with him an ability to look deep into my eyes when I speak to him, often not even bothering to eat the pellets until our “conversation” has ended.  

She was obviously on a mission for a drink.

This is the case with many others. I could go on and on about other examples such as this, but I’ve already mentioned them over and over again, ad nauseam. Forgive me for my redundancy. It’s entirely irresistible.


You can describe these “feelings” to those who aren’t here in this paradise-like environment, and they roll their eyes after one of our enthusiastic 60-second recitations about the magic of it all.  We know we need to shut up.  

She was obviously on a mission for a drink.

But the compelling desire to share a description of this place with others who don’t have a clue about it is literally compelling. It’s almost as if we can’t wait to get before an audience of one, 10, or 20 to tell this story, and yet, their interest wafts away in the blink of an eye, albeit a bored and disinterested eye.

It was a long way down to our cement pond.  Good thing, Tom had filled it to the brim earlier in the morning.

We noticed this phenomenon on cruise ships. When seated at a dinner table for 10 or 12 in the main dining room, most often amid total strangers, we experience a tremendous amount of curiosity about our peculiar lifestyle. They want to know the how, the why, the what, and the when of our ongoing homeless life of travel.

Invariably, we can’t resist mentioning Africa, where fewer travelers have been. They’re often astounded by our love of the continent while their own fears and apprehension consume their thoughts.  

She garnered the strength and agility to bend for a drink.

As soon as we mention Marloth Park, their eyes glaze over, and we realize it’s time to change the subject and let someone else share their travel adventure. We acquiesce, and the conversation continues down another path.

We’ve come to realize that only a certain fraction of the population is fascinated with wildlife. Last night, at Jabula at a table of eight with Kathy, Don, Rita and Gerhard, Janet and Steve, and us, we all shared this same passion. It was foolhardy to attempt to steer the conversation in other directions.

We were in awe of her musculature to maintain such a pose, if only for a short time.

Subsequently, our hearts and minds embrace each of their outstanding stories of sightings, albeit eliciting a bit of envy between one another’s sightings, often unlike any of our own.

Last night at dinner, the mention of our little story of the giraffe drinking from the cement pond raised a few eyebrows. It prompted several heartfelt wide grins, leaving us knowing that only these types of special wildlife-adoring people fully understand the depth and meaning of such experiences.

After drinking, she turned around and headed back into the dense sekelbos (sickle bush in English) to return to the parklands and her partner awaiting her at a short distance, as shown in this photo.

For those of you, our readers who have faithfully and diligently followed along on this long path of endless stories about Marloth Park and Kruger National Park for these many months, we commend you. A new direction is yet to come in a mere less than three months. We appreciate you, and we promise you…


Thank you for hanging in there with us while we’ve indulged ourselves in this lifelong passion.  The future holds a plethora of new adventures yet to come.


Be well. Be happy. Live your dream.

Photo from one year ago today, November 25, 2017:
Massive homes on the channel from Fort Lauderdale on our way out to sea for the Panama Canal and South America for the 30-night cruise. For more details, please click here.

A long night’s rest at last…Senior’s becoming addicted to prescriptions medications…Piglets paradise…

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We couldn’t stop laughing while making this video of four baby warthogs and their playful antics. Please watch for a chuckle.
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“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”
The piglets even tried to steal pellets from the kudus. Gosh, they learn quickly.

Yesterday, my first day on six tablets of Prednisone cortisone (with upcoming tapering doses) for my outrageous case of no less than 100 hot, inflamed itching pepper tick bites, we decided to lay low to see how I felt rather than go out anywhere.
Mom proudly showed up in our garden with her four new piglets. It was hysterical to watch their playful antics when they’d yet to learn many of the ways of being a warthog.

It took about five hours after taking the tablets to begin to feel some relief, and I was ecstatic to finally feel the itching subside after an entire month of itching, as I’ve never known.

I was exhausted from weeks of no sleep and several times tried to take a nap. As commonly known, taking large doses of Prednisone makes it difficult to sleep, another problem I didn’t want to tackle. How could I go 12 more days, the course of the medication, without any sleep?
Surely, over time Mom will teach them the ways of being a good warthog, how to protect themselves, how to forage for food, and how to be charming for the residents of Marloth Park to elicit pellets.

Luckily, Dr. Theo is well aware of this difficult side effect of the medication and prescribed sleeping pills to go along with it. I’ve never taken prescription sleeping pills, although from time to time, I’ve taken a Tylenol (Paracetamol) PM tablet in the middle of the night when sleep becomes elusive.  

The effect of these over-the-counter sleep aids only lasts for a few hours, but a few hours of sleep can make a huge difference in how one feels the following day. Never a good sleeper since a child, I’d resigned myself to this reality and try to worry or think about it much, which only adds to the difficulty.
They were always looking around for something they could play with.

When I looked up the name of the drug Dr. Theo prescribed for sleep, enough for 15 nights, I realized it is the South African version of Ambien, which I’d never taken. I heard nightmarish stories about this drug which may cause dangerous and most unusual behaviors in some patients.

I deliberated over taking it at 2200 hrs (10:00 pm), and I didn’t feel the least bit sleepy. I decided to bite the bullet and take the 10 mg tablet. I’d read online that one should put down their phone, book, or whatever they’re doing and focus on going to sleep. If one’s brain is engaged, the tablet may not work.
At only weeks old, they’ve already learned to eat pellets and other tasty morsels they discover on their knees.

I played with my phone for 10 minutes and then placed it on the nightstand and lay quickly under the comfy covers in the air-conditioned bedroom, and surely by 10:30, I was sound asleep, never hearing Tom come to bed.  

I don’t recall a single dream. I know I awoke once but was too groggy to check the time and went straight back to sleep, not awakening until around 7:00 am.  I felt groggy and stumbled around for a while, but I felt great after a shower and getting dressed.
A considerable amount of time is spent pestering their mom.

It’s no wonder so many people use this drug with many cases of abuse, resulting in many becoming addicted. That won’t be me. I doubt I’ll even take them every night during this course of Prednisone. It would be nice to save them for a real emergency.  

As a matter of fact, in perusing through our inventory of preventive meds in our pill bag, I found an entire bottle of Ambien neither of us had ever taken, we’d requested years ago when we began our travels, a just in case thing for overnight flights. We never tried the first pill.
She was very easy-going and loving with each of them, even when they ate pellets intended for her.

As we read news from all over the world, we’ve discovered that prescription drug addiction is rampant in the US and other countries throughout the world, among senior citizens and the younger population.  

We can only imagine how difficult it would be for an individual to support and supply such an addiction while traveling the world. There is often a misconception about how easy it is to buy narcotic-type drugs in foreign countries. Still, surely it isn’t when we read nightmarish stories of tourists being arrested for drug possession.

They are too cute for words.

Most travelers can bring in enough medication to last during their stay in any country as long as the medication is accompanied by a recent valid doctor’s prescription from their home country.  

Sure, here in South Africa, we’ve been able to purchase a small supply of non-narcotic meds (such as for hypertension and thyroid) without a new prescription as long as the home country’s doctor’s prescription is shown, usually no more than a 28 day supply.  
Mom was constantly aware of possible predators, of which there are few in Marloth Park.  If they were in Kruger, it would be an entirely different story.

Beyond that, one must obtain a local doctor’s prescription, which requires an office visit, usually not covered by insurance. Our appointment with Dr. Theo on Thursday was ZAR 565 (US $40.77) a paltry amount compared to an office visit in the US and many other countries.

In any case, yesterday proved to be spectacular. The weekend holidaymakers had yet to arrive, and our garden was jam-packed with visitors, day and night.

They’d run around like crazy on their own and then suddenly return to mom for some attention.

Amid all the wonders, one of the highlights of the day (we’ll share another highlight tomorrow) was the visit of Mom warthog and her four new piglets, who most likely were only a few weeks old based on their size and demeanor. We couldn’t have been more excited about watching their playful antics.

Please take a moment (it’s short) to watch our above video. Seeing this, you’ll surely understand how fun it was for us during their hour-long visit. We couldn’t toss the pellets quickly enough.  

Mr. Bushbuck hid in the bush away from the annoying little creatures.

Their little mouths were almost still too small for the pellets, but even at this young age, they knew to use the warthog’s method of eating, kneeling on their knees. It was too cute for words.

Tonight we’re picking up Rita and Gerhard at the Hornbill house and heading out to Aamazing River View for sundowners and river watching. Kathy and Don will meet us there, and after the sunset, we’ll all head to Jabula for dinner, exactly our kind of evening.

We’ll be back with more tomorrow. Please check back and have a fantastic day!

Photo from one year ago today, November 24, 2017:

On Thanksgiving Day aboard the ship, Tom watched the Minnesota Vikings game before we had to leave for the muster drill.  For more photos, please click here.

Just couldn’t take the itching anymore…Off to see the doc…

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A kudu drinking out of the birdbath in the garden.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

Bushy-tailed bushbabies are huge compared to bushbabies in our garden. We took this photo at Jabula a few weeks ago.

After over a month of itching unbearably especially during the night and rarely getting enough sleep, I was becoming frustrated with these awful pepper tick bites, mostly on my arms and neck where my skin was exposed when we wandered through the bush toward the river. 

In every case, I had on tons of repellent but apparently, it doesn’t work for ticks. There are much harsher and toxic chemicals required to keep ticks at bay, including the tiny pepper ticks. They’re called pepper ticks since they are as tiny as a single fleck of finely ground pepper, not visible to the human eye.

Each time we see flowers and plants we now wonder if they are invasive alien plants that are awful for the local ecosystem and wildlife.

Yesterday, when we returned to the eye doctor for Tom to select his new glasses (first replacement lenses in over six years) and for me to pick up my new contact lenses, we first decided to stop at the local pharmacy to see if the pharmacist had any suggestions for the itching.

I’d already tried several creams to no avail and even took sleep-inducing Benedryl during the day, after trying two other antihistamines, in a desperate attempt at some relief for a few hours. Nothing, I mean nothing gave me any relief for more than an hour at most.

It appears pretty but does it belong here?

On a few occasions, I was hopeful the creams would help but they were so greasy and messy I was unable to wear repellent on top of them. I didn’t want to take the risk of getting more bites from mosquitos which have begun increasingly populating the bush with the recent rains and warmer weather.

A few days this week I hid away in the bedroom, wearing my long-john type pajamas with the air-con on, in an attempt to avoid the necessity of wearing any repellent. I still got a few more bites only adding to my discomfort.  

We call this pair of wildebeest, Dad & Son.  They aren’t frequent visitors like Wildebeest Willie but always welcome as are the zebras and warthogs.

Also, I didn’t want to have to spend our last three precious months in Marloth Park hiding in the bedroom. I needed some relief and a long-term solution. At the pharmacy when I showed the pharmacist my arms, she said I must go to the doctor immediately.

She explained I was at risk for tick-bite fever, a dreadful condition, and it appeared many of the bites were inflamed and on the verge of becoming infected. That freaked me out enough to send us to the doctor’s office down the road to ask for their next available appointment. As it turned out, she was right.

Lion lying under a tree, as seen from the fence between Marloth Park and Kruger National Park.

Dr. Theo scolded me a little for suffering for a month. Why hadn’t I come in sooner? I wish I knew the answer. Perhaps I was trying to “tough it out” and no be a whiney tourist running to the doctor with every little complaint. Hadn’t our six years of world travel toughened me up a bit?

In many ways, it has toughened me up but practicality must supersede pride and at 1630 hrs (4:30 pm) we returned to Komatipoort for the appointment with Dr. Theo.

Two male lions checking for possible dinner subjects.

In the interim, we’d planned dinner at Ngwenya with Rita and Gerhard which we had to cancel when we had no idea how long the appointment would take, and the trip to the pharmacy to collect my three prescriptions. Besides, I wasn’t feeling much like going out.

We haven’t seen them since they returned from Germany a few days ago and were disappointed to have to cancel. But, we have plans for dinner reservations at Jabula tomorrow night with Kathy and Don as well for the six of us. They’ve never met. It’s quite wonderful to introduce old friends to new friends.

Two Big Daddies, horns entangled in a little scuffle over pellets.

This morning, after eating as required, I started the big dose of Prednisone to be tapered over a period of 12 days. Hopefully, this will begin to reduce the severe itching which is by far the worst itching I’ve ever experienced in my life. I’m feeling confident this will work.

Since Prednisone can cause insomnia (yikes) the doctor suggested I take it in the morning. This morning, I took six pills as prescribed. If lucky I may experience improvement by tonight since I’m literally exhausted from lack of sleep for over a month due to the worsening of the itching at night.

No harm was done…back to being friendly.

Today is a low-key day. It’s cloudy and cooler and we’ve had tons of amazing visitors we’ll be sharing in tomorrow’s post.

We hope all of our USA friends and family had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday. Be well. Be happy.

Photo from one year ago today, November 23, 2017:

We stopped to take this photo on the way to the airport in San Jose, Costa Rica.  This is a Northern Crested Caracara: “The northern crested caracara, also called the northern caracara and crested caracara, is a bird of prey in the family Falconidae.”  For more, please click here.

Rental car “safari luck!”…What????…How we’ve changed…Happy Thanksgiving to all our family and friends in the USA!!!

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This Ford Fiesta is quite a step up from the previous little car.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

Tucker’s left ear was severely injured a few months ago, but it has continued to heal, although he can no longer “perk it up.” Here he is at night, lying down at the edge of the veranda, relaxing after eating quite a few pellets. He’s a gentle little soul for having such giant tusks.

Yesterday’s drive to Nelspruit was relatively uneventful. The traffic was light.  Passing slow-moving trucks was easier than usual. And, the time seemed to fly by.

The interior of the car is nicer than any rental car we’d had since arriving in Africa.

Neither one of us enjoys long car trips, which may seem to contradict our love of travel. It’s just the method of travel that we don’t love, sitting in a car for hours while maneuvering our way in and out of traffic. 

The 75-minute drive (each way) to Nelspruit shouldn’t be that big of a deal. Still, somehow we’ve dreaded it each time we’ve had to go to the airport to pick up a new rental car or to fly somewhere from the Nelspruit Mpumalanga Kruger airport, or to the immigration office in the city, all which we’ve done quite a few times over these past many months.

It’s handy to have drink holders for our mugs.

Part of the reason the drive is less than enjoyable has been the noisy little rental cars we’ve had for six of the past nine months in South Africa. We received a free upgrade several months ago for a much better car making road trips more desirable.

 Two important aspects of dealing with rental cars in South Africa is one; to always return the car spotlessly clean (interior and exterior) or charges for cleaning will be incurred and two; the gas tank must be refilled to complete at a nearby (to the airport) petrol station or anything less than full will be charged.  

They were huddling together in a small patch of water on the river.

Usually, there’s been a bit of leeway in filling the tank on a rental car, allowing a slight shortage from driving to the rental car return location. This is not the case in South Africa from what we’ve experienced thus far after renting four cars (three months each) in the past nine months (including yesterday’s new rental).

Once at the Hertz desk inside the airport terminal, after the car was inspected for fuel, cleanliness, and possible damages (no issues), Tom and the rep returned to the desk where the old and the new paperwork was processed.

Lots of moms and babies.

As the new paperwork was being prepared nonchalantly, I asked, “What type of car do we get this time?”  The rep replied, “Same as this last one.” I cringed.  
 The little car was rickety, noisy, and had tires the size of a toy car, not ideal for these rough dirt roads in Marloth Park.  But, our goal has been not to pay a lot for rental cars. We’d rather spend our money on nice houses, good food and dining out at our leisure.

Elephants of all ages hanging out at the river.

The cost for the three-month rental periods over the past nine months has averaged at ZAR 13930 (US $1000), a paltry amount for a car for such an extended period. 

We’ve been willing to sacrifice quality, size, and convenience when a rental car only costs us about ZAR 4697 (US $330) plus fuel with virtually no additional maintenance expense.

Elephants along the Crocodile River on a hot sunny day.

The last time we picked up a car, three months ago, we were adamantly turned down when asking for a free upgrade. This time I was going to be more persistent. When I explained to the rep and his boss that we’ve been renting from them for an entire year (an infrequent occurrence), they were all over it.

We received a free upgrade for an adorable sporty red car, much nicer than we’ve driven since we were in the US in May/June 2017. We were thrilled. We still only had to pay the ZAR 14328 (US $967) for the three-month rental.

One bushbaby contemplating the entire cup of yogurt she doesn’t appear to have to share this time.

On the return drive to Marloth Park, we couldn’t believe how well Tom could hear me talk with his less-than-ideal hearing. And the smooth ride is astounding. We’re grateful and excited to have a good car for the balance of our time here. Whatever that may be.

The car is a Ford Fiesta. In my old life, I’d never have given this type of car a second thought. Now it seems like a luxury vehicle to me. It’s incredible how our appreciation of “things” changes when we go without for a while.

Ms. Bushbuck and baby. There are several Ms. Bushbucks and babies, with many more to be arriving soon.

I squealed with delight when Louise loaned me the giant rolling pin to make the pie crusts for our early Thanksgiving meal. See, we do change our perception of the value of the simple things in life.

 Now, I have to get up to toss some pellets to a gnu, aka Wildebeest Willie, and a pig, warthog “Little,” who happened to stop by to see what was on the menu today…pellets, of course, as always.

 Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, November 22, 2017:
There was no post one year ago today while we were boarding a cruise.

Off to Nelspruit…Return rental car for a new one…Still waiting for immigration response…

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We drove past friends Kathy and Don’s home yesterday and their front garden was filled with kudus and impalas. See more photos from this scene below.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

Our regular visitor, Medium, got busy with a mature female.  The gestation period is three months. The mating season is from September to December. We should begin seeing piglets soon. They may have from one to eight piglets.

This morning, as soon as we upload this post, we’re off to Nelspruit to drop off the little car and pick up another. This will be the last car we’ll rent while we hopefully remain in Marloth Park for three more months.

Bougainvillea has begun blooming in the park.

The rental car companies, in this case, Hertz, through Firefly will only rent a car for a 90 day period. Thus, we’ve had to start over at the end of each period.  

 In the past, the rental return has coincided with our travels outside of South Africa to get our visa renewal for another 90 days. But this time, we’re waiting to hear from immigration if they’ll extend us to February 20th, the day we fly to Kenya for which we’ve already purchased airline tickets.

Waterbucks are much larger than they appear.  We rarely see them up close to grasp their actual size.  From this site: “This is a large, robust antelope. Bulls have a shoulder height of 1.4 meters and can weigh up to 260 Kg. (551 pounds)  Cows are smaller than bulls. Waterbucks have a brownish-grey shaggy coat. The eyes and nose are patched with white, and there is a white-collar under the throat. The rump has a characteristic white ring. The large rounded ears are a prominent feature. Only the bulls have long, forward-curved horns. Both sexes emit a, not unpleasant, musky smell which normally lingers at resting sites.”

No word as yet on our immigration status but we continue to check every few hours at this point. It would have been great if we could have been informed to appear in Nelspruit yesterday, today, or tomorrow.  

We could have changed the car rental return to a different day (the fee for doing so is minimal here) and “killed two birds with one stone” as they say, avoiding another long drive to Nelspruit.  

Proud mom showing her youngster the ways of the bush.

It could happen that they’re ready to give us an answer (must appear in person) in the next 48 hours and off we go again on the long drive. In the realm of things, it’s an inconvenience, nothing more.

Mom and young giraffe.

On the return drive today, we’ll stop at the bigger Spar Supermarket in Malelane to pick up a few groceries and avoid doing so tomorrow when we return to Komatipoort to visit the eye doctor to pick up my contact lenses and for Tom to select glasses from the supply the doc is bringing from his distant location.

At the moment Tom is at the local car wash. Rental cars must be returned in pristine condition or additional fees will be levied. This includes a spotless interior as well. The car wash at the Bush Centre charges ZAR 60 (US $4.28) for a beautifully hand-done interior and exterior wash.  

This mom or matriarch may be babysitting. These two young ones appear a few months apart in age.

We’re continually reminded how affordable things are here in South Africa.  Such a car wash in the US would easily be ZAR 351 (US $25). Once again we’ll experience “culture shock” when we return to the US for a visit in about four and a half months.

Apparently, they’d all jumped the fence at Kathy and Don’s house.

Yesterday was hot and humid with temps running at 40C (102F) and higher humidity than usual. Although it’s cloudy today it appears it will be another hot and humid day. Maybe spending three hours in the car in air-conditioned comfort won’t be so bad after all.

A little blurry from Kathy and Don’s garden but I couldn’t resist sharing this adorable impala face.

Yesterday, we did our usual drive, sighting a female lion beyond the fence.  Photos will follow tomorrow. Today, most likely we won’t return until around 1500 hrs (3:00 pm) after which I’ll finish making tonight’s dinner of iced cold dishes: chicken salad, egg salad, and tossed lettuce salad, a perfect meal for a hot day.

We’ll see you tomorrow with more!

Have a phenomenal day!

Photo from one year ago today, November 21, 2017:
There was no post on this date one year ago today.

An outrageous and clever kudu’s dining maneuver…A good night’s sleep makes all the difference in the world…

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Wildlife never ceases to amaze us, including this kudu’s clever means of 
eating from the treetops by taking down branches with his massive horns.



“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

We couldn’t believe our eyes when this tiny female duiker stopped by yesterday. Females have the tiny single horn and males have two horns.  So sweet!

Yesterday was a mix of good and bad. The good, was spotting many special scenes in the garden. The bad was trying to find a way to relieve some of the dreadful itching I was experiencing worse than any day or night in the past.

After a trip to Daisy’s Den and the purchase of the salve, Zab-Buk, which is known to kill off the larvae left behind by the biting pepper ticks and the body and clothing spray, No-Ticks which is a messy runny yellow liquid to be sprayed on skin and clothing.  
Big Daddy was busy chomping on the two branches he downed using his powerful horns.

I’m wearing long-sleeve shirts each day to keep the messy salve from rubbing off on the furniture and also to prevent the risk of getting more bites on exposed skin. I’m also using mosquito repellent.

All-day, I kept reapplying the salve, and every four hours Tom sprayed me and my clothes with the runny liquid.  By 1500 hrs (3:00 pm) I was so exhausted I went into the bedroom, turned on the AC, and actually slept for almost an hour, a rarity for me.

He stayed busy for quite a while chomping on the leaves.

Feeling better after awakening, while still applying the salve frequently, we set up the veranda for the evening and dined on the last of the leftovers from Saturday night’s dinner. I should say Tom ate the leftovers. During the day I cooked more chicken breasts to have with a salad while Tom went for the full dinner and later on, more pie.

I forced myself to stay awake until almost 2200 hrs (10:00 pm), taking another hot shower before bed and applying more of the Zam-Buk salve. I never awoke once during the night…another rarity for me. After almost eight hours of sleep, I awoke to less itching, swelling, and redness. The two treatment protocols are actually working!

The two branches resting on his back when he was done eating.  He wasn’t quite ready to let them go.
Today’s a new day. No doubt, I’ll surely get more bites in these next three months we’re hopefully still here (no word on our immigration status yet) but at least I now know what to do for some relief.
Yesterday, while on the veranda for most of the day, we had a number of excellent sightings including this amazing kudu, hungry from months with lack of rain and little vegetation stopped by for pellets and the tops of a tree in the garden.
These females and a young male waiting in the bush until Bog Daddy was out of sight.  Then, then moved in for the last few nibbles.

The Big Daddy couldn’t reach the treetops so with sheer determination and expert use of his giant twisted horns, he managed to pull down two tree branches, enough to feed him a good-sized meal.

 He ate so much, he eventually decided to leave with many leaves still remaining. In the interim, a small forkl of kudus including females and males waited in the bush to see Big Daddy waft away. Once he was out of sight, they moved in to finish off the leaves on the branches. What a scene to witness right before our eyes!

Then, we were gifted with the sighting of the sweetest young female duiker who may have been no more than a few months old and appeared to be on her own with no doting mother in the wings. She ran off when we offered pellets but in time she’ll learn how vital our offered food source is during this dry season.

In the early evening, Wildebeest Willie and Big Daddy seemed to get along well while eating pellets.

Actually, it’s the rainy season now, and yet, there’s been little rain so far, certainly not enough to “green” the trees and bush to provide food for the wildlife. Many are looking thin and hungry. We’re currently going through one 40kg (88 pounds) bag of pellets every three or four days and will continue to do so.

We’d thought about going to Kruger today but with temps expected in the 40C (102F) range we decided we’ll have more luck driving to the fence at the Crocodile River. The hot weather should bring a lot of wildlife to the water. Also, it’s very windy and wildlife seems to stay undercover during heat and wind.

That’s all for today, folks. As always we’ll be back with more tomorrow.

Have a superb day!
 Photo from one year ago today, November 20, 2017:

Beautiful scene from the veranda in Costa Rica as we wound down our time. For more, please click here.

Itching impossible…Searching for relief!…After all, it’s Africa!…

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Our resident monitor lizard makes an appearance from time to time.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

Big Daddy in the bush.

It started a few weeks after we arrived in Marloth Park, the itching on my forearms. At first, based on the fact I suffer from hay fever and asthma on occasion and am highly allergic to grasses, we assumed it was due to my arms frequently reaching into the pellet bin which is made from grass and vegetation.

An evening view of the Crocodile River from the veranda at Ngwenya Lodge and Restaurant.
For a week or so, Tom did all the reaching into the container to see if my situation improved. When it didn’t I continued to reach into the bin for pellets, not observing any difference whatsoever in doing so.
From there, the itching and red spots were easy to attribute to mosquito bites. I reloaded the Tabard repellent cream several times a day, aware that I was using DEET, the only product I found to work here in the bush. I’d already tried several non-DEET products with no success.
A waterbuck and Egyptian geese.

Imagine my dismay when after three good applications a day, I was still covered in bites, itching out of my mind, especially at night. I tried wearing long sleeve shirts even in the hot weather which didn’t provide much added protection. But as summer approaches the idea of wearing long sleeve shirts in 40C (102F) weather doesn’t hold much appeal.

In the past few months, I noticed that my neck and chest started itching like crazy whenever I went to bed within minutes. This reminded me of the same scenario I experienced when we stayed at the hotel in Minneapolis in June 2017 while visiting family for six weeks, assuming it was due to the harsh laundry soap.  They started doing our bedding in Dreft gentle laundry soap to no avail.
Kudus in the garden.
Then, at the hotel in Buenos Aires last December, I suffered the same lot, this time thinking it was due to the mattress, not the laundry soap. After considerable research, I came to the conclusion that I’m allergic to bed dust mites, common among allergy sufferers.  
 
The hotel changed the old mattress to a new mattress, which made all the difference in the world. At that point, I was convinced it was bed dust mites. All beds have dust mites.  Information on this may be found here.  
Elephants and storks.
Allergy-prone individuals and the elderly (yuck, I dislike being in this category) tend to react to the dust mites while others may not. I hesitated to mention this to Louise after they’ve already done so much for us. So I started with requesting the bed and bedding be sprayed weekly with a safe non-toxic product intended for dust mites.
 
I so much wanted this to work. Alas, weeks later, the itching continued to get worse. I was at a loss. We needed a new mattress. After thoroughly spraying the bedroom after48 hours of mentioning this to Louise, the boys installed the new mattress with all new bedding and pillows. 
An elephant and hippos.
Since dust mite bites can itch for weeks, I didn’t expect total relief for some time. But immediately, I noticed the redness and itching on my chest stopped entirely which was a huge relief.
 
However, I continued to notice more and more bites on my body even under my clothing. Every moment of every day, I have been itching like crazy. When we were preparing the big Thanksgiving meal in the horrible heat, the itching was even more intense.  
This mom appears very lean after giving birth to this young calf.
My arms have been covered in red inflamed spots. So, in part, it was the bed dust mites but something else has been going on. Saturday evening during our Thanksgiving meal, Honorary Rangers and experts in invasive alien plants, insects, and animal species, Ushie and Evan sat to my right.  
 
On a whim, I asked if they knew what these red pus-like welts on my arms may be. They both replied simultaneously…pepper ticks. They were certain in their assessment.
Hippos basking in the sun at dusk at the Crocodile River in Kruger National Park.
Yesterday, Sunday, I spent hours researching pepper ticks for which there is very little information on these tiny, unseen to the naked eye, ticks that live in the bush, beds, furniture, clothing and will literally crawl up a pant leg to gain access to meaty flesh where they’ll attach themselves, leaving toxic larvae behind. This is what has been itching so badly.
 
The thought of larvae feeding off of my flesh makes me cringe. There were only a few articles on pepper ticks but this one caught my eye.  This morning as soon as we were up we headed to Daisy’s Den here in Marloth Park to make two purchases; one a tiny tin of Zambuk, a natural translucent paste, and a spray bottle of No-Tick Body Spray, safe for body and clothing (doesn’t contain DEET which doesn’t work against ticks).
A female lion we spotted from Marloth Park’s fence.
We’ll see how it goes. Tonight will be the big test when last night I was awake itching most of the night. At 3:00 am I was in the living room using an ice pack to get some relief.
 
This is Africa. We’re living in the bush. And with it comes some challenges and inconveniences, some of which are physically uncomfortable. Tom is not affected by any of this, nor does he get many mosquito bites. He uses repellent only at dusk which keeps him bite-free.
We were thrilled to see the huge herd of cape buffalos.
I’ll layer the mosquito repellent, the Zambuk salve, the anti-tick body, and clothing spray in the future. We’ll see how it goes. I’ll keep you posted.
 

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, November 19, 2017:

Tom captured this Sierra Birdbum in Costa Rica after being stunned from hitting the window, dropping to the top landing of the steps leading to the ground level. He called out to me to come to see her which I did, but he stayed in place, taking photos of her eventual recovery. For more photos, please click here.

Oh, what a night!!!…Thanksgiving nirvana…See our menu at the end of the post…

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From left to right around the table:  Kathy, Janet, Steve, Don, Louise, Danie, Leon, Dawn, Uchi, Evan while Tom and I shared the end of the table. Total in attendance: 12.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

Good-sized turtle crossing the road at quite a pace.

It was definitely a night to remember. Marloth Park friends, all who love the bush and its wildlife, enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal for the first time, except for Americans Kathy and Don.

Thanksgiving dinner on the veranda with friends.

Tom and I worked hard in the heat for two full days to get it all pulled together. No doubt, I did the bulk of the cooking but he washes the cooking dishes; peeled two types of potatoes; helped with the pies; the veranda setup and so much more. We’re quite a team at times like this.

The wine and cocktails flowed along with the lively conversation.

I can’t recall the last time we did a dinner for 12. Surely, it was in our old lives sometime in 2012 before we left Minnesota on October 31st. I’d forgotten how much work it is but the joy of sharing food, wine and conversation with great friends made it all worth it.

On the right, Evan, Uschi, Dawn and Leon.

Fortunately, everything came out well, although, at the last minute with a few items to reheat in the new microwave, we couldn’t get it to work. With time running out to meet the 1930 hrs (7:30 pm) goal of sitting down to eat, I improvised and reheated the items on the stove and all was fine.

We were only off the dining time by 10 minutes. It was wonderful to finally sit down and enjoy the enthusiasm of our guests over the unique flavors of the foods.

Each couple got their own roast stuffed chicken.

We’d given each couple an entire stuffed chicken with the many side dishes. After dinner, with all the leftovers still on the countertop, we handed each couple two takeaway containers to fill with their leftover chicken and any sides they wanted to take home for Sunday’s lunch or dinner.

It was fun and playful to see everyone partake in filling their takeaway containers (brought to us from Jabula by Dawn and Leon). It reminded us of the many years we did the same with our family…take home leftovers and a pie.

Homemade cranberry sauce.

The full-sized pumpkin pies were lined up on the pool table ready for them to load up to take home along with their containers. We served a separate larger pie after the meal so each couple could take home a complete full-sized pie. We served whipped cream in the can with the pies.

It was hard for me not to take a taste of everything not only to ensure it all tasted good but, let’s face it, my resolve faded for the night and I actually ate a few items I’d never eat under normal circumstances. At the end of the evening, I even went as far as having a small piece of the regular pumpkin pie.

On the left, a pan of extra stuffing, in the center, sweet potatoes (they are light colored here, not orange).

Today, with no leftover chicken but plenty of all the other sides, we’ll be roasting a “flattie” chicken, chicken livers and a couple of bone-in chicken breasts. This will allow us to have full meals for the next few night’s dinners. I don’t feel like cooking for a few days.

Of course, today, I’m back to my healthy way of eating and will only have chicken, lettuce salad and steamed spinach for tonight’s dinner while Tom will tackle the stuffing, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and the homemade dinner rolls (he sure loves these!).  He’ll have pie for dessert and I’ve promised myself I will abstain.  

More stuffing.

Oh my gosh, there were so many dishes. But, leave it to Louise to have arranged for Vusi to come this morning to do the dishes, clean the house and the veranda, putting everything back to its usual tidy and clean state.  

Tom had a hard time leaving the dishes overnight. We always totally clean up after dinner. But, after the two days of 40C (102F) temps and how busy we’d been, he loaded the dishwasher twice after awakening at 5:30 am this morning, lightening the work for Vusi.

Low carb mashed cauliflower.

This morning, I washed all the linen napkins, cleaned the countertops, did two loads of laundry and organized the refrigerator.  All we have to do for the rest of today is to make a salad and vegetables, cook the new chicken and have another excellent evening on the veranda. A nap may be on the agenda since we didn’t get to bed until 1:30 am and both were awake before 5:00 am.


Last night, we had several visitors in the garden but were so preoccupied with our guests we didn’t pay as much attention to them as usual. Tusker made an appearance along with our favorite warthog pair, two males, glued at the hip, Sigfreid and Roy. We can’t tell them apart since they look identical (must be brothers) so we call each of them “Siegfreid and Roy.” They both respond and did so last night during the party. 

Traditional green bean casserole.  Kathy brought the fried onions back from the US!  Thanks, Kathy!

On Friday night when we returned from Jabula, they were both cuddled up in the garden fast asleep. They perked up when we arrived but waited patiently to see if we’d offer some pellets.  Of course, we did as we will again tonight.

As promised, here’s last night’s Thanksgiving dinner menu which we’d decorated and printed a copy of the menu for each couple to review in order to pace themselves:

Menu
 
Thanksgiving Dinner in the Bush
 
Sundowners with Light Snacks
 
Roasted chickens
Stuffing with Sausage, Mushrooms, Onions
Mashed Potatoes with Creamy Gravy
Buttery Mashed Cauliflower
Sweet Potatoes with Fresh Pineapple and Cinnamon
Broccoli Salad with Crunchy Almonds and Sultanas
Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Onion Rings
Cranberry Sauce
Homemade dinner rolls
Pumpkin Pies
Whipped Cream Topping, if desired

Have a superb day!

Photo from one year ago today, November 18, 2017:

A fluffed up version on an unknown bird Tom captured in Costa Rica. For more details details, please click here.

Yesterday’s pumpkin pie hell!….Thanksgiving celebration today…Pie photo below…

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There is nothing that makes me laugh more…”Little” swimming in the cement pond!

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

Bottlebrush flowers, along with others have begun to bloom in the park.

To name yesterday’s making and baking of eight pumpkin pies, “pumpkin pie hell” is putting it lightly. The temp was as high as 40C (102F) for most of the day and one thing after another went wrong in making the pies.

Egyptian goose standing in shallow water at the river.

First, I must preface, I haven’t made a pumpkin pie since 2011, for our last Thanksgiving dinner in the US (except for last week’s “test pie”). I didn’t have the proper kitchen equipment to make the beautiful-looking pies I’d always made in the past.

In our old lives, we had 14 deep dish Pyrex glass pie pans which I’d collected over a number of years. But, when sending family and friends home with their individual pie, I warned them if they didn’t return the glass pie pan, there’d be no “pie for them” in the future. This worked.

Big Daddies, sharing pellets with each other and the zebras.

Since it makes no sense for us to invest in bakeware, instead we purchased the only pie pans we could find, the tin foil disposable variety. I’d never made a pumpkin pie in one of these except for a few low-carb cheesecakes a few months ago which didn’t present a problem.

 The other issue was the Spar market ran out of frozen pumpkin, the only source available. We’d purchased all they had the prior week and they promised more would arrive this past week. Didn’t happen. This is Africa, after all. We get it.  

A very muddy cape buffalo.

We tried a few other markets to no avail. Pumpkin isn’t readily available in South Africa.  Why would it be?  Pumpkin pie is a US thing and it’s not as if there are lots of Americans around here, making Thanksgiving dinner.  

 As a matter of fact, the only Americans we know or even talked to in the past nine months are friends Kathy and Don and long-term US residents Rita and Gerhard.

A big male lion a few days ago.

I decided to cook all the frozen pumpkin we had, measure the number of cups, figuring .41 liters (14 oz) per pie. Fortunately, I had a one-cup measure on hand and calculated I could make a total of eight pies. We needed one for each of the other couples (four pies), two to serve after the meal, and two leftovers for Tom. Whew! That part worked out.

 But, what a messy operation measuring from a big plastic container filled with mashed pumpkin. Next was the making of the pies. Having no experience with tin foil pie pans, I made all the pie crusts from scratch, eight of them, one at a time, rolled the dough with a giant rolling pin Louise loaned me, and prepared each of the crusts in the tin foil pans.

I believe this is an orange-breasted bush shrike.  Please correct me if I’m wrong.

Well, let’s get back to the weather for a moment. It was a hot 40C (102F) and the pie crust dough was tricky to handle and get into each of the pie tins. Plus, the usually easy part of neatly crimping the edges of the pie crust became nearly impossible. I did the best I could.

Cape buffalo faces.

Once the crusts were prepared I lined them all on the counter and carefully and evenly filled each of the prepared pie crusts with the typically runny pumpkin pie filling I’d made. The problem was when we attempted to lift the filled pies off the countertop to put them into the oven, the flimsy pie tins caused the liquid the spill out.

Mom and baby at the river’s edge.

With Tom helping, with his frustration level as high as the temperature, he devised a transfer system where we could add extras tins to the bottom of the pies, to increase the stability of the pan.  From there, it was a slow and laborious process, I spilled several cups of the filling as a result of my usual clumsiness.

The oven cooks unevenly and without the metal crust edge protectors I usually used, the pie crust edges are uneven and overcooked in parts. But, that’s the way it is in this life, a lack of perfection but an abundance of joyfulness. Not a bad trade-off, eh?

Here are my eight less-than-perfect pumpkin pies for tonight’s Thanksgiving dinner. The pit in the bottom right is low carb with an almond flour crust for Louise and Danie. They also loaned us the collection of serving pieces which will surely come to good use tonight.

Here is the photo of my pies, less than pretty, but hopefully will taste as good as the test pie a few days ago.  We’ll be back tomorrow with more food photos from our “Thanksgiving Dinner in the Bush.”

Here is the giant rolling pin I borrowed from Louise and Danie, previously used for rolling pizza crusts. It’s weighted and very heavy, ideal for rolling pie crusts.  Also, in this photo are the takeaway containers Dawn and Leon provided, who’ll join us tonight, from Jabula Lodge & Restaurant where we had another fantastic dinner last night.

Have a fabulous weekend!

Photo from one year ago today, November 17, 2017:

Tom Lyman, you never cease to amaze me!  What a shot of the classic “Froot Loops” cereal (per Tom) Toucan, technically known as the Rainbow-billed Toucan, aka the Keel-billed Toucan (different than the Toucan in our previous post with the Fiery-billed Aracari Toucan as shown here) taken in our yard in Atenas, Costa Rica. For more photos, please click here.

Preparing for the upcoming Thanksgiving dinner…A black mamba story unfolds…

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 Here’s our previously shown video from the snake-handling school 
we attended last March.
“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”
Our resident monitor lizard came out of his hovel for a drink from the cement pond.

Today is a hectic day. I started making the eight pumpkin pies early this morning, and as I write, we’re just about ready to put the first few in the oven. The oven only has one rack, so I won’t be able to bake more than two or three pies at a time.

I made one low-carb pie for Danie and Louise, who generally follow the banting (low-carb) way of eating, as do many South Africans for various health reasons.  I didn’t make a low-carb pie for me. This time I will pass on a pie for myself based on the fact I’m still trying to lose the last few pounds on my diet and pumpkin pie. Oh my, I could eat an entire pie in a day. But, not these days.
 
There are many other items to prepare today, with the balance to be completed tomorrow. Although easy to prepare with recipes in my head, Thanksgiving dinner requires a tremendous amount of time to prepare.  

Also, Dawn and Leon (owners of Jabula Lodge & Restaurant) are coming for dinner and bringing “take-away” containers to provide all of our guests with containers of leftovers for the next day along with their own pumpkin pie, another one of our traditions.  Everyone always enjoys leftover Thanksgiving dishes!

 Unfortunately, we couldn’t find a turkey anywhere in this area.  Instead, we’re making one roasted stuffed chicken for each couple to enjoy as they’d like during the meal, taking home the remainder along with side dishes and their full-sized pumpkin pie.

 Although there will only be 10 of us dining tomorrow evening, I’m making enough for the equivalent of 20 people. Then again, many of us Americans have made the festive meal for 20 or more people.

 It would be a lot easier cooking today and tomorrow if it weren’t so hot.  Temperatures are expected to be a high of 38C (101F) or more, including tomorrow.  With no AC in the kitchen area and having the oven on most of the day, it will surely be one hot, sweaty day.
In March, Chris, the snake-handling trainer, held this black mamba while Tom looked o at the snake-handling school.  For that post, please click here.

But I’m not complaining. This is a great group of people, and we’re delighted to make this special traditional US meal which is actually celebrated in the US next Thursday, November 22.

 We’d planned this date quite a while ago when we anticipated it might actually be the traditional “good-bye” party. One way or another, we’re hoping to stay until our scheduled flight to Kenya on February 20th if all goes well. No word so far.

 OK, enough about cooking. On to our story about a black mamba that Louise shared with us a few days ago. As for today’s photos (except for the “Sighting of the Day in the Bush” photo, we’d previously posted them in March.

 However, based on today’s black mamba story and my shortage of time, we thought we’d repost these few previously shown photos and the links for these specific posts.

 We’ve frequently mentioned our new friends, Rita and Gerhard, with whom we’ve been spending a lot of quality time. World travelers themselves, we find we have so much in common, and we continually share our varied and interesting travel stories and more.

 On Monday, this week, they left for a two-week visit to Germany to attend Gerhard’s brother’s 60th birthday party. They’ll be returning before the end of this month.

Tom was handling a black mamba and did an excellent job, although he’s not certain he’d want to do this in a real-life situation.

As mentioned in an earlier post, they’ve been living in the same house we rented when we first came to Marloth Park in December 2013, the house on Hornbill St., the house where a Mozambique spitting cobra fell from the ceiling of the veranda and landed within a few feet of Tom.  

 He’s always classified that experience as the scariest of his life. If you’d like to read that post, please click here for the photos of the venomous snake and the story of what transpired on that fateful and memorable day.  

 On Sunday, the day before their departure, Rita and Gerhard heard a plop on the floor of the veranda as we had on that fateful day in January 2014,  when they were sitting outside, as they do all day too, like us, waiting for wildlife to stop by. This time the “plop” was a mouse perhaps being caught by the snake.

Although a black mamba doesn’t look scary, a single bite can result in death within an hour if not treated.

Rita and Gerhard were sitting on the veranda at that same Hornbill house where we’d lived, quietly enjoying the bush while reading, sipping cold beverages, without a care in the world.

Suddenly, they saw the snake, a black mamba. Louise had given them a sheet with photos of various snakes in the event they’d have to identify one. Here was their opportunity. They grabbed the sheet and were certain it was the outrageously venomous black mamba.

Rita couldn’t resist taking photos until the snake disappeared near the chimney as I had done years ago. What would be the point of calling the rangers if the snake was nowhere to be found? They went about their day with a watchful eye, knowing they were leaving the next morning for Germany.  

A video that Rita and Gerhard took of black mamba on the veranda.


 On Tuesday, determined to get the darned thing out of that house, Louise contacted snake handler, Jaun (20 something), who’d attended snake school with us. He’s very active in the park, conducting many services as an Honorary Ranger and all-around caring and good guy.

 On Tuesday, he and Louise sat on the veranda waiting for the snake to appear so Jaun would capture it to return it to the wild. By a stroke of luck, after only a 10-minute wait, the black mamba made an appearance.

 It was only 15 minutes later than Juan had captured the snake with his trusty snake grabber and expert skill and placed it safely in a bucket with a lid. The intent in capturing snakes is always to return them to the wild where they belong. Mission accomplished, thanks to Louise‘s boundless determination and Juan’s excellent skills.

It sounded as if Rita and Gerhard stayed calm and under control when they spotted the snake, which is vital to avoid agitating it, resulting in an attack. Black mambas can be very aggressive if provoked.

For residents of Marloth Park, here is Juan’s contact information.

So, there’s the snake story. Most likely, we won’t see too many snakes in this house.  Snakes generally don’t care to climb stairs up to a veranda when there’s plenty of fodder for them on ground level. But, we always keep an eye out now that snake season has arrived with the warmer weather, especially at night when out and about.

We’d mentioned in yesterday’s post that we’d share the costs for the dentist and eye doctor appointments, but we don’t have the final figures yet since Tom will choose his new eyeglasses next Thursday. The optometrist didn’t have the style Tom prefer, but he’ll be bringing several pairs from his other distant location for Tom to try. Next Friday, we’ll update this information.

 Tonight, hot as it is and as busy as we’ve been, we’re heading to Jabula Lodge & Restaurant for dinner and relaxation. Tomorrow will be another busy day, but we’ll still be back with more.


Photo from one year ago today, November 16, 2017:

Once again, Tom captured another fabulous bird from the veranda in Costa Rica while I was busy indoors making dinner. This Yellow-tailed Oriole, although at quite a distance, was a treasure to behold. For more photos, please click here.