Entertaining party in the bush..

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About a month ago, this kudu visited us with a very recent bloody wound from where his horn must have been lost in a fight. The injury looked bad, but today, when he returned, it appeared completely healed.

Today is the coolest day we’ve had in months at only 72F, 22C at 11:00 am. The humidity is somewhat high at 66% with a dew point of 65 which is still considered tropical. This will be the coolest day of the week with an expected high of only a few more degrees, although we can see the temperatures finally dropping as we get further into the Southern Hemisphere’s fall season.

With the black moths gradually disappearing to lay their eggs for more slimy black worms and the temp dropping, today, slightly overcast, is a perfect day. Vusi is here now, changing the bedding and cleaning the house. I already have tonight’s dinner made and ready to eat, leftover chicken salad with coleslaw on the side.

Today, I will update the month’s expenses and set up Bill Pay for the first of April. We are still waiting to hear about my visa extension, but we should hear something in the next 30 days. Once that comes in, we’ll apply to the US Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa, for our new 10-year US passports, which, if it gets too late, we’ll have to do in person. We aren’t looking forward to the long drive, but we’ll stay overnight and make it fun.

It’s always amazing to see how quickly many injuries on wildlife heal so well.

The cortisone tablets are helping tremendously. I no longer have allergy symptoms, and the pain in my head is less each day. I still have another week to take the meds and am hoping, along with the other allergy meds Doc Theo prescribed, that once I finish the cortisone, I will still feel well. Much to my surprise, I can sleep at night when typically, Prednisone (cortisone) causes insomnia.

Tomorrow morning Tom leaves for Nelspruit to Mediclinic for his chest x-ray and aortic aneurysm screening, which must be done on an empty stomach, so he won’t have breakfast before he leaves. I continue to offer to go with him, but he says he’s fine making the three-hour round-trip drive on his own. If he needs any further tests, I plan to go with him. It’s a good day, and we are very grateful.

Yesterday afternoon’s party in the bush at a friend’s house was fun and laughter filled. We knew everyone in attendance, and it was fun to be included in this group of lively partygoers. South Africans sure know how to have a good time, and although we don’t keep up in the drinking department with my 5% light wine and Tom’s few beers, we certainly can get in on the lively chatter and good times.

It must have been painful at the time of the loss of the horn, but it appears he is pretty active and healthy now.

By 6:00 pm, we were back home and settled in. Tom cleaned the contents of the cooler box where we kept our chicken salad and coleslaw ultra cool, and since the bugs were getting bad outdoors, we decided to hunker down and stream a few shows. We’d eaten before 5:00 pm, 1700 hrs., but neither of us ate another bite in the evening.

Now that Tom has been off sugar for a while, he’s losing the weight he gained from the 10 pounds, 4.5 kg, of jelly candy he purchased in the US and ate back here in less than a week; he’s losing the extra weight rapidly. I restarted my diet, which I’ve been struggling with for months, and now I am losing again also.

I realized I was eating too many low-carb foods and having some sweet keto desserts, keeping me from losing weight. I am committed to sticking with this, which includes eggs on small pieces of keto bread for breakfast and a normal keto dinner (reduced portions) with no keto snacks after dinner. This way, I can lose weight at the rate of about two pounds, 1 kg per week. This way all my old clothes will fit me. I plan to lose all I want by the time we leave on June 8.

Of course, we named him “One Horn.” Hopefully, he’ll revisit us. Note the two impalas in the background who’d like to eat some of those pellets but stayed far behind the Big Daddy.

Not feeling well with this allergy stuff these past months has been a poor excuse for not sticking with my diet when a healthy weight is instrumental in my good health. Feeling bloated in tight clothes never makes me feel healthy.

Today, after three busy social days, we’re laying low while I tackle the financial stuff, and Tom continues with more research for our upcoming travels. Now, if Tom’s tests all come out with positive results and I continue to improve my sinus and head thing, life will be on track as planned.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, March 27, 2022:

The air show was held at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, as seen from friends Karen and Rich’s property in Apollo Beach, Florida. For more photos, please click here.

Photos from lockdown three years ago on this date…

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When I initially took this photo of Tom’s dinner a few weeks earlier while touring India, he said, “Don’t post that. It looks disgusting.” While in lockdown, this dish started looking appetizing to both of us. See the post here.

Three years ago, we went into lockdown in Mumbai, India. It seems like it was only yesterday. No, we haven’t forgotten about our ten-month lockdown in the hotel. We continue to be grateful it wasn’t any longer than it was. We made the best of it as a couple, working our way through it without any disharmony or negativism.

The hardest part of those ten long months was the food and the laundry. Washing all of our clothes by hand was tedious, especially since we both like to wear jeans. But, we chose to alternate with two pairs of jeans each since it would take three days for them to dry on the window sill after washing them in the shower.

We washed our underwear every day, but those, too, took days to dry. I wore the same three shirts repeatedly, washing one every other day. We didn’t sweat while in air conditioning day and night. After it was over, we kept the jeans, but I tossed the shirts. I didn’t want to see them ever again, even though they held up well.

The two statues of a revered couple who were highly instrumental in doing good works for the Indian people.

We placed a bath towel at the bottom of the closet and hung some of our wet clothes in there. We never unpacked our suitcases. What was the point? We had everything out of them that we wore, and toiletries, which were difficult to replace from the hotel room when we ran out. Luckily, there’s an Amazon in India from which we could buy some of the items we needed, such as shampoo, deodorant, and toothpaste.

They’d deliver the boxed items from Amazon to security at the hotel entrance, where they’d spray the boxes with disinfectant and then bring them up to our room to set them on the little table outside our door. We were told not to open them for three days since there may still be germs on the outside of the cardboard boxes.

As for the food, which we wrote about in many posts, it wasn’t good. Tom doesn’t like Indian spices or sauce, so he ate Chicken Penne Pasta every night for the first eight months. He gained 10 kg, 22 pounds, and finally gave up eating dinner altogether for the last two months.

This woman was on the side of the road, shaking seeds out of a basket to be used in making vegetable oil.

Instead, he’d ordered a massive breakfast with four bananas, four hard-boiled eggs, four pieces of toast with jelly, and piles of bacon, the only pork item on the menu. He’d save some breakfast in the evening, such as two boiled eggs and a few bananas. That worked for him.

I ate a normal-sized breakfast of eggs and bacon. At dinner, I ordered grilled chicken breast with sauteed vegetables one night and salmon with sauteed vegetables the next night. I like Indian food, but I cannot have all the dishes laden with starch and sugar.

It wasn’t easy. At times, we longed for some type of snack, more due to boredom than hunger, but they didn’t have anything we’d eat. Plus, with my limited way of eating, snacks aren’t easy to figure out without a kitchen to do the necessary prep for low-carb items.

Tom’s meal from a few weeks prior looked appetizing from when we were touring India.

Fortunately, we were allowed to walk the corridors to get some exercise, or else we’d have been sitting all the time. I walked 8 km, 5 miles daily, while Tom did the stairs. I got a tooth abscess while we were there and was treated by an online dentist who never charged me for the help. I got antibiotics without a prescription, ordered through a pharmacy that delivered them to the front desk, on two occasions when they returned a few months later. Once we got to South Africa, I had the tooth pulled. It was a wisdom tooth, so there was no significant loss.

Obviously, like all of you, we learned a lot about ourselves during that stressful time. Our true colors came out under those harsh conditions. In our cases, we felt we became more tolerant and adaptive from that trying situations, and we have no regrets. Besides, it’s a great story to share when we’re with others, and they, too, share their lockdown experience. Who would have thought we’d all go through such an unbelievable experience?

An artfully designed temple built over 1000 years ago in Chennai.

In essence, it shaped us in more ways than we can describe. Sadly, many lost loved ones or experienced the ravages of the virus, some of whom still suffer today. I know this from personal experience as I am currently on more medication to treat the lingering effects.

Today, we’re off to a house party, bringing our dinner and drinks. Last night, we had a fantastic time at Jabula with Louise and Danie, with whom we always love sharing social time. With their busy schedules, it’s always a treat to be socializing with this fantastic couple whom we both adore.

Have a great Sunday, and be well.

Photo from one year ago today, March 2, 2022:

Our friend Rich and Tom were enjoying sundowners on their beach. The sun was setting over the water as we enjoyed our drinks and companionship. For more photos, please click here.

Fun social weekend…Results from our visit to Doc Theo…

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This is Gordy, aka Gordon Ramsey. He is a frequent visitor and is often waiting for us early in the morning.

As mentioned in an earlier post, based on Tom’s family history and his age of 70, he felt it was time to have a screening for Aortic Aneurysm, resulting in several deaths, treatments, and surgeries for several of the men in his family. Also, he needs a chest x-ray since he coughs more than he should.

Doc Theo arranged for these tests for him at Mediclinic, where I had open heart surgery in 2019. I offered to go with him, but he insisted he was happy to make the drive on his own when he knows I don’t like that long drive through the gorge and don’t necessarily feel enthused to relive the memories of being in that hospital for four surgeries. I didn’t press the issue.

Obviously, if something were wrong, I’d go with him. But, he has no symptoms of heart or artery disease. This test is for preventive care and caution only. He should be done in a short period, other than the waiting time, which can be for hours at the busy hospital. His appointment is on Tuesday at 11:00 am, and he’ll leave around 9:00 am, hopefully returning mid-afternoon.

Tom takes no medication and has no known medical conditions. Theo said it was time for him to get checked out, and he ordered a plethora of blood tests and scheduled not only the two tests at Mediclinic but also next Friday, at Theo’s office, he’ll have him do a cardiac stress test on the treadmill, all of which is set up in his office.

Then, it was my turn, and of course, the big topic of conversation was the long-term Covid triggered headaches, itchy eyes, runny nose, and overall itching. He put me on a 10-day regime of Prednisone, tapering off gradually over this period, and prescribed three other allergy medications to help me get through this challenging period.

We then headed to the Komati pharmacy, where I got the prescription filled and then grocery-shopped for everything on my list. I was prescribed six-five mg. tablets as soon as we got home. By then, it was 1:30 pm, and within three hours, my eyes stopped itching and burning, my nose stopped running, and the pain in my left forehead was almost completely gone.

Norman seems to become used to seeing Big Daddy here. He doesn’t appear as fluffed up as he had weeks ago. They are often here at the same time.

I took the remaining meds as prescribed, and today, I feel much better. There’s still a little discomfort on the left side of my head but nowhere near as much as I had a few days ago. The pharmacist told me many people have been suffering from severe allergy symptoms over the past many months. Mine started with Covid and continued with the massive amount of allergens in the bush.

This issue has come and gone, as I described many times in past posts. There were times I thought it was gone and wrote about it here. Alas, a week later, the symptoms were back. But that’s how allergies are…they come and go when exposure to allergens changes with weather and circumstances.

Doc Theo explained that the more accurate and comprehensive treadmill street test would be a better assessment of how my heart and arteries are doing, so I am scheduled with Tom for next Friday morning. We’ll have the stress test results right away, along with the results of Tom’s blood tests, and we are praying all is well for us to continue. It will give us both peace of mind.

Of course, we’ll report the results here next Saturday, and hopefully, no further testing is required. As “they” say, “it’s hell to get old,” and such testing becomes necessary as we age, whether we have health conditions or not.

After returning from Komati, we put the groceries away, and both of us took a nap. It’s a rarity for me to nap, but after being awake sneezing the last night, the rest was refreshing before we got ready to go to Jabula for sundowners and dinner. As usual, we had a very fun evening and are returning with Louise and Danie tonight for another great evening.

On Sunday afternoon, we’re going to another party at a house overlooking the Crocodile River hosted by local friends, where we bring our meat to cook on the braai with sides prepared by the hosts. Since we don’t eat most South African side dishes since they rarely are low carb (Tom is back to healthy eating with me now that he wiped out the disgusting jelly candies he brought back from the US).

This morning we made a keto chicken salad which we’ll eat instead of bringing meat for the braai, which makes the party more relaxing for us when we don’t have to wait for a turn on the braai or watch some type of meat cooking. I like steak rare; it is often difficult to cook correctly when sharing a grill with multiple conversations occurring nearby. Invariably, when we’ve brought steaks to such events, they end up overcooked.

Tomorrow morning, I will make coleslaw and place them in two individual containers along with the two containers of chicken salad, which will also serve as plates. We’ll bring a few forks, napkins, and our beverage with glasses and ice. Easy peasy.

If we’re hungry later in the evening, after returning to the house, we can also have leftover chicken salad and coleslaw so we won’t have to cook. Many of these early afternoon parties end by 6:00 pm, 1800 hrs. when everyone goes home to continue their evening plans. We don’t mind these early parties.

As for today, we’ve had a busy morning feeding the wildlife, prepping food, and doing a few loads of laundry. Norman and Big Daddy have stopped by several times, and of course, after chopping vegetables, Norman had a nice bowl of “Norman’s Lunch,” including a few bananas and apples tossed in. He enjoyed every bite. When we got up this morning, he was the first visitor of the day waiting in the garden, as often is the case. We never tire of seeing him, Nina, and the baby.

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

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, March 25, 2022:

The view of Karen and Rich’s pool and bay from our bedroom’s veranda! Amazing! For more photos, please click here.

Rushing to town…

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Derek was sniffing Delila. Breeding is year-round; the female gives birth to one fawn after a gestation period of 6 to 7.5 months.

Whenever we’re heading to Komatipoort to shop and, on occasion, have a dental or doctor’s appointment, I feel rushed trying to get the post done before leaving. This morning is no exception. I tried getting up and ready for the day, but somehow, I got sidetracked by a few household tasks.

We both decided against having breakfast today, waiting to see if we’re hungry after the 11:00 am Doc Theo appointments for both of us. If so, we’ll walk over to Stoep Cafe and have a bite to eat. Recently, Lousie was sick for a day or two after eating there, and it made me wonder if all the load-shedding lately may have spoiled something they served.

Not every restaurant has inverters and generators, and they hope the food stays fresh during the load-shedding period of two to two and a half hours. There’s never been a problem at Jabula since they use generators for their fridges during outages. Speaking of Jabula, tonight we’ll be returning for sundowners and dinner at the bar, and tomorrow night, Louise and Danie will join us.

Busy morning in the bush. At that point, we counted nine antelope in the garden, not all shown in this photo.

The fact that we’re dining out tonight made me less interested in eating lunch out (instead of breakfast). It seems kind of weird to eat out twice in one day, which we only do when staying in hotels, and all meals must be eaten in restaurants.

When I checked last year’s post for a “year ago photo,” I noticed there was no post on this date last year. We were traveling to Florida to spend a few weeks with our friends Karen and Rich before sailing on a transatlantic cruise to Southampton, a voyage during which, on the last two days, we both tested positive for Omicron.

By contracting Covid-19, we had to cancel the following cruise, sailing away a few days later when we both became very ill. We lost the money for that cruise on the Queen Mary 2 from Southampton to New Yrok when they only gave us an extension for ten months that we couldn’t use within that timeframe.

Norman and Big Daddy are trying to get along while eating pellets.

We had a good time in Florida, but unfortunately, our friend Karen became ill (not Covid) while we were there. Wow! How time flies! It’s hard to believe that was a year ago.

Also, today, after our appointments with Doc Theo, we’ll head to the pharmacy, where I’ll get some refills and a few toiletries. With no store like Target, we must purchase toiletries not carried at Spar supermarket, at the small pharmacy with limited brands. Somehow, for all the time we’ve been here, we’ve managed to get most of the items we use.

Norman, Nina, and the baby have been visiting several times a day. Look at how much the baby has grown!

After refilling my prescriptions, I’ll return to Doc Theo one more time before we leave. The pharmacist has agreed to give me one year’s worth of my medications after I get new prescriptions from Theo. That way, I’ll have enough of what I need to get me through until we return one year later. I don’t want to have to find a doctor to write prescriptions, wherever we may be during that year away.

We hadn’t grocery shopped in three weeks before Tom left for the US, other than picking up a few items in the local shops. Mother Hubbard’s cupboards are bare, and our two refrigerators are almost empty.

Time to head out. We’ll be back tomorrow with more.

Be well.

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

There was no post one year ago today due to a travel day.

Meet Ruffles, an adorable female kudu…A fitful night with weird circumstances…

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The female kudu facing the camera is Ruffles since her ears are ruffly, unlike the other kudus.

The days seem to pass quickly lately, but the nights sometimes drag on. Last night was one of those nights for me. I awoke at 2:00 am itching from mozzie and chigger bites. I got up and put on some numbing cream, the only product that seems to help me sleep when itchy.

After leaving the bathroom after applying the cream, I crawled back into bed, hoping I wouldn’t wake Tom. He stirred but seemed sound asleep, with a soft snore passing through his lips, which never bothered me. Wide awake after getting back into bed, I plugged my wired earpiece into my right ear so I could comfortably lay on my left side, figuring I’d watch an episode of Naked and Afraid to lull me back to sleep. With the earpiece plugged into the phone, Tom doesn’t hear the show.

Watching a show on my phone always helps me fall back to sleep. But, often, the show continues to play, wearing down the battery. If I awake a few hours later and can’t go back to sleep, my phone may be dead. There’s a power cord next to the bed, but it’s very short, and I have to lay close to the edge of the bed to have it charge while I am using it.

Our Big Daddy regularly stops to enjoy some pellets.

There’s a shortage of outlets in houses in Africa with no particular building and zoning laws requiring an outlet every so-many meters. As a result, charging our laptops and phones is sometimes challenging, and we have to share certain outlets with multiple pieces of equipment.

Sitting at the dining room table, there is nowhere to plug in my laptop (with an adapter and converter). I can plug my phone into my computer, but that drains the laptop’s battery more quickly. The only place in the house to plug in my laptop is next to my side of the bed, with a tangled mass of cords on the floor that I have to navigate every time I get up to avoid tripping.

So, anyway, last night, when I got back into bed planning to watch the show, my phone had gone into some peculiar “talk-back” mode. I could not manipulate any apps on the phone, let alone get into “settings” to figure out how this happened. After playing around with the phone for about 30 minutes, I decided the only way I could figure this out was to load my laptop and look up instructions to stop this weird feature.

Big Daddy is enormous,

When I got out of bed, I likely hit something on the phone that triggered the “talk-back” feature. I didn’t want to awaken Tom; I was cautious the screen wouldn’t be in his eyes. Luckily, he was facing the opposite way, and I was able to load the laptop.

In only a matter of 60 seconds, I found instructions on how to disable “talk back.” It was to double press both sides of the volume button on the right side of the phone, below the start button. It worked immediately. Of course, during the entire time I tried to resolve this situation, I kept the phone charging on the short cord, or else I may have had a dead battery by the time the issue was resolved.

Finally, the phone was charged sufficiently, and I could load Express VPN and then the Discovery app to bring up the show, Naked and Afraid, and I rolled over onto my left side to watch the show. Within minutes, I was back to sleep to find the show had automatically moved through two more episodes while I slept until 7:30 am, overall getting enough total sleep to feel OK. Next time I watch the show, I’ll return to where I left off when I fell asleep.

Again, Big Daddy and Norman face-off, but both stay calm.

Sure, I’d love to be one of those people who fall asleep after their head hits the pillow and then proceed to sleep through the night. That’s never been me. But, overall, I get enough sleep, usually seven to eight hours each night. My Fitbit seems pretty accurate in logging how much sleep I get each night and the quality of that sleep.

Today, we’re staying in and again cooking on the braai with pork chops for Tom, a lamb chop for me, rice for Tom, and salad for both of us. The weather is tolerable, humid but not too hot, but certainly, we’ll enjoy a lovely afternoon and evening with the wildlife and perhaps sundowners on the veranda.

Tomorrow, we’re off to Komatipoort for our appointments with Doc Theo, a trip to the pharmacy and grocery shop, and, if time allows, lunch at Stoep Cafe. Also, tomorrow evening, we’re off to Jabula for more fun at the bar and restaurant. It will be nice to get out.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, March 23, 2022:

We always had a reason to celebrate. Here is Don (Kathy and Don) and Rita (Rita and Gerhard) at Jabula celebrating our friendships. For more photos, please click here.

Antelope altercation in the garden…The worms have turned into moths…They are everywhere…

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Big Daddy and Norman engage in a dominance dance in the garden.

Antelopes are prevalent in Marloth Park. They include, based on size: kudu, nyala, impalas, bushbucks, and duikers. It’s a rare occasion to witness disharmony among these animals, other than pushing and shoving when jockeying for pellets, even common among family members of the same species.

It’s been a rarity for us to see fighting among the various species of antelopes when they visit the garden. However, since Norman has become such a regular here, we’ve noticed that he gets defensive when there are the Big Daddy kudus in the garden, whether close to the house or at a distance of fewer than 30 meters, which is, by his standards, too close for comfort.

As we’ve shown in past photos, Norman fluffs up his hair to make himself appear larger and hangs his head low. We aren’t sure if dropping down his head is to add to appearing larger or if it is a form of submission. Most would assume, by watching him, that its submission.

From time to time, they slowly move around the garden.

The massive Big Daddies respond to Norman’s sign of courage and strength. They certainly don’t run off frightened by Norman, but they recoil to a certain degree. If it was submission, it would be counterintuitive to appear larger, to make the male kudu with massive horns become frightened of him.

In any case, it’s interesting to observe. Of course, we’re a little concerned they could engage in a fight which would be disastrous, and there would be nothing we could do to stop it. In some instances, in the wild, these animals have fought to the death when protecting their territory, food source, or females and family members, although from what we’ve read, it’s very rare.

Norman with his head down during his “fluffing up” session.

As gentle animals, they aren’t explicitly looking for a fight. We proceed with caution when offering food when the other is nearby to avoid the remote possibility of an altercation.

Today, Tom observed these scenes shown in the photos while I was showering. A short time later, when I came out of the bedroom, they were both still in the garden, doing their dance of dominance, Norman more than Big Daddy.

It’s always interesting to watch the behavior of the wildlife in Marloth Park. Spending most of our daylight hours outdoors, it’s inevitable we’d often see how wildlife interact with one another. The most aggressive animals we’ve observed are warthogs who will fight with any other animal over food, territory, or mating rights.  The next most often we’ve seen is zebras among themselves when vying for pellets. They will kick and bite one another to get the next morsel into their mouths.

He doesn’t respond to my voice when he is in this position.

That awful invasion of slimy black worms continued for several weeks but ended about a week ago. The older worms have morphed into annoying giant black moths, flying around inside the house and the veranda. There is no way to escape them, although they are bothersome but harmless.

All we can do is keep the exterior doors open, hoping none will get into the bedroom (we keep that door closed at all times). If we shut the exterior doors, the house’s interior gets too hot, and there’s no aircon unit on the main floor other than in the bedroom. In time, these moths will disappear, and then some other annoying insect will take over. After all, TIA, “This is Africa,” and that’s what happens here.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, March 22, 2022:

Bossy’s baby suckles while another female looks for pellets. For more photos, please click here.

Let sleeping kudus lie…Dazzle of zebras came to call…Easy life…

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Big Daddy was napping in the garden.

As we sit here enjoying views of the massive garden surrounding our holiday home on this slightly cooler and less humid Tuesday morning, we are reminded of the leisurely pace of our day-to-day lives. We love these times of low stress and less paperwork consuming our time.

Sure, there’s always work we could tackle, but right now, we’re both reveling in this quiet time back together in the bush and freeing ourselves from obligation and planning. In the next few weeks, we’ll have to ramp it up and start planning where we’ll go when we leave South Africa on June 8.

We think it will make sense to spend at least a month in an African country that we may not visit in the future since it borders South Africa, and when staying in this country, we can’t get our visas stamped for another 90-day stay in any country nearby.

He was nodding off before he finally succumbed to sleep.

Our first cruise sails out of Edinburgh, Scotland, on August 1. Since the UK is so expensive, spending from June 8 to August 1 in Scotland may not make sense. If we spend another month on the African continent in a country we haven’t visited, we’ll save money while enjoying a new country, going on unique safaris, and immersing ourselves in yet another culture. It seems like a logical plan for us.

When the month is over, we can then head to Scotland, where we’ll spend about three weeks reveling in the wonders of that beautiful country that we’ve never visited in the past. We always love trying new locations when we have already seen so much of the world in the past ten-plus years.

Sure, each day, we conduct a little research to decide in a few weeks. With a decision, it will make the pinning down of plans easier and less time-consuming. Some African countries don’t have many holiday homes suitable for our needs, and we may have to consider staying in a resort or hotel, which is OK for us after we’ve recovered from our ten months in a hotel in lockdown in India.

Zebra butts while dining on pellets. Check out the face on the second from the left!

At the time, we may have said we never wanted to stay in a hotel other than for a few nights. But, as time marches on, we’ve let that go and know that on some occasions, we may need to stay in a hotel or a resort, which we now fully accept as a possibility.

We can easily stay in a hotel suite where we may have a refrigerator, even if it’s small. Also, we prefer to stay in hotels and resorts that include breakfast, reducing our cost of dining. Also, the prices for many holiday homes have doubled since the pandemic and become less affordable when many hotels have had fewer increases.

Since we still only eat two meals a day, in the case of included breakfast, our only dining expense is for dinner and a drink, if desired. When staying in hotels in Minnesota and Nevada, we seldom had a drink with dinner, not because we were being frugal but more so because neither of us needs to drink alcohol every time we go out. For us, it’s more about a social scene.

This zebra kept watch while the other nine zebras ate pellets.

Tonight, we’re finishing our stir-fry dinners. Tomorrow, we’ll make something to last for two nights, and then it’s time for Jabula again. Friday night, we’ll go on our own as usual. On Saturday night, Louise and Danie are joining us to finally catch up after Tom’s return. We always have plenty of catch-ups to do with this lovely couple.

Have a fantastic Tuesday, and be well.

Photo from one year ago today, March 21, 2022:

A mom and baby mongoose sucking contents from an egg. For more photos, please click here.

Update on headache and face pain…Hopeful…

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A Medium Daddy is sniffing and approaching a female kudu.

For a while, a few weeks or so, my headache improved tremendously. When it flared up, I took a medication Doc Theo had prescribed that contained cortisone but was instructed to use it sparingly due to potential side effects. If I could have taken it daily, I’d have been headache and facial pain-free. But I’ve only used it a few times for two consecutive days, enjoying the relief by the second day.

It wasn’t until I started taking a non-prescription antihistamine that he suggested, Fexo 18, fexofenadine, for the past week that I began to notice a good improvement in the symptoms. I never thought it was a brain issue. I am convinced it is an allergy problem and nothing more serious requiring specialists or brain scans.

This Big Daddy has been visiting us each day.

It seems the symptoms are worsened with more humid weather, but also consider the following:

“In spring and summer, during tree and grass pollen season, levels are highest in the evening. In late summer and early fall, levels are highest in the morning during the ragweed pollen season. Take a shower, wash your hair, and change your clothes after working or playing outdoors.”

Covid 19 symptoms vary from person to person. When we both got Omicron on a cruise ship last April, the first symptoms I experienced, besides the sore throat, were a headache over my left eyebrow and pain when touching my left cheek. These symptoms, overall, have continued since that time to one degree or another. I’ve been treated for sinus infections and would have relief for a few weeks, and then it would start up again.

Early on, I was treated for trigeminal neuralgia, which made some sense. But the excessive sneezing and runny nose didn’t coincide with that diagnosis. Plus, the medication for that condition made me sleepy and sluggish during the day and caused me to gain weight, a typical side effect of that drug. I stopped taking it a month later, and the headache and face pain returned.

He loves his pellets.

Then, off and on over the past several months, I’ve had short periods with less pain in my head and intermittent face pain. At this point, I’ve been pain-free for the past four days since I started taking the strong antihistamine a week ago. The sneezing and runny nose are less; the headache is 90% gone, and the facial pain. Perhaps, this is actually under control with this over-the-counter medication.

Years ago, when I was allergy tested, dust, dust mites, ragweed, and grass pollen were the allergens to which I responded the most. Right now, ragweed is at its highest level in the fall here in the Southern Hemisphere. There’s more dust and pollen here in the bush than anywhere we’ve ever been. Imagine the dust the animals kick up every day which enters the house. and no amount of hand dusting can eliminate it.

When we were in Minnesota in November and December, the headache almost disappeared after the first few days with snow on the ground. But, in our old lives, I experienced many symptoms in Minnesota during the summer months due to these same allergens.

Such a good-looking animal.

So now, I wait and see if the headache and face pain continue to improve. If so, there won’t be anything I need to do in the future other than continue taking this particular antihistamine when returning to South Africa next year. We’ll see how it goes.

On Friday, we’re both going to see Doc Theo. Tom would like the peace of mind of having an ultrasound called an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening test because several male family members have died or experienced this condition requiring treatment. Doc Theo will arrange for the test for Tom, which requires that we travel to Nelspruit, most likely to Mediclinci, where I had heart surgery.

Also, I am overdue for a heart scan and plan to do it on the same day as Tom’s test. Hopefully, all will be fine for both of us. We’ll report back what we discover.

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

Photo from one year ago today, March 20, 2022:

Bossy arrived with three young calves. She was on babysitting duty. This is her male calf. For more photos, please click here.

A quiet Sunday in the bush…Hot, not so humid…Plenty of visitors for a weekend…

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An interesting leaf-like insect was spotted on the veranda and stayed by my foot for about an hour. I researched every leaf-like insect and couldn’t find the species. Any ideas?

This morning, I took my time getting out of bed. My mind was full of thoughts about the future we’d yet to book. We’ve felt somewhat on hold until we receive notification that my visa has been extended to June 8, the day we plan to leave South Africa. As mentioned earlier by Tom traveling to the US a few weeks ago, he received a new 90-day visa. The process of applying for an extension for him becomes a moot point.

A mating pair of doves often hang around, hoping other birds drop seeds from the above bird feeder on a trolley.

At that point, we’ll begin a year away from the bush with plenty of plans in the works. We’re going to return in June or July 2024 when a short time later, daughter Tammy and family will travel here to spend time with us. They are quite the adventurers and will spend many days on a wide variety of activities. They’ll love everything South Africa has to offer.

Medium daddy drinking from the pool.

Most likely, we’ll return to this same house. It has two guest houses on the property that will serve our visitors well, providing privacy and convenience. Plus, it will be fun to return and see our favorite animals return to see us. Hopefully, a year later, they will remember us, our generous offerings, and my annoying high-pitched voice.

A gecko is looking out through the air vent hole in the outdoor heater.

Today, I am making two stir-fry dishes; beef tenderloin, mushroom, and broccoli for Tom; and prawns with bell peppers, zucchini, onions, and broccoli for me, all topped with a handful of peanuts. Tom will have his dinner on a bed of white rice while mine will top cooked shredded cabbage. We won’t have a salad with these intense vegetable meals.

Jasmine and her son, Little Johnny.

As always, I am making enough to last for two or three dinners, so I didn’t mind taking the time to wash and prepare all the fresh vegetables, placing them in big ziplock bags until it is time to cook the dishes. The leftovers will keep well in the refrigerator, which is easy to reheat quickly on the stovetop or in the microwave, as preferred, neither of which is impacted by load shedding.

Hal didn’t stop for pellets. He was content munching on the lush green grass.

They still tasted as good as they did the first night. It’s excellent cooking this way, always making enough to last for at least two nights, sometimes three. I like that for the next few nights; I don’t have to cook at all, other than reheat our leftovers. Then, on the other days, I can busy myself with other tasks on the agenda with our never-ending stream of research and paperwork.

Tom ordered this salad, but I ended up eating it without dressing, which it doesn’t need.

On another hot day, I am sitting at the dining room table with two fans blowing on me, the overhead fan and the portable fan only a few feet from me. The fans seem to help to keep the mozzies from landing on me. Right now, I have lots of itchy bites after all the rain we’ve had. I have to keep reapplying repellent when it seems to come off when my arms touch the table while I am typing.

My dish consisted of grilled chicken breast, steamed spinach, cabbage, and green beans.

We had another good night at Jabula last night when the bar filled up with tourists and locals. As usual, our dinners were terrific, as shown in the photos above and below. The meals are simple, but they taste better than you can imagine.

Tom poured the little cup of gravy into the hole he’d made in the center of his mashed potatoes.

The three-week holiday begins at the end of this week and ends after Easter on April 9. It will be busy here in the bush, and we don’t expect to see many animals during this period. But we will see plenty of cars on Olifant Road, the main paved road in MP, many exceeding the 50 km (31 miles) speed limit. It’s always heartbreaking to hear about animals killed on the road due to speeding and careless driving.

Tom is busy at the table on the veranda, as he often is, doing his usual online activities, totally at peace and content. It’s such a joy for me to look outside and see him there. His ten days away are quickly becoming a distant memory as we’ve easily settled back into a harmonious, pleasant, and playful life in the bush. We never forget for a day how fortunate we are to have each other and this amazing life we live.

Be well.

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

What a handsome animal!!! For more photos, please click here.

A mass impacting travel in some parts of the world…

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Not our photo. Only a tiny portion of the 5000-mile-wide (8047 km) seaweed mass is washing up on beaches. Sargassum is not a new problem. But the mass of floating seaweed in the Atlantic Ocean is getting bigger, according to scientists. Andre Seale / VW PICS / Universal Images Group via Getty ImagesFor locations,

It’s important for us to pay attention to what’s happening in the world that may have an impact on travel. This morning, while listening to Garage Logic podcast episodes that we missed while Tom was in the US. We’re quickly catching up by listening to two podcasts a day, usually in the morning, while I prepare the posts.

It’s great listening to podcasts in the morning since we don’t have a TV on the main floor and rarely turn it on while in Africa or in other countries, for that matter. We’ve become so used to streaming news and shows. It’s a rare occasion we have any interest in turning on a TV, although we are informed of local and national events with frequent updates that pop up on our laptops.

When this story about the floating mass of seaweed came up today, I thought it was important to share it with our readers who may be considering travel to some of the popular resort areas that may be impacted the most by this anomaly, as described here by Smithsonian Magazine:

“A 5,000-mile-wide blob of brown seaweed is making its way toward North America and could soon wreak havoc on beaches throughout Florida, Mexico, and the Caribbean reports NBC News’ Denise Chow.

The thick raft of seaweed—known as the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt—is not new, but scientists say it’s especially large now. What’s more, the giant sargassum blanket floating in the Atlantic Ocean appears to be making landfall several months earlier than normal this year, which “doesn’t bode well for a clean beach summer in 2023,” says Brian Lapointe, an ecologist at Florida Atlantic University, to the New York Times’ Livia Albeck-Ripka and Emily Schmall.

Sargassum typically makes landfall in May, then peaks in June and July. But already, the seaweed is starting to pile up on beaches in Florida’s Key West as well as in Mexico’s Cancun, Playa del Carmen, and Tulum.

“These blooms are getting bigger and bigger, and this year looks like it’s going to be the biggest year yet on record,” Lapointe tells the Times.

Generally, the sargassum mat bobs harmlessly between West Africa and the Gulf of Mexico. Out in the middle of the Atlantic, it even provides some benefits, such as absorbing carbon dioxide and providing shelter for various marine creatures, including some fish, crustaceans, and sea turtles.

But when the tangle of seaweed washes ashore, it starts to cause problems. It piles up on beaches and begins to rot, releasing toxic hydrogen sulfide into the air. Also known as “sewer gas” or “swamp gas,” the colorless hydrogen sulfide smells like rotten eggs and can cause respiratory and neurological issues in humans.

Person holding up clumps of seaweed in hands
Not our photo. Sargassum provides a habitat for marine wildlife in the ocean and absorbs carbon dioxide.

Sargassum is a big turnoff to tourists, so it can also lead to economic consequences for hotels, restaurants, and other businesses that rely on travelers for their livelihoods. This year, its early arrival adds to the problems of Florida’s Gulf Coast tourism industry, which is already grappling with the harmful effects of a toxic red tide.

“It’s unpleasant,” says Melinda Simmons, a marine scientist at Jacksonville University, to First Coast News’ Robert Speta. “Whether you are swimming or wading in it, it’s going to smell bad. And then people don’t want to come to the beach.”

Beyond that, sargassum can make it challenging for boats to navigate through coastal waters. It can block the intake valves of desalination plants and power plants, which can lead to water shortages and other issues. It can also block light from reaching the plants and animals below the water’s surface and make it difficult for sea turtles to crawl across the sand to their nesting habitats or to the ocean.

Though communities and resorts try to remove as much of the seaweed from the beach as possible, that process is expensive and labor-intensive. And once they remove the sargassum, they then must figure out what to do with it. Sargassum contains heavy metals, including arsenic, that can make it dangerous to compost or use as fertilizer. Entrepreneurs are trying to come up with novel solutions to the sargassum problem—such as sinking it to the bottom of the seafloor or using it for building materials—but have so far struggled to make them commercially viable.

Scientists have been tracking the Atlantic sargassum raft for years. But in 2011, they started to notice that it was ballooning in size annually. The brown blob is now so large that it can be seen from space, and researchers use satellite imagery to keep tabs on it.

They aren’t exactly sure what’s causing the growth, but they suspect that human activities may be at least partly to blame. They’ve noticed that the sargassum mass tends to expand seasonally, around the same time that major rivers like the Congo, the Mississippi, and the Amazon are discharging into the Atlantic. From this pattern, they’ve determined that runoff from fertilizers, deforestation, and biomass burning may be unintentionally feeding the seaweed. Increasing ocean temperatures, which stem from human-caused climate change, may also be contributing.

“I’ve replaced my climate change anxiety with sargassum anxiety,” says Patricia Estridge, co-founder and CEO of Seaweed Generation, a Scotland-based company that aims to use seaweed to remove carbon emissions, to the Guardian’s Zan Barberton.”

This information is entirely new to us, and we anticipated it may be unknown to many of our readers. It may be worthwhile if planning to travel to any of these locations for ocean-related activities to check online to see the status of this mass of seaweed.

Last night, we had a fabulous time at Jabula. Tom was welcomed back with open arms and considerable enthusiasm by our friends. Tonight, as always, we’ll return again for yet another fun evening.

Be well.

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

Zebra’s tails appear braided, but obviously, they are not. For more photos, please click here.