A dreamy drive in the neighborhood…Teeth and eyes…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Mr. & Mrs. Ostrich trotting down the road.  Moments later they took off on a fast run into the bush.  Ostriches can run up to 70 km (45 miles) per hour.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

Tom found this small gecko in the guest bathroom.  We didn’t have a strainer so I fished it out with my hand where it promptly jumped to the floor and took off.  We often see geckos in the house.  They eat insects. 

Today, we’re off to the dentist to have our teeth cleaned followed by eye exams by the local optometrist.  Neither of us has had an eye exam in the past six years since we began traveling.  

 Afterward, we’re returning to Spar for a few grocery items to fill in the blanks for Saturday’s Thanksgiving dinner party.  Once back at the house, I’ll begin preparing the pie crusts for the eight pumpkin pies I’ll be making.  

An ostrich in front of the house where we always find them.

Why make so many pies?  In our old lives, it was our tradition to give each couple who came for Thanksgiving dinner a pie to take home.  It’s fun to relive this tradition here in the bush.

A pair of giraffes, each munching on opposite sides of the road.

I’d started today’s post before we left for our two appointments each and additional grocery shopping.  We just returned and I’m rushing to get today’s post uploaded so late in the day.

“In the wild, giraffes almost never lie down because of vulnerability to predators. They usually sleep standing, sometimes sitting, and they give birth standing up. When giraffes sleep, they curl their necks and sleep for about five minutes at a time, sleeping no more than 30 minutes a day.”

We had such a great experience at our two appointments we’ll be sharing details in tomorrow’s post.  The costs for services and products in South Africa are astoundingly lower than what we’d paid in the US.  We’ll post details tomorrow.

The photos we’re posting today are a result of yesterday’s drive in Marloth Park.  With fewer holidaymakers in the park right now, we anticipated we’d see plenty of wildlife and we were right. 

This giraffe was sitting a short distance from the other giraffe as shown in the above photo.

Before we reached our favorite river viewing overlook areas we were lucky to encounter many of the animals shown in today’s photos except the waterbuck (take at the river) and the few photos from our garden.

This baby zebra was so young its coat still looked fluffy and wrinkly.

Generally, our almost daily drives last about two hours.  With the upcoming busy dinner party, we knew we wouldn’t have time to make the drive over the next several days. Yesterday, we took our time, enjoying every sighting along the way.

Taking our time, we chat along the way as we peruse street after street searching for something unique or even slightly out of the ordinary. Seeing giraffes lying down isn’t necessarily the most unusual sighting in nature but we were taken by the beauty of these two magnificent animals at rest.

“The waterbuck’s body odor is so bad that it deters predators.”  A male can weigh up to 260 kg (573 pounds).

Although we frequently see ostriches, we’re always in awe of the way they walk with their heads held high and their confident and prideful demeanor. We often wonder how Mother Nature (or God or whatever higher power you may believe) created this magnificent earth would have decided ostriches held a significant purpose in the ecosystem.

Mom and baby bushbuck by the pond and another baby standing in the garden.  Bushbucks only have one offspring per season.

Somehow each creature, whether venomous or not, whether seemingly useful or not or, if merely food in the food chain, holds a meaningful purpose in their lives, the lives of others, and ultimately in our lives.

For that very reason, is what inspired me to stick my hand into the toilet bowl to rescue the gecko and let her be free.  After a few minutes of vigorous hand washing, I was content to have saved the life of even one of the most common creatures in this land.

This young bushbuck always stays very close to her mom while others we’ve seen will wander off but not too far away.

Also, tomorrow we’ll share an exciting story about a black mamba snake, one of the most venomous snakes on the African continent.  Please check back.

Enjoy your day and evening!

______________________________________


 Photo from one year ago today, November 15, 2017:

Three in one…Green Parrots…Tom’s photo.  Love it!  For more photos please click here.

Tender moment in the morning…Plus, the harsh realities of the bush…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
This morning Tom noticed Ms. Bushbuck climbing the steps to the veranda.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

Amaryllis blooming in the garden. With summer approaching and hopefully more rain, we’ll see more flowers blooming in Marloth Park.

A week ago a resident of Marloth Park posted a comment about Scar Face, the injured warthog we’d been watching and feeding for several months. He was stopping by each day for pellets and to drink from the cement pond.

We found it worthwhile to feed her on the steps after she’d climbed up since the other animals won’t be able to chase her away while she eats pellets. Her idea, not ours.

After we left and returned from Zambia in August, we never saw him again. We’d become attached to him and were fearful he may have been “put down” by the rangers or died from infections due to his injuries.

This morning, Tom stood next to Ms. Bushbuck to prevent kudus from stealing her share of pellets.

As much as we’d all like to believe the animals become “attached to us,” and will always return to see us, in reality, that’s not always the case. Often, in their world, finding food is their number one purpose in life (along with procreating), especially during this long dry season.

While we were gone for a week Scar Face may have decided to pursue another area in the bush and become comfortable finding available food sources, never returning to us.

Kudus were staring at Tom hoping for more pellets.  He’d already given them several of the yellow containers filled with pellets.

When the resident posted his photo and comments, we were relieved to discover that he, in fact, had survived his massive injury and was still thriving in the bush. The fact that we couldn’t see him become less important in discovering he was still alive.

A pretty girl kudu with an oxpecker looking for more pellets.

We’re hoping for the same outcome for Wounded who visits frequently with his horrific injury to his eye and eye socket. Most likely this injury was incurred in the past week or two as the wound appears relatively fresh.

A face like this is hard to resist.

This morning when he stopped by we immediately fed him all the pellets he could eat, one little yellow container at a time. After all, he is a pig and he needs to pace himself. He is very shy although he’ll approach the veranda letting us know exactly what he needs. He’s impossible to resist. 

This morning Wounded appeared in the garden looking for food.

We may never see Scar Face again or perhaps in our (hopefully) remaining three months in Marloth Park, we may see him again someday. Know these injured animals often possess the strength and resilience to heal themselves is comforting.

It appears he may have lost his left eye in the battle.  Heartbreaking.

Yes, some injured animals in Marloth Park “qualify” to be rescued and healed for example by Wild & Free Rehabilitation who may be found at this link. The costs for such medical care are managed through donations through the facility.  

While we were watching him, an oxpecker appeared and started pecking at his wound.

However, some animals, such as warthogs and impalas, don’t necessarily fall into the category of endangered status or are in reduced numbers in Marloth Park. Sadly, when they are ill or injured they’re on their own.

After the oxpecker pecked at his wound, it started to bleed.

As we roll further into the week, I’ve begun carefully planning details for our upcoming Thanksgiving dinner party on Saturday. It’s one of those types of meals that not much can be prepared more than a day in advance.

Sadly, there is nothing that can be done.  It’s evident he’s been working on it by using mud to hopefully aid in the healing.  

At this point, I’ve begun working on cooking and processing the frozen pumpkin into the equivalent of canned pumpkin. This is a slow process but by the end of today, I’ll have it all done. We plan to make 10 pies, one per couple to take home, a few for dessert on Saturday and a few to have left for Tom.

I believe this is an invasive alien plant.

If time allows, I may make a few low-carb pumpkin pies as well. But, there’s plenty to do with our extensive menu which we’ll post on the day of the event. Tomorrow morning we each have dental and eye exam appointments, after which we’ll head back to Spar to wrap up the final shopping for a few items we still need for Saturday.

We’ll be back tomorrow with more. Please check back!

Photo from one year ago today, November 14, 2017:

A curious turtle scurried quickly toward us in Costa Rica. For more photos, please click here.

Utility outages…The return of visitors to the garden…More stunning river sightings…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
This is “Little” (short for “Little Wart Face”).  He visits almost daily. That’s why he has grass all over his snout. He likes to cool off in the cement pond, sleep under the shade of a tree in our garden and climb the veranda steps seeking pellets. What a guy! He’d just returned from eating from the bale of hay left in the neighbor’s driveway when they departed after the weekend.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

Mr. Frog has been enjoying an array of insects most nights which are attracted to the light.  He appears to be getting rather plump.

Yesterday afternoon, a water main broke close to Gate 2 in Marloth Park.  Subsequently, we had no water for about 12 hours. Service returned in the middle of the night.

This morning we had a power outage, but fortunately, it only lasted about 10 minutes. When the power goes out, the wi-fi also goes out. As always, we shut down our laptops and phones, hoping for a return to service before too long.

We were so busy feeding the visitors last night, and we hardly had time to make our dinner. We couldn’t stop smiling.

When the power returned, we were relieved. I hope neither of these is an issue with our upcoming dinner party in four days. It would be difficult to cook a big meal without water or power.

Yesterday, we read a post on Facebook by a homeowner that an area of Marloth Park was without water last December for 21 days. That would certainly be inconvenient.  

Often warthogs from different “sounders” get into a scuffle over the pellets.

Last night we used a bucket of water from the swimming pool to flush the toilet. This would get old after a day or two. Of course, the worst part would be when unable to take a shower. It’s not as if there’s a local health club where one could go to take a shower.

After all, we’re in the bush in Africa, and things aren’t the same as in many countries throughout the world. And, although there are several adaptations one must make, coming from other countries, it isn’t really that rough.

There were one male and three female zebras in this “dazzle.”

Last night while brushing my teeth, a large black bug fell off my head when I bent down to rinse my mouth (using bottled water, as always). I didn’t scream or flinch. I gently picked it up with a tissue and took it outside to deposit it into the garden.  Years ago, I would have called Tom to help and did a bit of screaming.  No longer.

A young Big Daddy attempting to eat some greenery inside the fenced area in the garden.

It must have fallen into my hair while we sat outdoors last night reveling in the numbers of wildlife that came to call. It wasn’t as if we had more than a dozen at any given time but more so that they kept coming and coming, hour after hour.

Recently, I ran into local friend Gail at the market, and we giggled over how we never tire of the wildlife. If anything, as time goes on, we become more and more interested in them, as we learn about them, and as time goes by, we learn more about the nuances of certain animals.

With just the two of us at Two Trees, Tom spotted this female lion.

As shown above, in our main photo, coming to know the peculiarities and habits of certain visitors only adds to the pleasure and significance of seeing them time after time.

Most days, we see at least one animal that is new to us. Over this past nine months, we’ve been able to identify frequent visitors by certain markings, size of tusks, horns, and variations in stripe patterns. It’s now become easy for us to realize someone is new to us.

She may have been perusing the area for her next meal.

We welcome them all, familiar and new, with open arms to partake of our seemingly endless supply of pellets, carrots, apples, and pears, all suitable foods for them.

A large bull elephant on the river bank.  Check out those tusks!

Today, after friend Kathy stops by and drops off some much-needed ingredients she picked up in the big city for the upcoming Thanksgiving dinner party on Saturday (thank you, Kathy!), we’ll head out for our usual drive in the park to see what wonders Mother Nature may have in store for us.

It will be another good day in the neighborhood! I hope you all experience the same!

Photo from one year ago today, November 13, 2017:

Another of Tom’s excellent bird photos, two Green Parrots admiring each other. For more photos, please click here.

What???…A leopard sighting on the Crocodile River?…Giraffes stopping for a drink…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Giraffes are constantly on guard for predators, especially when it’s time to drink when they become vulnerable in a bending position.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

The convoluted photo is difficult to decipher at first.  Note the one kudu attempting to eat the seeds in the birdfeeder, which she eventually accomplished.

While Tom was taking a short nap while I stayed at the table on the veranda finishing the daily post, I took a peek at the Marloth Park River Sightings page on Facebook to see if anyone had posted information regarding exciting sightings.

 Alas, a frequent FB poster mentioned a leopard had been sighted 90 minutes earlier at the end of Swartwitpens, where it meets the river road. Such a sighting may result in disappointment if too much time has passed and the animal has moved on.

Giraffes often head to the river to drink.

I deliberated if I should awaken Tom, but he never sleeps more than 20 minutes, so I waited until he exited the bedroom to mention the sighting. Within two minutes, we were in the little car and on our way.

 Once we arrived at the location, we noticed only one other car, which could indicate the leopard was gone from view. Fortunately, we met a lovely couple from Nelspruit who lives part-time in Marloth Park, Estelle, and Johan.  

 We’d never have been able to spot the leopard without their help. It’s funny how people try to explain where to look to spot the animal of interest at the moment.  

Giraffes adopt a variety of stances to gain access to the water.

Nature has provided the ideal camouflage for wildlife, often making it nearly impossible to see certain animals lying under trees or bushes from the distant fence at Marloth Park across to the opposite side of the Crocodile River.

 Rarely, when there is any sighting, friendly observers often assist others in finding the animal’s location. It goes like this, “See the two green trees over there with a dry bush between them? The lion is lying at the base of the tree on the left.” This is usually what seems to be an accurate description.

There were four giraffes in this tower.

However, there are dozens of green trees and dry bushes across the river, and even if one points in the correct direction carefully, the animal is often challenging to see.

Both Tom and I have noticed a difference in the way men describe where the animal is located instead of women. When Tom and Lois were here, my Tom would provide a lengthy description explaining where the lion was found.  

On the other hand, when Lois described it, she did so with few words, and often, I was more easily able to comprehend the few words as opposed to the lengthy, detailed description.  

They were stopping to check their surroundings.

We’ve noticed this phenomenon on other occasions when asking for assistance; regardless of what many people want to believe about the sexes thinking alike, it’s natural for women and men to have different perceptions and responses.

We see this in nature by the erratic behaviors of female and male animals that stop by.  For example, the male bushbucks are shy and constantly on guard, whereby the females easily approach us without hesitation.

A lone hippo grazing by the river.

The male kudus with their big horns are bossy and determined, whereby the females are more docile and quick to approach us. I could go on and on regarding the erratic behaviors of the sexes of wildlife after we’ve spent the past nine months observing them every day.

It’s always a challenge, regardless of who is describing where the animal is located, to find it, focus the camera for such a long distance resulting in a good photo.

Yesterday, at the river, I couldn’t spot the leopard, but Tom did so in minutes after Johan described the location to him in several paragraphs. I was stymied.  Nonetheless, Tom was able to take the two very distant photos we’re sharing here today.  

Only the spots confirmed this was a leopard lounging under a tree a long distance from the fence between Marloth Park and Kruger.

We’re disappointed in the lack of clarity in the photo, but this leopard may easily have been a good kilometer from us. Our skill nor our cameras were capable of obtaining better shots.

The more explicit photos we’ve seen on Facebook of yesterday’s leopard sighting were acquired with long-range lenses, which are too heavy and we’ll never be able to carry throughout the world with us.  

We waited patiently while chatting with a lovely couple we met at the fence, Johan and Estelle, who said they’ve been reading our site.

It’s one thing to have such a camera set up at home and use it now and then for special shots.  It’s another thing to have the heavy beast everywhere we go…totally impractical.

This morning we headed to Komatipoort to shop for Saturday’s upcoming Thanksgiving dinner party.  On the way to Spar, we stopped for breakfast at Stoep Cafe for another fine breakfast and idle chatter.

Now back at the house, everything is put away, and we almost have everything we’ll need.  On Thursday, we’ll return to complete the shopping balance after our teeth cleaning and eye doctor appointments.

Have a spectacular day!

Photo from one year ago today, November 12, 2017:

Tom took another excellent distant shot of a bird we couldn’t identify online. Costa Rica neighbor and bird enthusiast Charlie identified this bird as a Clay-colored Thrush or Yigüirro in Spanish.  For more photos, please click here.

How did the test pie come out?…See photo below!…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Here’s the last piece of the “test” pumpkin pie. Tom already devoured the remainder. I didn’t make the crust edges as fancy as I will for next Saturday’s Thanksgiving dinner.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

The starlings seem to have made this abandoned bushbaby house their new nest.  We’ll see how it goes.

The test pie was a hit. The first night Tom consumed half the pie and went to bed feeling satisfied but full and bloated. Last night, after returning from dinner at Jabula and Rita and Girard, he ate half of the remaining ½ of the pie. Tonight, he’ll finish it off.

I took a single bite and literally swooned if I say so myself. Keeping in mind I hadn’t had a taste of flour or sugar in over seven years, my taste buds went soaring. I had to go to bed to prevent me from asking Tom for another bite.

“Little” came back for more pellets on the veranda. He feels quite at home here.  Who knew pigs climb stairs?

It wasn’t easy preparing the filling from a bag of frozen pumpkin. First, I cooked in the microwave from its frozen state in a large glass bowl. This took a good 30 minutes since the microwave doesn’t seem to be able to cook on high.  

Once I could test it to find it was s very soft, I placed it in a colander and pressed out the liquid with a rubber spatula letting it drain for a while to ensure most of the liquid was gone.  

Elephants were coming down the embankment to the Crocodile River.

Then, I placed it in the food processor in small batches to make it smooth, comparable to canned pumpkin. It was very messy but, it came out nicely. Then I proceeded to make the pie filling using homemade pumpkin pie spice.

There’s always some good vegetation for them to consume on or near the river.

Once that was completed, I made the pie crust from scratch using the best pie crust recipe in the land from Martha Stewart again using the food processor to make it into a perfect ball.  

I pressed the dough into a round disc after wrapping it in parchment paper and let it rest in the refrigerator for an hour. Using a washed full bottle of wine as a rolling pin, the dough rolled into an even circle with little effort.

The mongooses are also becoming rather brazen as they too come up to the veranda steps to let us know they’d like some eggs.

From there, I pinched a makeshift edge knowing no one else would see it (duh!), filled it with the pumpkin filling and placed it in the oven. The oven also cooks very low even though it appears to be at a high temperature. Improvise, I remind myself.  It took 90 minutes for the butter knife to come out clean.  

Mission accomplished. Now all that was left was the taste test which Tom embarked upon with glee on Friday night. He hadn’t had one of my homemade pumpkin pies in over seven years.

That’s one big gulp from the elephant of the left.

I watched his face with bated breath as he took the first bite. Then, the second. A smile washed over his face, and I knew he was content. The pie passed the test.

So far today, we’ve yet to see a single kudu, bushbuck, or warthog.  Where is everyone?

Making the remaining pies on Friday will take an entire day but its a vital part of the tradition of Thanksgiving dinner. Although we’ll be having roasted stuffed chickens instead of turkey (no turkeys anywhere to be found), otherwise we should be on track thanks to friend Kathy for finding many of the vital ingredients and Louise for finding cranberries and spices on a recent trip to Nelspruit.

It gave me peace of mind to know we’ll have good tasting pumpkin pie for next Saturday’s dinner. We’ll see how the remainder of the meals works out from there.

Yesterday as often is the case, Ms. Bushbuck and Baby stopped by to check out the pellet situation.  

So far today, we haven’t seen a single visitor. We heard there was a live concert in Nelspruit last night by a popular South African performer and most hotels in the area were booked.  

This two-tone giraffe with light and dark spots is taking a rest from standing on those tall legs.

This may have been attributed to more holidaymakers coming to stay in Marloth Park over the weekend. We could tell by the numbers of cars on the roads and the lack of wildlife in the garden that something was up. This is the first morning in nine months we haven’t had a single visitor other than a few birds and Frank and The Mrs.

With less hair on the end of his ossicones, most like this is a male.

Last night, we had another fun, delicious, and entertaining evening at Jabula Lodge and Restaurant with Rita and Gerhard w, leaving tomorrow for a few weeks. (Owners Dawn and Leon always add to a great time by laughing and interacting with all of us). 

“Thanks for stopping,” she says with somewhat of a smile on her pretty face.

We’re looking forward to their return to Marloth where they’ll stay for another three months, leaving about the same time we’re hoping to leave in February. The good times will continue.

Today, we’ll most likely be out on another drive in the park to see what we can find that may be of interest to us and tor worldwide readers. Thank you, dear readers, for hanging in there with us over these past nine months. 

Lots of Cape buffalos on the river bank.

We arrived here precisely nine months ago today, on February11th and if all goes well, we’ll depart in three months, nine days. We’ll see how it rolls out with immigration soon enough.

Happy day to all.

Photo from one year ago today, November 11, 2017:

Another of Tom’s wonderful bird photos in Atenas, Costa Rica, in this case, a small green parrot. For more details, please click here.

A little bit of living in the past?…The world is not a safe place…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Wildebeest Willie often takes a rest in the shade in the garden.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

Pregnant zebra and friends stopped by for pellets and veg.

It’s early Saturday afternoon on another perfect weather day. Tom’s sitting near me at the big table on the veranda is listening to a podcast of his favorite radio show from Minnesota, Garage Logic.  

Our favorite wildebeest, “Wildebeest Willie,” will often visit for several hours. He loves being talked to and won’t even touch the pellets I toss until I stop talking to him while making eye contact.

He doesn’t need to use an earpiece to listen since I don’t mind the background noise. He keeps it soft (considering sound restrictions in Marloth Park), which he can hear with his less-than-ideal hearing, damaged after years on the railroad, by placing his laptop on his lap. 

He spent his entire life in Minnesota, up until we started to travel the world in 2012, and is still connected to news and information from his original home state.  

Wildebeest Willie got along well with this young male kudu as they shared pellets. Willie doesn’t care for apples and carrots, only pellets.

In addition, he’s still an avid Minnesota Vikings (football) fan and watches each game, streaming from the NFL GamePass website, for which he pays an annual fee. I watch some of the games, but usually, I’m busy preparing the daily post when he’s watching it.

 With the time difference, if a game is played on Sunday, he may watch it late at night or the following morning. If he watches it the following day, the commercials are removed, which he prefers.

He looks into my eyes when I talk to him in a goofy high pitched voice. In this photo, he was sharing pellets with impalas.

Having spent a little over 40 years in Minnesota, I don’t feel so connected to the state, only to the family and friends who live there. I grew up mostly in California, but other than the fact I still have family there, I feel no connection to that state either.

 Speaking of California, we send our love and prayers to those dealing with the horrifying wildfires, including the sorrowful loss of lives and many homes and businesses. 

Monitor lizard in the garden.

My sister Julie lives in Los Angeles, and if the fire isn’t contained soon, she may have to evacuate. We’re staying in close touch. The world is not a safe place. There are endless natural and human-responsible disasters that impact millions of lives, and there is literally nowhere in the world that is entirely safe and free of risk.

Right now, Marloth Park has a tremendous risk of fire. After all, this is the bush, and although it has rained a few times, the bush is dangerously dry. One careless action and this entire conservancy could be gone in a flash, including animals and humans alike.

“Monitor lizards are, as a rule, almost entirely carnivorous, consuming prey as varied as insects, crustaceans, arachnids, myriapods, mollusks, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Most species feed on invertebrates as juveniles and shift to feeding on vertebrates as adults. Deer make up about 50% of the diet of adults of the largest species, Varanus komodoensis.  In contrast, primarily fruit eaters are three arboreal species from the Philippines, Varanus bitatawa, Varanus making, and Varanus olivaceus. Although normally solitary, groups as large as 25 individual monitor lizards are common in ecosystems that have limited water resources.”

We take our car keys to the bedroom to keep on the nightstand next to the bed. At night If there’s a fire during the night, we have already planned our escape through the bedroom window and will be in the little car in seconds, ready to escape.

Oddly, this house only has one entrance and exit, the front door. There is no backdoor or side door from which to escape. Building restrictions aren’t as tight in Africa as in other parts of the world that would never approve a building plan without multiple exits.

Elephant at the Crocodile River.

We kept this in mind when we decided on our fast escape route if necessary. Tom, a former volunteer fireman, makes me feel extra safe. Who but a fireman would be the best person to help in an emergency? My multi-faceted husband is an asset to me in many ways!

We’ve already been out on our daily drive in Marloth Park and saw very few animals.  After all, it’s the weekend, and there are many cars and tourists in the park, causing the wildlife to stay well hidden. We did encounter a few giraffes, kudus, impalas, and ostriches. We saw very little at the Crocodile River.

Elephant taking a big drink at Sunset Dam in Kruger National Park.

So far today, we’ve only seen one unknown female warthog, two hornbills, and various other birds. This is highly unusual. By Monday, we’ll be excited to see them return, gracing our garden with lively activity.

Tonight, back to Jabula Lodge and Restaurant for another fun evening with Rita and Gerhard with great food, wine, and lively banter with Dawn, Leon, Lyn, and other guests.

May your day and evening be filled with lively banter and good food!

Photo from one year ago today, November 10, 2017:

Tom’s photo from the veranda in Costa Rica of this Flame-colored Tanager. For more photos, please click here.

Our social life continues…A friendly visitor in the restaurant…Nature can be both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
Tom at sunset as we dined with Rita and Gerhard at Ngwenya on buffet night. Rita took this great photo so indicative of the peaceful and views from this excellent location.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

Rita and I were captivated by a visitor who entered the restaurant, a friendly little dung beetle. We both held him and felt the ticklish feel of his spiny legs moving rapidly in our hands.

Last night, Rita and Gerhard picked us up at 1630 hrs (4:30 pm) for sundowners on the veranda at Ngwenya overlooking the Crocodile River to be followed by the buffet dinner inside the restaurant after darkness fell.

We’ve so enjoyed spending time with new friends Rita and Gerhard who came to Marloth Park after reading our posts years ago. Through our site, they found the holiday home they’ve rented and also found Louise to help them get situated.  They’ll be here in Marloth until February. Hopefully, we’ll be here as well for more fun times together.

We have a lot in common with this lovely couple and the conversation flowed with ease, animation, and enthusiasm.  They, too, have traveled all over the world and have great stories to tell. Our mutual love of nature and wildlife precipitates an endless flow of interesting conversation.

From quite a distance Tom spotted this elephant with an obvious problem with his left tusk.

This Sunday friends Kathy and Don return to Marloth Park and more social activities will ensue over these next few weeks. Next Saturday is our Thanksgiving dinner celebration here at the orange house.

It was apparent this elephant’s left tusk has been damaged affecting the muscles, ligaments, and tendons that hold it in place. We hoped he wasn’t in pain.

Today, I’m working on making the equivalent of canned pumpkin using lumpy frozen pumpkin. I’ve processed the first two bags and I think it’s going to work well. 

Another view of the elephant with a damaged tusk.

As soon as I upload today’s post, I’ll prepare the homemade pumpkin pie spices using multiple spices. There’s certainly no prepared pumpkin pie spice to be found anywhere in South Africa or even on the continent. It’s a USA thing used for a specific USA holiday.  

From there, I’ll make the from-scratch pie crust, a favorite recipe from Martha Stewart, the best pie crust in the land.  If you’d like the recipe, please click here.  It’s a little time-consuming but worth the extra effort.  

A black-winged stilt we spotted at Sunset Dam in Kruger.

For the first time in seven years, I purchased a bag of white flour and another bag of sugar. I won’t be even tasting the pie so Tom will be on his own to determine if this pie will be worthy of making in number for our guests arriving for dinner on the 17th.

Tonight, Tom will dine on marinated pork chops on the braai while I have salmon steaks, along with roasted vegetables, mashed cauliflower, and salad. And then, for dessert (a rare treat in this household) Tom will have a piece of the pumpkin pie.  He doesn’t care for Cool Whip (which isn’t available here) or whipped cream atop his pie. Plain and simple, that’s how my guy likes it.

A crocodile made an appearance to check out his surroundings and possible food sources.

Back to last night, after our fine buffet dinner, a “visitor” walked into the main door of the restaurant, my favorite “bug” of all time, the fascinating dung beetle.  

He didn’t have his ball of dung with him or had yet to prepare it but as summer approaches, we’ll surely find plenty of these interesting creatures with their ball of dung in tow. More on that later when we see one with his perfectly shaped ball and perhaps a wife running atop it as he pushes it along with his bag legs.

While I was indoors preparing dinner, Tom called me to hurry and come outside. He’d taken these photos of Wounded with an oxpecker “working on” the severe injury near his left eye.

Rita and I held him in our hands. I was so excited I could hardly hold the camera straight to take a decent photo. That happens to me sometimes…my enthusiasm supersedes my ability to hold the camera steady.  

As I always say, I’m not a professional photographer. I’m an enthusiastic photographer which sometimes results in my emotions getting in the way of the perfect shot.

Here again, is another example of the symbiosis between certain animals. The oxpecker eats the maggots and decaying debris from his injury while he cooperates with the intrusion.

Also, included today are several photos took of our new friend and now frequent visitor “Wounded” who showed up about a week ago and now visits every day. His obvious facial injury is heartbreaking but he wastes no time eating plenty of pellets and vegetables.

Wounded is very shy around other warthogs so we imagine he may have been wounded by another warthog in a fight for dominance or food. We make a point of fussing over him whenever he arrives, hoping in time his injury will heal. It’s too soon to tell if he was blinded in his eye from the injury.

Nature can be both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.

What astounded us about yesterday’s visit by Wounded was when he walked into the garden he had an oxpecker, as shown in the photos, working on “cleaning out his wound.”  

The oxpecker may or may not be helpful when they may become too aggressive in clearing an injury from maggots or other insects, only making matters worse. We can only hope Wounded starts to heal at some point soon. Such a grievous injury can result in a long and painful death.

Three giraffes stopping for a drink in the river.

Today is a warm sunny day, not too cool, not too hot. It’s comparable to what one may experience on a tropical island.  But, the bush is no tropical island.  And life happens for these creatures as shown in the above photo of an elephant with an injured tusk. There’s nothing we can do but let nature take its course.

So for today, we’ll let nature take its course as we’re delighting in a number of visitors stopping by on this perfect day. The pellets and veg are plentiful as is our enthusiasm in sharing it all.

Happy day!

Photo from one year ago today, November 9, 2017:

A fiery-billed acara in Costa Rica says, “I’ve got mine!” For more photos, please click here.

Nothing compares to you…Each and every one of you…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
We encountered this stunning scene of zebras and wildebeest from the fence at Marloth Park. One reason zebras and wildebeests hang out is that they love to eat the taller grass and wildebeest the shorter grass – it’s a type of symbiosis. There is no competition regarding food. Also, wildebeests have a better sense of hearing, while zebras can see very well. Another reason is zebras and wildebeest prefer to be in the open savannahs…the concept of safety in numbers comes into play. It’s always great to have an ally to warn of any impending danger.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

Hippo being escorted by a family of Egyptian geese.

It’s Thursday afternoon, and we just returned from a shopping trip to Komatipoort. With plenty of meat, chicken, and fish still on hand in the freezer, we only needed to round out our meals for the upcoming week.

Wildebeest are so expressive. They literally stop whatever they’re doing to make eye contact.

On November 17th, we’re hosting a small dinner party for 10 to 12 friends to celebrate US Thanksgiving, which is actually on Thursday, November 22nd in the US.

Originally, we planned this event as our “going away” dinner party for close friends when we thought we might have to leave South Africa due to visa issues.  

“The hippopotamus is often cited as the most dangerous large animal in the world, killing an estimated 500 people a year in Africa.”

However, after we recently applied (and are awaiting a response) for an extension, we realized we might be able to leave and immediately return if our extension isn’t approved. We should have a response in the next two weeks.

Having an opportunity to takes photos of these unusual animals is exciting.

Thus, we decided to go ahead and have the Thanksgiving dinner party anyway for friends who are currently in the park and played a significant role in including us in their social life over almost nine months we’ve been in Marloth Park.

The typical Thanksgiving meal is relatively easy to make since most cooks have all the recipes for the traditional items in their heads. There’s no need to look up and follow complicated recipes.

“Unlike most other semiaquatic animals, the hippopotamus has very little hair. The skin is 6 cm (2 in) thick, providing great protection against conspecifics and predators. By contrast, its subcutaneous fat layer is thin.”

Unfortunately, finding ingredients for those items is a pointless task. The local stores don’t carry turkeys, let alone the canned pumpkin for the pumpkin pies and many other ingredients I used over the years.  

 “When hippos sleep in the water during the day, they generally prefer to sleep in areas of shallower water. … Hippo, as mentioned, are very closely related to whales and dolphins, and similar to these other aquatic animals, hippos sleep with only one half of their brain at a time.”

So, we have to improvise: stuffed chickens instead of turkey, frozen cranberries, not fresh, local sausage for the stuffing instead of sage flavored sausages found in the US.  It goes on and on.

Tomorrow, I’m making a “test” pumpkin pie using the only pumpkin we could find, which is frozen. I’ll defrost it, thoroughly drain it, and put it into the food processor to see if I can get the proper consistency. We’ll report back on how this goes.

“A good point of distinction occurs around the differing geographical distribution of the Cape buffalo and Water buffalo. As its name suggests, the African buffalo is distributed throughout the African continent, whereas the Water buffalo is native to Asian countries.”

Of course, Tom will be the sole taster and recipient of the “test” pumpkin pie. As a picky eater, I assure you that everyone else will as well if he likes it. As always, the pie crust will be made from scratch, but there’s no rolling pin anywhere to be found. Do people roll dough anymore?

A tower of giraffes on the Sabie River embankment.

Instead, I’ll wash the exterior of a wine bottle and use it as the rolling pin. This definitely will work but will require a little more enthusiastic rolling. I’m good at this task.

Thanks to Louise, who picked up frozen cranberries and spices in Nelspruit this week, and friend Kathy (of Kathy and Don), who made multiple trips to various markets in Hawaii, California, and Pretoria, many of which will fill in the blanks on many of the side dishes.

Mom and baby hippo grazing along the river’s edge.

Authenticity?  Not so much. In reality, the Pilgrims didn’t make many of the side dishes that have become traditional in the US. Over the past centuries, recipes have been passed down from family to family and have become a part of the standard and traditional Thanksgiving meal items.

The challenge of making this meal both traditional and delicious clearly fits into my wheelhouse. Hopefully, everything will be as close to the traditional meal as possible, and if not, the new tastes act as good alternatives.

Next week, I’ll post the menu for our Thanksgiving meal, and if time allows, take photos of the meal on the day of the party and post them here the following day.

A female lion is on the lookout for the next meal.

This afternoon, we’re beginning the process of researching for future travel plans.  We have several holes to fill in our itinerary, but over these past 9 months, we’ve been preoccupied with “living in the moment” in this magical place. It’s time to get back to it!

Tonight, we’re heading to Ngwenya with new friends Rita and Gerhard for the Thursday night buffet and back to Jabula with them on Saturday night.  

Unfortunately, they’ll be gone for a few weeks and won’t be able to join us for the Thanksgiving meal. After living in the US for the past 30 years, this surely was a tradition in their home.

Have a special day filled with wonderful surprises.

Photo from one year ago today, November 8, 2017:

One must walk carefully on the uneven sidewalks in Atenas, Costa Rica, and many other towns worldwide. For more photos, please click here.

An adorable face and a 40-minute traffic jam in Kruger…A story unfolds..A sad visitor to the garden…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
It’s a rarity for us to see impalas in the garden, but several stopped by to partake of pellets. No doubt, they are hungry this time of year, put aside their apprehension of humans, and came to call. This adorable girl was chewing pellets when I shot this photo. Too cute for words!

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

We are saddened to see who we now call “Wounded.” He was stabbed near his eye by another animal’s horn or tusk.

It was a rare occasion when a herd of impalas, one male, and 12 females, stopped by to see if we had something for them to eat. Of course, we did! It’s tough for the wildlife this time of year when the dry bush offers little sustenance for the hungry animals.

We were on a dirt road in Kruger making our way back to the Crocodile Bridge entrance to the park when we encountered this elephant blocking the road.

There’s a lot of controversy about feeding the wildlife in Marloth Park but most residents have a hard time resisting giving them the nutritional pellets (made from plant matter) when we see how hungry they are, especially before and in the early part of the rainy season.

We got as close as was safe.  He wasn’t about to move for us.

Well, the rainy season has begun, and we see tiny buds on the dry bushes and trees, knowing full well, in due time, leaves will blossom, and Marloth Park will be rich in healthful nutrition for the many herbivores and omnivores that dwell herein.

He was enjoying his meal of dry bushes and wasn’t about to move over for us.

Last night, it rained throughout the night, what seemed to be a good soaking rain, precisely what is needed now. Hopefully, this will continue to ensure a food-rich environment for the wildlife.

We didn’t hesitate to remain at a distance to ensure our safety while we waited patiently.

In some years past, many wildlife didn’t survive during droughts, but those in Marloth Park had a better chance of survival when residents and visitors faithfully fed the animals that came to call.  

While we waited patiently, we took the time to observe some of his features through the camera’s lens.

It has been a dedicated process for us, and I must add that we believe it has been the right thing to do, although some don’t always agree. We’ve been going through a 40 kg (88 pounds) bag of pellets every four to five days at the cost of about ZAR 223 (US $16) per bag.

We noticed as we waited, that he had a hole in his ear which could have been during a fight or damage from a tree or bush while grazing.

We easily rationalize this expenditure. If we lived in the US we’d be spending a lot more than ZAR 1395 (US $100) a month on some form of entertainment. (Gosh, while in the US, we went to one movie and spent ZAR 698 (US $50) for two tickets and snacks. That’s for two hours of entertainment.

The diameter of his foot was astounding.  An elephant’s foot can range from 40 to 50 cm (1.31 to 1.6 feet in length.  

This expenditure is for the great pleasure of feeding hungry animals and lasts for 16 hours every day. No comparison, is there? For us, the entertainment factor is a piece of the experience.  

We kept in mind that this is his terrain, and we respectfully waited to avoid upsetting his meal.

But, in the process, we learn so much and look forward to sharing it with all of our worldwide readers who may never be up close and personal with African wildlife.

The end of the elephant’s tail has hairs that act as a small brush, suitable for swatting flies, bees, and other insects.

So when the 13 impalas stopped by, we squealed with delight over the “honking” sound made by the females announcing their arrival and desire to be fed. It was enchanting.

Another elephant stayed away from the road while grazing.

In the process of enjoying them, I took today’s main photo, smiling all the while over their adorable and whimsical faces. Often, visitors dismiss the impalas since they are so abundant in the bush. But, we’ve both taken an affinity to their beauty and nature and truly appreciated their visit to our garden.

Can we even imagine the strength and weight of these massive feet?  An African bush elephant can weigh up to 6000 kg (13,228 pounds). The average automobile weighs 2268 kg (5000 pounds) for comparison. 

A few days ago, we continued our 40-minute delay in Kruger when an elephant blocked the dirt road preventing us from safely passing. Please read the captions under the included photos to see how the story unfolded before our eyes.  

Finally, after no less than 40 minutes, he crossed to the other side of the road as we watched hoping he’d move into the bush.

In today’s “Sighting of the Day in the Bush,” we’re sharing a sad photo of a warthog who’s had a severe injury to his eye. We can’t tell if he was blinded in the eye, but it’s easy to see he is suffering.  Because warthogs are in significant numbers in the bush, no efforts are made to treat them for illness or injury. This is a hard reality.

He’s come by each day for the past several days, and we freely feed him as much as he wants to, including fruits and carrots. Hopefully, over time he’ll heal and be able to live an entire life in the bush. Many of these animals are very resilient in healing on their own.

It was at this point that we were able to pass. But, the 40 minutes of observing was well worth the wait.

It’s raining off, and on today, so we’re staying put. After a stormy night’s sleep, a nap may be on the agenda.  I’m not good at dozing off during the day, but on a rare occasion, I drift off for 15 to 20 minutes, all that’s needed for either of us to feel revitalized.


That’s it for today, folks. Have an excellent day and be well.

Photo from one year ago today, November 7, 2017:

The adorable costumed girl waved when she spotted us with a camera at the Metrocentre Mall in Managua, Nicaragua. For more photos, please click here.

Kruger never disappoints…It isn’t always about the Big Five or even the Ridiculous Nine…All of it is special to us!…

Posted by worldwide-admin on with 0 Comment
A pair of elephants affectionately playing in the mud and water at Sunset Dam 
in Kruger National Park.

“Sighting of the Day in the Bush”

A pair of barn owls in the rafters at Mugg & Bean restaurant looking down at all the crazy humans trying to take a photo.

Early this morning, we took off for the river when we’d seen lions had been spotted a few hours earlier. We must have missed them when we arrived at least two hours after Tom had seen the Facebook announcement indicating where they could be found.

A Southern Ground Hornbill in the bush.

But, as always, our trip to the Crocodile River, a 10-minute drive on the bumpy dirt roads, wasn’t a bust. We saw so much more, which we’ll share in days to come.

This appears to be a mating pair of vultures tending to their nest.

Afterward, we made a quick trip to the Marlothi shopping center for a few items, and by 11:30 am, we were back home. The boys had come to clean while we were gone, and the house was spotless and even smelled so.  

A hippo near the shore of the Sabie River.

The constant dust was wafting indoors from the garden when “visitors” come to call leaves every surface covered in dust daily. It takes considerable attention to detail to keep the level of dust indoors to a minimum, and Zef and Vusi are masterful at this.

A hippo and an oxpecker.

Before we left this morning, I’d gone through the hundreds of photos I’d taken in Kruger yesterday, narrowing them down to a possible good 50 shots, many of which we’ll share over the next several days along with others we’ve taken at the fence and of course, in the garden.

A giraffe side-face view.  The hair atop the ossicones indicates this is most likely a female.  Males wear off the hair due to fighting for dominance.

Last night, after holidaymakers left the park, all of our favorite animals returned to see us beginning at about 1700 hrs (5:00 pm). We were so busy with them we hardly had time to get our dinner and beverages ready for the evening ahead.

A giraffe was contemplating a drink.

At one point, we counted eight species in the garden simultaneously: kudus, bushbucks, wildebeest, warthog, duikers, mongoose, helmeted guinea fowl, and bushbabies. We hardly stopped for a moment when finally, we managed to get dinner on the table a few hours later. We couldn’t stop smiling.

A little bird was going after a breadcrumb at the Mugg & Bean restaurant in Lower Sabie, where we had lunch.

As for yesterday’s visit to Kruger, although not earth-shattering, we were content with our varied sightings as shown in today’s and future day’s photos. When we don’t readily spot all the animals considered as the Big Five (lion, leopard, rhino, Cape buffalo, and elephant), we tend to focus our attention on those we do find.

This couple fed the starlings based on how they gathered at their table, staring at them for more.

Yesterday was undoubtedly a busy elephant and hippo day, as evidenced in our photos and included video. We know many of our readers don’t care to watch videos, but we invite you to do so.  

Elephant families on the Sabie River.

We don’t post our videos unless we find something special contained therein. Of course, that’s based on our personal opinion, which may not necessarily appeal to you. Typically, they are only one to three minutes long.

A mom and two offspring from different birth years.

We drove through Kruger on our preferred route, where we’d enjoyed considerable success. But, the sightings weren’t as prevalent along the paved road as we’ve seen in the past.  

It was a hot but gorgeous day, perfect for spotting elephants on the river.

The paved road leads to the Lower Sabie and the Mugg and Bean, where we stopped for lunch to see once again its expansive river views from the restaurant’s veranda.

The little one was enjoying the water too.

As mentioned in an earlier post, recently, I’d accidentally broken a bottle of red wine on one of our two cameras. The SD card was destroyed but ultimately not the camera itself after letting it dry out for a week.

The young elephant was playing in the water.

I hadn’t been able to find another SD card in Komatipoort and didn’t want to wait until we returned to Nelspruit to the immigration office in the next few weeks. I thought the gift shop at the Mugg & Bean might carry them.

They did much to my delight, and I was able to purchase a 16 gig card for ZAR 220 (US $15.43), a reasonable price for such a card. When we returned to the house, I placed the card in the camera, and all is working well.  

Mom elephant fussing over her youngsters.

We’re both relieved that once again, we have two working cameras, especially needed for our upcoming photography tour in Kenya in about three and a half months. I guess I won’t spill red wine on a camera again.

Anyway, the day in Kruger continued with some excellent sightings, some of which we’re sharing here today.  As for the rest of today, we’re hanging out at the house. We’ve had a relatively steady stream of frequent visitors, which we expect to pick up in about four hours for another spectacular evening in the bush!

May your day and evening be spectacular as well!

Photo from one year ago today, November 6, 2017:

We wrote one year ago…”Today’s flowers from the grounds of La Perla in Atenas Costa Rica are a token of our sorrowful expression for the loss of life and injury of the victims in the Texas mass shooting.” For more, please click here.