Sad sighting in the bush…Oh, good grief!…Tooth extraction socket is infected…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 17, 2021 with 1 Comment

This morning, when we spotted this injured kudu in the garden, we immediately contacted the rangers. Hopefully, soon, they will find her and have the vet help her out. It’s heartbreaking to see such an injury.

This morning, after a painful and fitful night due to pain in my extracted tooth socket (more on that below), I did what I always do upon awakening, say good morning to Tom, who is always up before me, and then check the action in the garden. There were the usual bushbucks, including Stringy, Thick Neck/Bad Leg, Spikey, and Holey Moley, and the frequently visiting four adult female kudus, including my favorite Bossy.

Immediately, they approached the veranda when they saw me as I thought about the big bags of carrots on the kitchen counter. I asked Tom to toss some pellets while I got the carrots. Before I turned on my heels, I noticed something unusual about one of the kudus. Her right eye was bleeding.

Her eyelid is hanging there. It is heartbreaking to see. We’re hoping the ranges will get here soon. We’ve done everything we could to keep her here with the other female, but sooner or later, they wander off.

To keep them around long enough so I could take a photo and send it to Jaco, the head ranger in the park, I grabbed the bag of carrots, and we both started tossing chunks to them. I grabbed the camera while Tom continued sending carrots their way but struggled to get a good shot of the injured eye.

After waiting patiently, I managed to get the photos we’re sharing here today. I sent them to Jaco via Facebook Messenger, and within a few minutes, he acknowledged my message in which I’d included two photos and our address. Hopefully, sometime today, they will find her since they hang out in specific areas, and the vet can treat her. I imagine he’d clean it, try to sew it back in place and treat her with antibiotics. They dart the animals to provide such medical care.

This is what we saw upon first spotting her. Upon closer inspection, we took the above photos.

We may never hear back regarding the outcome, but we can only hope she’ll be found and treated somehow. It was heartbreaking to see. They are such sweet and gentle animals, and it’s hard to see them suffering for any reason. It’s hard enough right now that they constantly search for tidbits of food when the bush is so dry.

Surprisingly, most of the wildlife looks healthy, with few ribs protruding from lack of food. Thank goodness, so many of us feed regularly. The only nature we see looking too lean are those with some illness, injury, or impediment of some sort that prevents them from foraging. If this poor injured kudu isn’t treated, this may happen to her if she gets an infection.

Yesterday, four wildebeest, none of them Broken Horn, who’s a loner, came to call, coming right up onto the veranda to the door, looking for us.

Speaking of infections, the socket where my tooth was pulled on Monday has become infected. The second day after the procedure, I was feeling pretty good. But, on Wednesday, the pain escalated, and I began to be concerned. I contacted Dr. Singh, and he ordered antibiotics, Z-Pack, the 3-day 500 mg dose. I started them yesterday afternoon, at 3:00 pm. I’m also taking prescribed probiotics several hours after the one pill dose.

But last night was unbearable. I hurt so much my ear was hot and red, and my face was swollen. It came on suddenly, in a matter of 24 hours. Dr. Singh had suggested I take antibiotics on the day of the procedure but after taking them for five days a few weeks ago, in a feeble attempt to heal the pain in the tooth after the root canal had been done in that same tooth. But, I said, “Let’s try it without antibiotics.”

We didn’t dare go outside. Wildebeest horns can be deadly.

It continued to hurt when I chewed on that side and brushed my teeth. In the past year, I’ve taken antibiotics four times due to issues with two teeth. When the antibiotics didn’t work this last time, resulting in the tooth being extracted along with all the pins in place from the recent root canal, done in June before we left for the US, I hesitated to take antibiotics. Of course, I hesitated over another round.

This time my decision was wrong. I should have taken the antibiotics on Monday. I was in deep trouble in excruciating pain by Wednesday night that kept me awake for the past two nights. On Thursday, I contacted Dr. Singh’s office, and he prescribed the Z-Pack, which I took promptly at 3:00 pm (1500 hrs). After a horrible sleepless night taking several Paracetamol and Advil spread over several hours, a cold pack on my face, frequent salt water rinses, I finally drifted off.

We’ve never seen them be aggressive to us, but we are cautious. On many occasions, we’ve seen them go after other animals when competing for pellets or carrots. Otherwise, they leave others and humans alone unless threatened.

This morning, I awoke to a 50% improvement in the pain and can’t wait to take the next dose this afternoon, followed by several probiotic hours later.

Tonight, with Rita and Gerhard back from a two-week trip to Germany to see family, we’re scheduled for dinner at Jabula with them and Kathy and Don.. I will spend the majority of today resting and taking it easy. Besides, with the current Covid-19 curfew, we usually leave Jabula by 8:30 pm (2030 hrs) and will be back home hoping for a restful night.

So, folks, there’s our past 24 hours which were challenging to say the least. Hopefully, my situation will continue to improve over the weekend, and Ms. Kudu will get the treatment she needs.

Have a pleasant weekend.

Photo from one year ago today, September 17, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #178. In Fiji in 2015, our neighbor Sewak drove us up this outrageously steep hill in his truck for this view. For more photos, please click here.

Changes of our future plans…Covid-19 rules the travel industry…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 16, 2021 with 0 Comment

A helmeted guinea-fowl and her chick, looking for pellets at the edge of the veranda.

This morning we received email notifications from Celebrity Cruise Lines that two booked cruises in and around Japan in 2022 have been canceled. The first sailing and the third of these three cruises we’d booked in this area will be canceled shortly. Now, we are down to five booked cruises instead of eight, all due to Covid-19.

We had planned to fly from Florida to Singapore a few weeks after our friends Karen and Rich’s wedding on February 11th. With all three of these cruises canceled, we’ll need to find where we’ll go when we leave Florida. Tom is currently researching our options., considering other potential cruises to fill the gap.

Here again, Covid-19 is the determining factor on where we’ll go and what we’ll do. With the Schengen visa, we can only stay in most European countries for 90 out of 180 days. Also, we’ve already spent a lot of time in Europe in our past travels. Our current interests don’t necessarily lead us in that direction.

For now, our inclination is to travel by sea as much as possible, so that is the path we are researching at this point. But, due to Covid-19, many countries have instituted many restrictions impacting ports of call during cruises. There’s no doubt in our mind that the Japan cruises were canceled due to fears of infection in and around a country of such a vast population.

A male duiker, photo taken during the summer when the vegetation was lush and green.

Are we worried if continuing our world travels makes sense at this time? Not, However, we must consider the risks each country presents whenever and wherever we travel, including our upcoming trip to the US, which has the worst Covid-19 statistics of any country in the world.

As of yesterday, here are the stats for the US from this site:

Total Cases: 42,479,780

New cases: 164,509

Total Deaths: 685,023

New Deaths: 2282

A dung beetle pushing his ball of dung on his search for a mate to join him.

Statistics show that 54.7% of Americans are fully vaccinated, the highest globally. Yet, they have the newest cases and deaths of any country globally, based on information from this site.

You may ask, why are we going back to the US right now? For several reasons. But our biggest motivator is attending our friend’s small wedding in February. Since we were going back for that, we decided to spend more time with Tom’s siblings in Arizona and meet up with my sister Julie who lives in Los Angeles, in Scottsdale, Arizona.

A few months ago, a mom and baby bushbuck was still some green vegetation in the bush.

During this US visit, we won’t be visiting Minnesota. It will be winter there, and neither of us cares to tackle the cold, the ice, and the snow. Once we know more about upcoming cruises, we’ll plan another time to be in Minnesota and Nevada to visit mine and Tom’s family, which surely will be during fall, spring or summer.

For now, we continue to consider where in the world we long to visit and how and when it will be possible based on current travel restrictions due to the pandemic. We’ll have plenty of time while in Arizona to work on this further.

Enjoy the day!

Photo from one year ago today, September 16, 2020:

This photo is from the year-ago post while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day # 177. Sunset view from the third floor of Hans’ house (owner of the house we rented next door) in Diani Beach, Kenya, in 2013. We were thrilled to take photos of the progression of the sun’s setting on the horizon. For more photos, please click here.

Deluding myself in an attempt to be tough…A busy domestic day!…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 15, 2021 with 2 Comments

Broken Horn can’t get enough visits to our garden, even napping when he needs a restful break.

Of course, I wouldn’t say I like to whinge about this and that in posts. But, we always promised to be honest, vulnerable, and tell it like it is. Our readers couldn’t say that we see the world through rose-colored glasses and try to paint a picture of us always being tough and robust.

Yes, there are times we are tough and robust. As I’ve gone through the corrections these past few days, rereading every post about when I had open-heart surgery, I’m reminded of how tough, and strong we’ve been. I experienced an awful recuperation requiring more surgery during the summer heat here in Marloth Park with no aircon in the living areas and many power outages at night.

A giraffe was munching on treetops in Marloth Park.

Today, on this hot day with the hole in my mouth still hurting, mozzies seeking out my flesh, leaving me unable to sit outdoors, I am stuck in the bedroom with the fan. It is sweltering, and the mozzies are on a rampage on the veranda. Tom sprayed, but they won’t quit biting me even with loads of repellent on, so I had to come indoors to sit on the bed with only the fan. I don’t want to use the electricity required to run the aircon during the day since we use enough at night to sleep.

It will be 100F (38C) within an hour, and the oven has been on while I was baking Tom’s muffins, now a weekly routine. I’d rather he’d eat homemade muffins instead of the chemical-laden junk in the market. But, today, on this hot day, the house feels like an oven after the actual range was on for over an hour, making two batches of muffins.

Tiny has yet to visit since we returned from the US at the end of July. I look for him each day. We hope to see him before we leave again.

Not only did I make a double batch of blueberry muffins, but I did three loads of laundry; I made everything for dinner, including a big batch of sweet and sour cabbage, which is cooking now, and seasoned the pork chops for Tom and the chicken breasts for me.

I’ve continued with the corrections in the past several days, with 45 days left to go. I’ve tried to pick up the pace to get done before we leave in 36 days, but I’d have to do them into the night, and I have no desire to be working in the evenings.

This project has kept me on my computer from morning until 4:00 pm (1600 hrs) every day when I throw my hands in the air and stop for the evening. Yesterday, our web developer wrote to tell me I have to start working on the new SEO posts. I explained that I couldn’t begin until we were settled in the US after I had finished all of the corrections.

Two zebras in the road on the way to Jabula for dinner.

Recently, amid all this work, I finally got our taxes done and sent them to our accountant in Nevada. At least that nagging task is off of my mind, that was looming for many months.

The hole in my mouth where the tooth was extracted is still very sore. It’s only been 48 hours since it was removed. I need to be patient. The Advil-type pills I have to take every six hours require I do so only after eating. I don’t eat every six hours when I’m rarely hungry other than dinnertime.

Last night, around 2:00 am, when the pain awoke me, I had to go to the kitchen to eat some sour cream to coat my stomach before taking the pill. It had been eight hours since I’d eaten anything. I don’t eat during the night, ever! This same thing happened this morning when I had no interest in eating upon awakening and, again, had to get something into my stomach before taking the pill. Again, I swallowed a few tablespoons of sour cream.

A giraffe with uneven ossicones! I wish I’d gotten a better photo of his teeth!

I will be happy when the pain is gone, and I can eat when I’m hungry, as always, and won’t have trouble chewing as I have over the past many months since that molar started hurting, after the root canal was done, and now with the darned thing extracted.

Ah, listen to me whinge. Sorry about that. Tomorrow will be a better day. The temperature is supposed to drop dramatically tomorrow for a high of 75F (24C), and hopefully, I’ll be further along with the improvement in my mouth.

Several of our friends and readers have written that they’ve contracted with Covid-19 after being vaccinated. So far, their cases, although uncomfortable, haven’t been severe. We pray for their imminent recovery and the safety of those who’ve yet decided to get the jab.

Have a pleasant day! I promise to be more cheerful tomorrow!

Photo from one year ago today, September 15, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #176 while dining in a cave in Kenya in 2013. Another view of the seating areas in the bar, depicting somewhat of a Moroccan theme, which was ahead for us at this point when we’d booked a holiday home in Marrakesh, Morocco, a mere six months later. For more photos, please click here.

Its a new day!…Whew!…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 14, 2021 with 2 Comments

Thick Neck/Bad Leg with mud on his horns from digging for food.

If I had to judge how I’d feel based on yesterday, today would not be a good day. But, miraculously, I awoke this morning feeling great with no pain or discomfort at all! How could that be when yesterday, after returning from having my tooth pulled when the anesthetic wore off, I was in agony and could barely write a word here.

As it turned out, the tooth wouldn’t come out. Dr. Siingh and his assistant had to hold onto me for leverage while he yanked and pulled, only to have a small portion of the tooth come out. This was a tooth that had a root canal a few months ago that continued to hurt. He assumed it was cracked, which didn’t show on the scan.

Several bushbucks were in the garden this morning.

While I lay there wondering what would happen, I could hear him pulling out each of the root canal pins one by one. It was unnerving. Luckily I didn’t feel pain, only lots of pressure and rocking back and forth. Finally, he had to use a drill and a laser to cut away the remnants of the tooth.

Before getting the tooth out, he seated the new crown in another tooth, which went well, requiring no anesthetic. Thank goodness, that is done! It was a relief to have that resolved after the temporary crown kept falling out every few hours over the past week. Eating, drinking, and talking were a challenge.

This morning, Stringy was lying down in the garden.

Finally, the cracked tooth was out, and we were back on our way to Marloth Park from Malalane, a 35-minute drive. I had a wad of gauze in the space, biting down to stop the bleeding. After returning to the house, I had made similar wads using paper towels when we didn’t have any gauze. It didn’t seem as sanitary as gauze, but the bleeding didn’t stop for about two hours.

Then, the numbing agent wore off, and the pain began. It wasn’t perfect. I was climbing the walls. I took the prescribed Advil-type (narcotic free) pills I’d been given but got little relief all evening until finally, exhausted from the ordeal, I konked out, only awakening in pain a few times during the night.

We had to pick up Frank’s seeds from the ground. Otherwise, the bushbucks will eat them.

I’d taken the prescribed medication again before I went to sleep, but it wore off during the night, and when I awoke, it was too soon to take another. Eight hours had to pass. At 5:00 am, I played a game on my phone and drifted off back to sleep amid the discomfort. I awoke at 7:00 am, and much to my surprise, the pain was gone.

Wow! I hadn’t taken the Advil-type tablet since 11:00 pm and haven’t needed to do so today. I guess I’m recovered, just like that! I am thrilled this is over. I was dreading it for days. I haven’t had a tooth pulled in more than 54 years, shortly after my son Richard was born. In “those days,” they said a woman would lose a tooth for each child born, which has since been proven to be a wive’s tale.

Spikey’s horns are growing as he matures.

Tom had a more leisurely first day when two teeth were pulled a few weeks ago, which has since healed. When we return to Marloth Park in 15 months, he’ll see Dr. Singh get implants for both missing teeth, which shows when he smiles. My tooth was the last molar in my bottom right which doesn’t show. There is no point in doing anything about that.

As they say, “It’s hell to get old.” These issues are a by-product of aging, often resulting in problems with teeth and other body parts. But, the alternative? Nah, not so good. It’s the way it is. All we can do is continue to strive to take good care of ourselves in every possible way, some of which are easier to do than others.

In one way or another, I’m looking forward to leaving for the US again in 37 days. The roads where we’ll be staying in Apache Junction are level, allowing us to go for daily walks easily. Also, it seldom rains in the desert, and the weather will be comfortable and sunny most days during the winter months.

Regardless of how hard it is to leave Marloth Park, I keep reminding myself of the good parts we’ll enjoy being back in the US for a total of four months. And, of course, we’ll be looking forward to our future itinerary as we now consistently add to the list.

Have a happy, healthy, and fulfilling day!

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

One year ago, this photo was posted in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #175. We were fortunate to see many rhinos while in the Maasai Mara in 2013. For more photos, please click here.

Off to the dentist once again…Busy morning in the bush…The animals are hungry!…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 13, 2021 with 0 Comment

In a few minutes, we’ll be leaving for my dentist appointment when finally, I’m having that recently root-canaled tooth pulled. It just wouldn’t stop hurting, and there was no point in adding a crown to a painful tooth. Since it’s the last molar on the bottom left and won’t be visible when I smile or laugh, pulling was the best option.

Since I had the root canal only a few months ago, Dr. Singh explained it could require “surgery” to pull it out if it doesn’t come out quickly on the first try. I am not looking forward to this.

Thick Neck/Bad Leg hangs around most of the day and night.

My plan today was to start preparing today’s post, hoping to complete it when we return. Hopefully, I will feel fine and will be able to finish the post. If not, I will write a short update, add what I have written thus far, and be back with more tomorrow. I am hoping I don’t need to take more antibiotics. I’ve had enough of them in the past year with the teeth issues.

Once I am done today, if all goes well, I won’t have to return to Dr. Singh until we return in December 2022, when I still have one silver amalgam filling in my mouth. I want to be removed, once and for all. Over the years, I’ve had all of them replaced with white porcelain.

Kudus and bushbucks in the garden this morning.

This morning was quite eventful in the garden. At one point, we had no less than 20 wild animals in the garden. Without rain yet, the bush is so dry the animals have nothing to graze upon and are subject to people like us feeding them. Several bushbucks live in our garden, always looking at us for more food. It’s heartbreaking. We can’t possibly give them enough food to get them through the day.

However, they will make it to the rainy season, from what we can tell. They all look healthy and surprisingly well-fed. On Friday night at Jabula, we met Gary, one of our neighbors, and he sees and feeds many of the same animals we see and feed. We laughed over their characteristics. Each animal has its unique personality, and it’s often easy to distinguish one from another. We all laughed about Broken Horn, This Neck/Bad Leg, and Holey Moley.

Lots of animals were looking at us this morning.

Gary wasn’t quite sure who Little is, but then again, he may not have been looking for his distinguishing marks and characteristics, which for me is hard to miss. When he approaches, he always heads to the side of the veranda, closest to where I sit. He’s very bossy and will come up onto the veranda if we don’t respond to his visit. Gosh, soon we’ll be gone, and he’ll have to find someone else to pester several times a day. (Not that I mind at all).

A few readers have written inquiring about how hard it will be on the wildlife when we leave. Once the rains come in the next month or two, everything will be green, and eating pellets and vegetables offered by humans won’t be necessary to survive. But, they are resourceful and will wander to other locations where residents are feeding.

We couldn’t toss out the carrots and pellets quickly enough.

At that point, any pellets tossed their way are comparable to treats one would give their pet, not necessary for survival but fun for us humans to show our love and devotion.

Last night, we cooked burgers on the braai, directly on the grates. This morning, a dozen or so mongooses climbed up the back of the braai and started nibbling on the remnants of the meat and fat. Soon, Vusi or Zef will arrive and clean the braai as they do each day after we’ve used it. But it’s always funny to hear the mongooses moving inside the gas braai. It’s another of those humorous experiences we discover in the bush.

As I looked out the window in the kitchen, I saw the kudus in the front garden.

Right now, three mongooses are drinking from Frank’s little container of water. As carnivores, they don’t eat seed or vegetables, but on occasion, they’ll run off with a piece of cabbage, celery, or carrots, playing with it but not eating it.

Right now, only 15 minutes before we depart for Malalane, Tom is watching overtime for last night’s Minnesota Vikings Game. If it’s not done in time for us to leave, he’ll watch it when we return later on.

When they heard the commotion in the back, they moved to the rear garden with the others.

We have returned from the dentist in Malalane. I’m not up to writing much now, but I’ll be back with more tomorrow. All went well, but right now, I think I’ll take it easy and watch the latest episode of Season 11 of The Walking Dead and lay low for the remainder of the day.

It’s a beautiful warm, not hot, sunny day. The animals returned when we did, and they were looking for pellets and seeds. We are attending to them now. Tomorrow is another day, and surely I will be fine by then.

Three kudus in the front garden munching off a little tree with greenery.

Have a pleasant day!

Photo from one year ago today, September 13, 2020:

One year ago, this photo was posted in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #174. As we were sitting in our outdoor living room in Kenya that morning in 2013, while writing, seven goats jumped over their stone wall behind our garden directly into our garden, only a few feet from us. They decided to dine on the lush leaves of the hibiscus bushes in our yard. For more photos, please click here. For more photos, please click here.

Where in the world would such thoughts enter my mind?…

Posted by worldwide-admin on September 12, 2021 with 0 Comment

Mongoose eating shrimp shells. They loved them, perhaps reminding them of eating crunchy scorpions.

Last night, as I stepped out of the car when arriving back at our house, from a delightful dinner at Jabula with Kathy and Don, I stepped in an anthill, or better yet, a termite hill, several of which surround the area of the carport and the garden. Over these past nine months, since we arrived in Marloth Park, Vusi and Zef have knocked them down, only to have them “grow” back within days.

Removing termite mounds is a pointless task, nor does it cause any issues in the house when there is no wood on the premises, only cement. We don’t get termites in the house. But, last night, when I accidentally stepped on the home of thousands of termites, I found myself feeling disappointed in myself for destroying a part of their home that now they must rebuild.