Lots of response to the intruder…Thanks for the support!!!…Fun with Tom’s favorite podcast!…

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One of our two noisy frogs serenades us each night.

After yesterday’s post about the intruder in our garden in Marloth Park after our trail cam took a photo of a man wearing a hat, gloves, and backpack (for the loot he planned to steal), we’ve had tons of supportive comments and interest. We wrote the story and posted the photos on our site at this link and on Facebook on the Marloth Park Sighting page to alert other residents to be especially wary of the man and ensure their alarm systems are set and doors and windows locked at all times. Thanks to everyone for their comments and concern for our well-being.

Yesterday afternoon two security personnel from Field Security stopped by, with whom this property is contracted, to check our security system. We knew we could not set the alarm during power outages but hadn’t given it much thought until now. One of the kindly men went up onto the roof and replaced the defunct backup battery with a new one. Now we’ll be able to set the alarm during power outages and load shedding.

Also, we moved the trail cam to another (secret) location in the garden. Not only might we get photos of some other wildlife at night, but if this or another intruder comes into our garden at night, we will have more precise shots of them. This is comforting.

There were multiple species in the garden on New Year’s Day. As the holidaymakers leave the park, we’ll be getting more visitors.

Louise offered to move us to another one of her holiday homes once all the current holidaymakers depart. We appreciate her offer. But, other than this recent intruder and a few snakes, we are pretty content here. Plus, all of our favorite animals who’ve come to know us mean a lot to us. If we moved, they might never find us.

It was a fluke that Little found us here from the last time he saw us at our old holiday home in 2018/2019, a few kilometers from here. I doubt we’d be so lucky again. We may move at some point, but right now, we are content.

This morning, we were anxious to look at the trail cam photos. Thank goodness there was no human intruder, but our porcupine appeared again in the images. Unfortunately, the photos weren’t clear enough to post today. We’ll keep an eye out, and once we acquire more explicit porcupine photos, we’ll post them.

Our new boy, Wounded, has stopped by several times.

On another note, Tom and I continue to listen to Garage Logic podcasts each weekday, while Tom continues to contribute from “This Date in Minnesota History.” Daily, he sends them the latest information, and each day, the guys on Garage Logic read it, mentioning the following before they read:

“Only, because they come to us all the way from Marloth Park, Mpumalanga, South Africa, from the traveling Lymans, “On this date in Minnesota History.” At that point, they read the latest and date-appropriate historical events that occurred in Minnesota. Each time they say this, we get a massive kick out of it. I suppose they do this since they are thrilled and surprised we’re listening to their podcasts from almost 9000 miles, 14,484 km, away.

A few days ago, one of their listeners, Susan, wrote to them stating we aren’t traveling and should change what they say when referring to us as the “traveling Lymans.” You can listen to her comments here at this link. To avoid listening to the entire podcast, you can fast forward to one hour, one minute, 56 seconds to hear what she wrote.

This is the second of our two frogs who make noise communicating with each other, mostly at night. It looks like he’s ready to at that bug!

Hearing this, Tom was compelled to respond, and you can listen to them read Tom’s response here at this link. You can fast forward to 53 minutes, 50 seconds to hear Tom’s reply to Susan. We couldn’t help but laugh aloud when podcasters Joe, Rookie, Reevers, Kenny, and John joined in.

It’s often the little things that often give us the most fulfillment and pleasure. And yes, although we are in one place right now, we do plan to continue traveling once we take off for our Azamara cruise to the UK from Fort Lauderdale on April 8, 2022. Hopefully.

Today, we’re filing the documents with the attorney in Cape Town we’d used for the visa waiver in 2019 after we’d been detained in South Africa for an extra 90 days due to my emergency open-heart surgery. Now, we need an extension to get us through until we can leave for the cruise in a few months. We’ll keep you updated as to how this goes.

Be well.,

Photo from one year ago today, January 5, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #286This hall at the temple site is used for weddings, arranged marriage meetings, relaxation, and prayer. For more photos, please click here.

Frightening visitor to our garden at 4:00 am!!!…What do we do now?…Earlier, a wonderful sighting…

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T75

It started as an ordinary night. We enjoyed time on the veranda during the day and into the evening. After dark, when the bugs came out, we went inside to watch the final episode of season 4, Yellowstone, and another hilarious episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm.

During the evenings, when we are inside the house, Tom frequently checks the garden to see if we have any visitors. Last night, around 8:00 pm, 2000 hrs, he told me to hurry and come look out the veranda screen door. Our favorite porcupine, with fully extended quills, was not only in our garden but also came up onto the veranda checking out Frank’s leftover bird seeds.

It was the best sighting we had of this exciting and unusual animal. We were hoping they would pass in front of the camera, but unfortunately, no such luck. There was no way we could have used our camera to take a photo since the sound of opening the door would have easily scared the porcupine away.

Since we’ve had the camera set up, we’ve been able to see her in photos in the garden at night, although they were often too far from the camera for a clear shot. Last night would have been perfect if only once she passed in front of the trail cam. But, we were nonetheless thrilled to see it and will continue to watch for another sighting.

Then, off to bed, and by midnight we were both sound asleep. Once, during the night, we were awakened by Tom’s phone ringing. He’d forgotten to turn on the “Do Not Disturb” button before he went to sleep. It was a call about renewing our car warranty. We don’t own a car. Robocall. Disgusting.

Tom drifted off right away while it took me over an hour to return to sleep. When I get startled by a sound during the night, I always have trouble falling back to sleep which I’ve read is due to the release of cortisol and adrenaline, hormones that are released to a “fight or flight” response. Tom doesn’t seem to have the same reaction.

This morning, as usual, Tom was up and out on the veranda before me. He always takes the data card out of the camera and reviews the night’s photos. Today, he was particularly enthused to see the images, hoping we’d have photos showing the porcupine. Alas, there wasn’t a single photo of the porcupine, much to our disappointment.

There have been many burglaries in Marloth Park, often at gunpoint in the middle of the night, and this concerns us. However, there were only three photos from the trail cam…a man in our garden at 3:58 am, as shown in today’s photos!!! Why was this man in our garden so secluded, requiring a walk through dense bush to access?

Immediately upon seeing the photos, Tom showed them to me. I contacted Louise, sending her the three images. She has contacted Field Security, and they’ll be coming out today to talk to us. We will ask them to come by our house several times during the night. Doing so may not ensure they’d catch this man, but at least, if he’s here again, he could be deterred by their presence.

Yes, our house is fully protected by an alarm system with bars on windows, including the screen door to the veranda. We keep the alarm button on the key fob in our possession at all times, including beside the bed at night. In any case, this is still worrisome, and we will feel a little relieved after we’ve spoken to Field Security.

Several of our friends have experienced break-ins over the years. Although there are guards at the entrance gates, anyone can enter Marloth Park since it is a public municipality. The guards at the gates’ job are to ensure that no animals are coming into the park or heading out of the park in the boot of a car.

When we came to South Africa in 2013, we were aware of the high rates of crime in some areas, as is the case, and in our own US and many other cities throughout the world. But, we thought living in the remote bush might offer some security. Over the years we’ve spent here in Marloth Park, we’ve heard many stories of burglaries occurring during the night. Some include guns and, in the case of one couple of our friends, being tied up while the burglary occurred.

That’s the news for today, folks. We will get back to you when we know more.

Be well.

                                         Photo from one year ago, January 4, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #285. The colorful temples in Chennai were breathtaking to see. “Kapaleeshwarar Temple: Dedicated to one of the forms of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati that is Arulmigu Kapleeswar and Karpagambal respectively, the temple should be on the top position of your list of temples to visit.” For more photos, please click here.

Marloth Park has suffered a sad loss of a beloved animal…

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Not our photo. Fluffy, male, and Dezi at the Impala Dam on January 15, 2021.

After a good night’s sleep, I awoke this morning at 7:30 and began my day by checking out the world news, my email, messages on Messenger, text, and WhatsApp, and finally checking out the most recent new posts on Facebook as I always do. I love knowing what’s going on in the world. I also listen to podcasts when getting ready for the day. But more on that later in this post.

When I read the following post this morning that popped up on Facebook, it brought tears to my eyes. Not only was it beautifully written and heart-wrenching, it was sensitive to the reality that few of us in Marloth Park had ever seen Dezi, but that didn’t mean we didn’t love her.

Many nights, we’ve sat on the veranda and listened to hers, and Fluffy’s roar permeates the air. Last night, the roars we heard must have only been Fluffy’s since, by then, Dezi was no more.

Please read the following unedited, beautiful tributes to her and her sad passing.

May be an image of big cat and nature
Not our photo. Fluffy and Dezi at the water’s edge in Lionspruit.

“✝️A TRIBUTE TO QUEEN DEZI ✝️ by Gerrie Camacho.

The roar from the Lionspruit lioness, also known as Dezi, will no longer be heard as she has spent her last night under the Lowveld skies. As of last night, she will no longer join her mate of the past 16 plus years in the always familiar duet of lion vocalization, claiming Lionspruit as their territory. She was a quiet legend and was most probably one of the oldest wild living lionesses but at the age of twenty years had to quit the African bush life.

Few people were privileged to spend time with her, many were lucky to see her, and most owners and visitors had the regular privilege to hear her at night time. After her radio collar transmitted from the same area for the past few days, it was pertinent to go find her on foot in an area too dense to enter with a vehicle.

She was hardly responding to any stimuli of the sound of humans and paid no attention to our approach on foot. A winding pathway was established from the nearest road to approach her by vehicle. Here she was darted and taken to a workable area where she was examined by Doc Peet.

We can only pay tribute to this female who kept a fighting spirit to survive until the last minute. Doc Peet who has been serving the Marloth community voluntarily and diligently over the past couple of years had the sad task to let her pass on as humanely as possible. This task could have been performed more easily, but he chose to help her out of this life with as much dignity as possible. Thank you to all those involved in finding her. Thank you Doc Peet for the professional, compassionate and respectful manner you once again showed while working with this magnificent beast in her last moments under the Lionspruit skies. R.I.P. Dezi!❤️“

Also, on Facebook was the following message further explaining her passing:

It is a sad day indeed for all of us who love our own Lionspruit lions.
Yesterday we lost Dezi. It has been a long week of hoping against hope that she would recover from age-related injuries that she recently suffered whilst still living her best lion life. But unfortunately, she was losing ground day by day. Dezi indeed lived to a great age for a lion.
We would like to thank Doctor Peet Venter for his caring, professional input. He concluded yesterday that Dezi was suffering, and it was time to let her go. Thank you also to Gerrie Camacho from MTPA, the Marloth Park Field Rangers, and the Honorary Rangers for this last day of care. A special thank you to Joce Gordon for the time-intensive monitoring, especially over the last few weeks.
Genie Retief, Chief Honorary Ranger.”
May be an image of big cat and nature
Not our photo. Another gorgeous photo of Dezi.

It is amazing that those of us who love wildlife can feel so deeply for an animal they’ve only heard but never seen. That’s the magic of living in Africa, or anywhere there is free-roaming wildlife. We fall in love with their beauty, uniqueness, and mystery, although we were never able to get too close to her or ever see her at all.

If we are so touched by the sound of a lion, living only meters away from Lionspruit, which abuts our holiday home in the rear, it is easy to understand how connected we become with the animals we see almost every day, who look into our eyes, with trust and interest and depend on us, in the leanest times, to toss some sustenance their way.

Soon, the holidaymakers who came to the park for the Christmas and New Year season will be leaving to return to their homes in other parts of South Africa and, for some, other parts of the world. When they are gone, the vast numbers of animals that routinely visit us will return to us in abundance.

Now, with the rich vegetation for the wildlife to eat after weeks of rain, they no longer need much in the way of pellets. And yet, day by day, they return, much to our joy and appreciation. Sure, we still toss a few pellets their way, the same way you’d offer your dog or cat an occasional treat, knowing with or without this offering, you are still loved, still important in their lives.

In the future, the lion roars we hear at night will only be those of Fluffy and, of course, the remaining five lions currently residing in our presence.

The holiday has ended, but our hope for the future is only just beginning. May the New Year bring all of us peace of mind and comfort.

Photo from one year ago today, January 3, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #284. Festival in the street in India. “Meena Sankranti is an important Hindu festival observed on the auspicious occasion of the sun’s transition from Pisces to Aries. Known as Meena Sankramanam in South India, the festival will be celebrated on March 14 (Saturday), 2020, all over India. Celebrating a Sankranti is often marked with the donation of various things. According to specific personal needs, the people celebrate the event at the onset of every month. Some Indian states like Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala observe the occasion at the beginning of each month. In contrast, states like West Bengal celebrate the festival during the latter half of the month.” For more photos, please click here.

Dinner on the veranda with friends during a sizzling hot night…Escalated lion warnings…

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Thirsty after eating pellets, piglets needed a drink from mom.

Last night’s dinner was easy to make when Rita and Gerhard came for dinner, which was decided on New Year’s eve when they surprised us at Flo and JiJi’s party as described in yesterday’s post, which is found here, in case you missed it. We had already planned a lovely New Year’s day dinner for the two of us, and in our usual manner, we had plenty for two more. We had enough for six more, so we’ll be eating leftovers for the next few days.

I’m thrilled I won’t have to cook for a few days with this awful heat and humidity. Last evening when we were situated at the veranda table with Rita and Gerhard, starting at 3:00 pm, while the meat cooked on the braai, it was so hot and humid, the sweat was pouring off each of us.

Moms and piglets stop by several times each day.

I had a few last-minute items to prepare that required the use of the oven. Rita sat on the barstool in the kitchen while I worked on the food, giving us a chance to catch up on some “girl talk” while Tom and Gerhard chatted outdoors. We often talked about how much we miss Kathy and Don, who are back in Hawaii, and how we wish they could be with us.

We made a plan to meet at Two Trees on Tuesday for sundowners and river viewing. Afterward, we may go out to dinner or each return to our respective bush houses for the remainder of the evening.

Poor mom with no tail.

But, the four of us will stay busy together this summer in Africa, frequently sharing our wildlife sightings and stories that come our way. Every Friday night, the four of us will go to Jabula, sit at the bar for drinks and later move to a table on the veranda for dinner. All of this is reminiscent of old times we shared beginning in 2018 when they first came to Marloth Park, again a couple who came here to this wildlife paradise after reading our posts for years. Little did we know, the four of us would become fast friends.

We introduced them to our friends living here before the onset of Covid-19, and again, typical for Marloth Park, magic happens, and social circles grow. Neither of us has ever lived anywhere where it is easy to make new friends. In our old lives, we socialized with the same wonderful long-term friends year after year, rarely including someone new in the “inner circle.”

This is the mom who lost her tail. She is the mom of Barbara and Lori and the set of two piglets. Poor girl, she also lost one of her latest piglets in the past few weeks. Check out her perfect tusks.

But, as I often say, there is something special about the commonality visitors and residents of Marloth Park possess, a passion for nature and wildlife that has a way of bringing people together. It may be true that those who love nature and wildlife have a different perspective of life, a passion that is unlike any other we’ve encountered along the way. We are very grateful to have met so many amazing people, many of whom have become dear friends.

This is our boy, One Tusk. His singular tusk is larger than any tusks we’ve seen on any other warthog.

As for the most recent comments about the lions possibly having returned to Kruger, it’s not the case. Here’s the latest post from Facebook that popped up last night:

“‼️CARNIVORE ALERT‼️
1st and 2nd January 2022
The Carnivore Team has released a warning that the three young lions have been spotted at 16h30, and they are highly mobile and hunting!
A very urgent alert for tonight in the following area: The whole block of Swartwitpens to Seekoei and tomorrow morning from Hardekool to Soenie an urgent alert for joggers and cyclists to be cautious along the fence!
Please do not allow children in these areas period as the lions could be anywhere! 😳
Unfortunately, the warnings are not taken seriously! The onus is on everyone to adhere to the alerts and warn others of the dangers.
Should you spot the lions, phone any one of the following numbers:
Rangers 082 802 5894
CPF/ Nadine 082 672 4545 Gerrie Camacho 082 353 9097,
Ernst Röhm /MTPA 083 626 6309,
April Lukhele: 082 807 1057. Jan Koekemoer 063 053 7601.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding – Carnivore Team, Rangers, MTPA, CPF, Security, and the Vet.”
Broken Horn has been digging in the mud based on his dirty face.
No doubt, this means the lions are still here in Marloth Park, although this time the warning was issued they are closer to us, now under 2 kilometers, 1.2 miles from us. Of course, for our concerned family and friends, we want to assure you we are safe. We don’t go out onto the roads on foot, and we proceed with extreme caution when going to and from the car to the house.

That’s it for today, folks. We hope you have a safe and enjoyable start to the New Year.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, January 2, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #283. This kind man, Mr. Ganapthay of Cholan Art Village, made the experience of visiting his nine-generation family’s bronzing business all the more special to both of us. For more, please click here.

Happy New Year!…No “year in review” this year, but excitement from the past 24 hours!!!!…

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Chris, the instructor, and Tom were all smiles with the black mamba while attending a snake-handling class in March 2018. I took the classroom course and the test. I was grateful my job was to take photos and not handle the snakes. See the original post here.

Living in the bush always provides opportunities for exciting and unique experiences. Days may pass before anything pops up, but ultimately, something special happens. In this case, it was more than special. It was terrifying!!!

As we were getting ready to go to Jabula last night instead of our usual Friday night, due to the New Year’s Eve party that we’re attending this evening, Tom stepped out onto the veranda to feed a bushbuck in his bare feet and underwear. (Privacy is easy since we are far from other bush houses and dense bush surrounds us on all sides). It was so hot and humid. He didn’t want to put on his clothes until we were ready to go out the door.

I was busy in the second bedroom where I keep my clothes, freshening up and changing for the evening. I heard Tom let out a “Whoa!”

I rushed outside to see what he had spotted. Fortunately, or unfortunately, (I couldn’t take a photo, nor did I see it. Now, you know what it was when I said it had slithered away. Nothing slithers like a snake.

It was a black mamba, the most venomous snake in Africa, described as follows from this site:

The black mamba has quite a reputation. It is one of the world’s deadliest snakes. It is the fastest land snake in the world and “the longest species of venomous snake in Africa and the second-longest in the world,” said Sara Viernum, a herpetologist based in Madison, Wisconsin. This snake’s potential danger has been the subject of many African myths, and it has been blamed for thousands of human deaths.

The black mamba’s reputation is not undeserved. “Black mambas are extremely venomous and very fast snakes,” Viernum said. They are highly aggressive when threatened, “known to strike repeatedly and [to] inject a large volume of venom with each strike.” Their venom is potentially lethal, and though antivenin exists, it is not widely available in the black mamba’s native habitat of southern and eastern Africa. For this reason, they are considered a top killer in a land where nearly 20,000 people die from snake bites every year, according to PBS’s Nature.

Bite from a black mamba:
Just two drops of potent black mamba venom can kill a human, according to South Africa’s Kruger National Park. “Like cobras and coral snakes, the venom of a black mamba contains neurotoxins,” Viernum told Live Science. She described the venom as “fast-acting.” It shuts down the nervous system and paralyzes victims, and without antivenom, the fatality rate from a black mamba bite is 100 percent. “Fatalities from black mamba bites have been documented to occur within as little as 20 minutes after injection,” said Viernum. “However, most known fatalities have occurred within 30 minutes to 3 hours or longer.”

No doubt, being in close proximity to one of these dangerous snakes is frightening. Although it wasn’t as close to him as the boomslang that visited us last January, as shown in the photo below from our post here,

I stepped out the door to the veranda to discover this scene, a highly venomous boomslang with a frog in its mouth. It was already too preoccupied to bite us! Perhaps the frog in its mouth was a blessing. See our post here.

As for yesterday’s black mamba, it was only a few meters from him but fortunately slithered away in record time. The snake handlers in Marloth Park don’t want to be contacted for snakes spotted in gardens since, by the time they would  arrive, the snake would  be long gone,

If a snake is discovered in the house or on the veranda (as was the case in the above photo), maintaining its position, the handlers can be called, usually arriving in five to ten minutes. Tom saw no reason to call with yesterday’s sighting. But, it certainly reminded us to be more diligent than ever in examining our surroundings when walking to and from the car or anywhere in the garden.

It makes sense to scour the bedroom, checking under the bed and in closets this time of year. Snakes are more active during the hot summer months, which may continue long after we leave Africa.

Last night Tom killed a horrible-looking insect on the kitchen floor before we went to bed, leaving it near the trash can to be swept up in the morning. An hour later, I stepped out of the bedroom to get ready for bed to find hundreds of ants were carrying the insect. It was moved no less than 10 meters in one hour. If I hadn’t turned on the overhead light, I would have stepped on the mess in my bare feet.

Tom then swept it out the door and sprayed the entire kitchen and lounge room floors for ants. This morning they are all gone. Surely, more such creatures will visit us soon, whether it’s freaky insects or snakes. We hope our mongooses, who visited in the dozens yesterday, continue to stay around. They are known to keep snakes at bay since they are resistant to venom. We’ll see how that goes.

Soon, we’ll cook the two beef roasts we’re bringing to the party. The rain has stopped momentarily, the humidity and dew point are still very high, but it’s much cooler today, much to our delight.

May all of our friends, family, and readers have a fantastic and safe New Year’s Eve and new year to come. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for sharing yet another year with us.

Photo from one year ago today, December 31, 2020

This photo was posted one year ago today in the 2020′ year in review photos while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #281. Our guide, Amit, helped Tom fashion a turban required to enter the Golden Temple. I thought it looked good on him. For more photos, please click here.

Injuries and anomalies in the bush…

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This little duiker has his two horns growing strangely. Typically, males have two small horns atop their heads. This one has a center horn and a second horn, growing from the right side of his head. Most likely, this anomaly doesn’t cause him any problems.

Note: None of today’s photos are ours. This morning while getting ready for the day, Tom hollered out to me, “Hurry and come outside!” Not yet dressed, I grabbed a bath towel, covered myself, and headed out the door. But, I was too late. The sighting he was referring to was long gone.

It was Mom and Babies, who originally included three piglets, but now only two, who appeared in the garden with her tail gone from her injured-looking butt, which we’d noticed was looking bad over the past week or so. She lost one of her piglets last week. Whether it was eaten by the lions or other carnivores in Marloth Park or it was injured and couldn’t continue to carry on, surely being left to die.

No doubt, she was aware of her missing piglet. Then, to appear with an injury to her hind end, only days later must have been quite a blow to her. She continued to care for her remaining two piglets with attentive care, and then…this morning, she appears with the two in tow and a missing tail and bloody butt.

This female warthog appears to have been injured by either a snare or a fence.

It’s so sad,  but we’ll never know what happened to her, her piglet, and when and why her tail fell off. Warthog tails are long with a tuft of hair at the end. They use their tails to stand straight up when in the bush to let their family members know where they are. Also, they use their tails for a vital purpose…to swat off flies and insects. It’s constantly swishing back and forth.

How she’ll manage without a tail remains to be seen. But, warthogs have a robust immune system resulting in relatively quick injury healing and are highly adaptable. I imagine she will improvise and alert her piglets to her whereabouts with grunts and other pig sounds.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t get outside quickly enough to get a photo of her injury. Certainly, she and the two piglets will return in the next few days, and I’ll do so at that time and post it the next day. In the interim, today, we’re posting a few photos (NOT OUR PHOTOS) that we borrowed from Facebook posts on the Marloth Park Sighting group.

Was this kudu shot or injured? It’s impossible to know.

We often see anomalies and congenital disabilities in the bush, which may in some cases be due to inbreeding. The photo of the bushbuck with the peculiar placement of his two horns is an example of what may be such a case. It’s hard to say fo sure.These magical wild animals are resourceful. We can only imagine how hard life is for them. Many criticize the confinement of wildlife in Marloth Park. Still, in essence, their life here is considerably easier than for those in Kruger National Park, with fewer apex predators in Marloth Park. Of course, the recent five lions in the park have threatened their safety when numerous carcasses have been discovered since the onset of their presence. It’s not as safe as it used to be.

Although our bush home is not necessarily located in the areas where the lions have been sighted, they could easily change their territory in a few hours and suddenly appear in our area, which is a few kilometers from their current hunting ground. As a result, we keep an eye out constantly when we spend our days and evenings on the veranda.

May be an image of food and outdoors
This piglet appeared to have a broken back. Based on comments on Facebook, the rangers came to where it was spotted and euthanized it. So sad to see. Could this have been the missing third piglet of the mom described in today’s story with the missing tail? It could be.

As for wildlife injuries, the temptation is to contact the rangers each time we see an animal with a potentially life-threatening injury. But, there is a cost factor (who pays for the vets?) and a state of practicality. Warthogs seem to be the least likely animals to be provided with medical care.

Bushbucks, kudu, duikers, zebras, giraffes, and others might be offered care and rehabilitation by the vets that service Marloth Park’s wildlife and Wild and Free, Rehabilitate, Rescue and Release, a fantastic organization run by a dedicated wildlife expert and caregiver, Deidre. They rely upon donations to fund the center.

Of course, the Marloth Park Rangers and the Honorary Rangers are highly dedicated, hard-working individuals that strive to keep the animals in the park safe, healthy, and free from harm. We commend all of their efforts.

Photo from one year ago today, December 30, 2020:

Tom’s burger in Palermo, Buenos Aires, in 2018, with ham, eggs, cheese, and beef plus fried potatoes. This made Tom drool when we were in lockdown in a hotel room in Mumbai, India, on day #280. For more photos, please click here.

Is it coincidence, serendipity or random?…Unusual encounters…

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Please note: The first sentence of the first paragraph is intended to be the caption for the first photo. Due to WiFi issues with many holidaymakers in the bush, I am unable to correct this issue at this time. Thank you.

Barbara of Lori and Barbara (Shark Tank) had what we called “Barbara’s Butt Bush Bouquet” which lasted for quite a while, making us laugh. We met a lovely couple, Marie and Bill, due to our site and a newspaper story about us in 2012. They lived in our neighborhood in our old lives in Minnesota and attended our church in Victoria. They wrote to us a few days ago as they’ve often done, over the years since we left the US.

We became good friends with Marie and Bill, even meeting them for dinner in Minnesota in 2019. Also, they attended our “reader get-together in Minnesota in 2017.

Their recent email read:

Hi Tom and Jess,

We have not forgotten you; we continue to follow and enjoy your daily posts. Our apologies for the long lapse in communicating, though.

We read with great interest your post about being at Jabula and connecting with Rico, whose son was in your photos. I love small world stories, and whenever we have traveled, having a small world experience makes the trip even better. I’ll try to share one experience we had some years ago briefly.

What prompted them to write this particular email was due to a story we’d done a few weeks ago about meeting a man at Jabula for an unbelievable coincidence. His adult son’s photo was on our website when we visited a rescue center in 2014. To see this story, please click here.

Here is Marie and Bill’s message received two days ago, posted with their permission:

“Hi, Jess & Tom,

We and another couple from Plymouth, MN, were traveling by car in France. One day we passed by a winery in Burgundy that Bill knew a lot about. Our friend asked if he would like to stop for a visit. At first, Bill said no because he knew we were behind schedule getting to our next destination. Our friend reminded Bill that he probably wouldn’t pass by that winery ever again, so we should stop. So we did.

As we entered, we learned there was an English-speaking tour beginning soon, so we signed up to join in. We were directed to another building to meet our guide and the two other couples who had signed up. Long story short, the two other couples just happened to be from Victoria, MN, and I knew the daughters of one from teaching. What are the odds of two couples from Victoria, one couple from Plymouth, and we from Chan meeting up by chance and touring together? Amazing! It is indeed a small, small world!

We are sending many good wishes to both of you for the new year. Stay safe and healthy. You are in our thoughts each day.

Hugs,
Bill and Marie”

Barbara of Lori and Barbara (Shark Tank) had what we called “Barbara’s Butt Bush Bouquet.” It lasted for quite a while.

Obviously, Marie and Bil were shocked and pleasantly surprised by running into people from their area in the same way we were shocked to coincidentally have a photo of Rico’s son on our website. That was indeed serendipitous.

But, over the years of our world travel, we’ve met people that oddly appeared before us, again presenting a weird coincidence. We met a woman on a cruise in 2017 who is/was the bookkeeper for Father Bob, from the same church in Victoria, Minnesota we attended for years.

Another big coincidence was when we happened to be dining in a TripAdvisor highly-rated restaurant when we were in Paris in 2014. While spending two weeks in the city, exploring its many unique sightseeing venues, we decided to try the fine dining establishment, when, most evenings we dined at mid-range restaurants.

The restaurant was a historic home renovated in typical Parisian charm with several small dining rooms. At the time, we’d been following another couple traveling the world, whose online story was similar to ours, although they spent a lot of time in Europe, which we did not.

Once seated in one of those tiny rooms with three tables, I told Tom to turn around discreetly. Sitting next to us, engaged in deep conversation, was that couple. We decided not to disturb them. They didn’t know us, but we knew them from their online photos, a book they’d published, and an appearance on a US morning news program promoting their book.

Since that time, they’d stopped traveling when the husband became ill and later passed away. Sad story but a reality for seniors traveling the world.

At that time, Tom and I discussed how uninterested we were in writing books, appearing on TV, and participating in any reality-type TV shows; after receiving some offers, we declined. We didn’t want celebrity and the life that went with it. It’s satisfying enough for us to meet people on cruises who know us from reading our posts whom we’ve never met who’ve greeted us enthusiastically. We are flattered during those situations but humbly decline to make a big deal of it.

Early this morning, Hal and Howie were munching on pellets. Shortly after they left, Broken Horn made a visit.

But, these coincidences and random encounters always fascinate us.

This morning when sitting down at the table on the veranda with my coffee, I commented to Tom, “Gee, lover, we haven’t heard any frogs croaking in days. Tom replied, “No, we haven’t heard a  single croak in days.”

Two minutes later, two frogs started croaking, one in the cement pond and the other in the birdbath. Knowing I was writing this story today, I particularly laughed out loud. Coincidence? Serendipity? Who knows. But it was fun to hear them once again!

May your day be filled with pleasant surprises!

Photo from one year ago today, December 29, 2020:

This photo was posted while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #279. Simple yet lovely flower in Penguin, Tasmania, in 2016. For more photos, please click here.

Broken Horn is a celebrity!…Hot and humid today!…Taco salad day with a great recipe…

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    This photo was on the Marloth Park Sighting Page on Facebook to thousands of viewers. Others recognized him. But, I wrote a comment, “That’s our boy Broken Horn, LOL” He is known by other names at other bush houses, but to us, he is Broken Horn, and he responds to his name!

It was quite a night. After days of heat and humidity last night, there was a rainstorm with thunder and lightning, resulting in a power outage lasting for hours. Fortunately, before we went to sleep, the power was restored, and we were able to sleep in the heat with the air-con on.

This morning is so hot and humid that the air is thick and almost hard to breathe. Our clean clothes are already soaked in sweat. The temperature today is expected to rise only to 93F 34C, but the humidity is the killer. Right now, at 11:00 am, based on the dew point of 72 degrees, it feels like 98F, 37C, and will worsen as the day progresses. It will begin to cool down after 6:00 pm, 1800 hrs.

Gosh, we are grateful we are retired and don’t have an outdoor job. We often think of Danie and his crew building houses in this weather. And it’s just the beginning of summer. Knowing that at any point, it becomes too much, we can always go into the bedroom, turn on the air-con and the fan to cool off for a while. We stay only a short time and go back outside or into the lounge room, whichever is cooler.

Kudus in the garden. Pellets are now like a dessert for them, although they are healthy since they have plenty of vegetation to eat.

Ah, enough about the weather! Cooking on the stove is two pots, one with seasoned beef for taco salad and another with seasoned chicken for me. But, it is difficult not to mention it when we’re sitting here in a pile of sweat. Tom just poured me an icy cold, insulated mug of Crystal Lite Ice Tea. What a treat.

I avoid beef, but I love chicken taco salad with avocado. Of course, we don’t use the shell bowl; instead piling the meats atop a bed of crispy lettuce, with sliced green olives, diced purple onions, diced celery, and hand-grated cheddar cheese and sour cream and avocado for me. It’s a perfect meal on a hot day.

Tom is grating the cheese now, and since I got up early this morning, all the other ingredients are prepared and in plastic containers in the fridge. Hopefully, the power stays on so the meat doesn’t spoil. With so many holidaymakers in the park, it could go out any minute, which has already happened several times in the past week since they started arriving.

One Tusk was sitting in the cement pond to cool off.

This morning, we were pleasantly surprised by the number of visitors in the garden. There were several kudus, bushbucks, and warthogs. It was nice to see them after they’ve been away for the past week tending to the new human’s offerings of pellets and some nasty foods they shouldn’t be eating but love anyway.

Kudus don’t know what’s good for them. They eat what tastes good, just like humans. A bushbuck may never have eaten chips, crackers, or bread but love the taste. But, they too are subject to diseases similar to humans from eating unhealthy processed foods.

This is a perfect opportunity to mention that we no longer use taco seasoning packets and haven’t done so for several years. The packages are available here, but they are filled with wheat and chemicals. I make my taco seasoning as follows in this recipe, not my own, but found online some time ago. Here it is from this site:

“Keto Taco Seasoning

Learn how to make your own homemade Low-carb keto-friendly taco seasoning in just a few minutes for a fraction of the price of taco packets!
 Prep Time5 minutes
 Servings 8 people
 Calories 15kcal

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried onion or onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  • Add all the spices to a mason jar or large zip-seal bag. Close and shake or stir until fully combined.
  • Store in an air-tight container in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year.

Notes

Use 2 tablespoons for every packet of taco seasoning called for in a recipe or for every pound of meat with no additional salt added.

The individual serving size is about 1/2 tablespoon. Use 1/2 tablespoon to season 1/4 pound of meat if making individual servings.

Nutrition

Serving: 8serving (1/2 tbsp) | Calories: 15kcal | Carbohydrates: 3g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 616mg | Potassium: 78mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 849IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 19mg | Iron: 1mg”

I’m still contemplating what dish to bring to Flo and JiJi’s New Year’s Eve party on Friday night. I’d prefer it to be easy in this heat and be able to sit out in the heat and humidity for several hours. That’s limiting. Maybe a dessert, cookies, or bars would be best since they hold up better than any kind of meat or vegetable dish. We’ll see how the weather rolls out over the next few days.

May you have a pleasant day and evening during this holiday-in-between time.)

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

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #278. Pineapple is a commonly grown fruit in Fiji, often available for the taking in many areas. At the farmer’s market, they mostly sell to visitors, not many locals. For more photos, please click here.

Not many visitors right now with many holidaymakers in the bush…

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Tom turned the car sideways so I could get a shot of these giraffes on the road.

We’ve never quite figured it out. Are the animals visiting other homes in the bush for food and pellets, or are they bothered by the noise and traffic and staying undercover? It could be a combination of both. This morning we saw Broken Horn, Gordy, Mom and Babies warthogs, and of course, Frank, who never fails to stop by.

Francolins tend to stay in their chosen territory, rarely, if ever, leaving their immediate surroundings, which is right here in our garden in Frank and his family members. We can always depend on seeing him daily, offering him the Misses and other family seeds and freshwater.

Many have asked, “What happens when we leave?”

They won’t starve. Surely, they’ll often stop by looking for us, but they won’t go hungry. They will eat insects, fallen fruit, and seed, and other pickings they find in their daily scouting of their territory. This will also be the case with the other wildlife who stop here for pellets, greens, carrots, and other vegetable scraps. None of them will starve without our contribution to their diets.

Reaching for a nibble.

Now, with the lush vegetation in every direction, there’s plenty of food for all of the animals. Often, they come here for pellets but only take a few bites, which we witnessed this morning when only a few wildlife stopped by.

At 11:00, we headed to Sindee and Bruce’s home to pick up the salad bowl we’d left, along with a wine glass and plastic container. Since we were already out, we drove along the fence to Lionspruit, hoping by a stroke of luck we’d see the lions that are loose in the park. We had no such luck, but it was worth looking anyway.

On the return drive to our area and bush home, we observed some zebras, impalas, and giraffes, all busy munching on vegetation. Back at the house, I put a pan of skinless, boneless chicken breasts in the oven. Last night, we ate so much of the prime rib, there wasn’t enough left for both of us for tonight’s dinner.

A mom or dad with a youngster.

Tonight, Tom will finish off the prime rib while I’ll have chicken breasts with salad and a few cooked eggs, enough to fill me up. Unfortunately, my formerly delicious little cake went moldy sitting out, and I had to toss it. I still had at least three or four servings left. I should have known better and frozen half of it.

Disappointed, I considered making another one today but decided against it. I didn’t have all the ingredients I needed and couldn’t buy them in Marloth Park. There was no way we felt like driving to Komatipoort for a few ingredients. Perhaps, I will make another sometime in the future.

This morning, Tom finished off his birthday cake and is ready to go back to healthy eating, without any sugar or starch, except for his small daily portion of rice. Since cooked white rice is considered a “resistant starch” that doesn’t get absorbed by the gut (for some people, not me), Tom is able to eat the rice and still lose weight. He only gained a few pounds (2 kg) after eating that entire three-layer cake by himself and will quickly drop it in the next week.

Today is another quiet day. I’ve done three loads of laundry, prepped everything for tonight’s dinner, and have the remainder of the afternoon to be lazy if I so choose. It’s only 1:00 pm as I write this now and should be done within 30 minutes. I love the luxury of not having anything to do other than put dinner together at the end of the day.

May you have a pleasant day and evening as we wind our way toward the end of 2021.

Photo from one year ago today, December 27, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai. India, on day #277. In 2014, at the overlook to Mount Kilauea on the Big Island of Hawaii, the crowd roared with excitement each time there was a new eruption. For more photos, please click here.

Many photos from our fabulous Christmas Day dinner in the bush…

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    The beautiful Christmas dinner table at Sindee and Bruce’s lovely home in the bush. Dawn was taking a photo of Sindee and the serving table, a short time later filled with great food.

Not having an idea of the type of dinner party at Sindee and Bruce’s home in the bush, we kept our expectations in check. We’d anticipated a buffet with guests sitting around the braai in the garden on chairs and benches with their plates of food on their laps.

A starter of prawns, sauce, and greens along with Christmas crackers with treats.

There were eleven of us, five of their family members, and six friends, including us. We were pleasantly surprised and delighted to see the beautiful table setting, adorned with gorgeous Christmas decorations including candles, miniature lights, crackers, colorful napkins, sparkling wine, along an array of crystal wine glasses. It couldn’t have been prettier.

There were many items on the menu that worked for me. I focused on meats and salads. I’d sliced avocados to go with the salad.

The six friends had brought various meats, salads, and side dishes. We’d brought the cooked, sliced prime rib and a large walnut, avocado lettuce salad. It was beautiful. The atmosphere and conversation were casual and engaging, and the hours flew by.

The meats included chicken, our prime rib, gammon (ham), and lamb, all delicious.

We rarely drink alcohol during the day, so I brought along my lowest alcohol-reduced wine with only 5% alcohol (when most wine is typically 13.5% to 14%). Tom brought a few cans of beer, and we sipped on our beverages throughout the day and early evening. We arrived at 11:30 and didn’t head for home until after 6:00 pm, 1800 hrs.

I couldn’t get enough of the lamb on the left in this photo. Tom doesn’t care for lamb, so I never make it.

Once back at our bush house, we put away all of our stuff, got into comfy clothes, and settled in for the evening. Later in the evening, Tom talked to his family members in the bedroom while I sat in the living room, talking to mine. It was beautiful to hear everyone’s voices, including our grandchildren.

Our dear friends and owners of Jabula, Dawn, and Leon.

While I was on my phone in the living room, I couldn’t help but notice hundreds of little bugs and ants all over the floor. At the moment, Tom is spraying the house while we are outdoors on the veranda, tossing pellets to Gordy (short for bushbuck Gordon Ramsey) and giant warthog One Tusk.

The animals aren’t as hungry as a month ago, with the bush now filled with lush green vegetation. They still stop by staring at us for some pellets out of habit. But, once we toss some their way, they eat slowly, often walking away with some pellets still on the ground. However, that’s not the case with warthogs. They’d eat until they burst if they had a chance. After all, they are pigs.

Sindee and Bruce’s two daughters, Mornay and Cyndy.

Today is a quiet day. Yesterday, as mentioned, I made an extra prime rib for us for tonight’s dinner. All we have to do for dinner is make Tom’s white rice and toss the salad with homemade salad dressing. I’m not big on reheating cooked beef, so we may eat it cold, which neither of us minds at all.

Over the years, I’ve tried various methods to warm cooked beef to maintain the level of doneness. But none of those methods seem to work to our liking, getting too well done in the process. We’d rather eat it cold than overdone.

Sindee and Bruce only married a few years, are a delightful couple, and so thoughtful to include us!

After dinner, we each have our cakes. As it turned out, Tom thoroughly enjoyed his German Chocolate birthday cake, saying it wasn’t dry after all. I don’t know if he’s saying this to make me happy. He’d do that rather than have me feel bad that the cake was dry.

Tom plate of desserts; lemon meringue pie and chocolate cherry milk tart. He went back for seconds. Not surprising.

We hope all of our readers/friends, and family members had a fantastic Christmas as we look forward to the upcoming end of this challenging year.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, December 26, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #276. The countryside in Tasmania certainly reminded us of New Zealand, where we stayed for three months in 2016. For more photos, please click here.