New visitors to the garden appear on trail cam photos!!!…

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Definitely, not as clear as we’d like. We were thrilled to see these two Meller’s Mongoose on the trail cam last night.

We had a relatively quiet day upon returning from Royal Kruger Lodge, where we slept on Saturday night after a pipe broke in the bathroom and flooded the house. The house was back in order. I’d already done the laundry the previous day, and nothing more than writing a new post, making dinner, and continuing with my exercise routine was required of me.

It was on my mind that we needed to go to Louise‘s office early in the morning to get clearer scanned copies of our passports and visa stamped pages from when we returned from Zambia in October with our current visas good until January 23, 2022. Now, the law firm has all of the necessary documents to begin processing our extensions. We wait.

When an application for an extension is submitted, the approval won’t be tendered until after the original visa extension dates have expired. We have to stay in the country until the approval comes through, or we’ll become “undesirables” if we leave earlier.

In other words, if the approval doesn’t come in until we need to leave for our April 8th cruise, we won’t have the benefit of the extension and will be banned from South Africa for five years. We don’t want that to happen. The usual processing time using a lawyer is under 60 days. On our own, it could easily have been much longer.

Immigration offices are poorly staffed right now due to the pandemic. It was worth paying the US $983, ZAR 15,366 for the legal fees. It is several thousand dollars less than we’d have paid to fly somewhere.

It is hard to get perfect shots from the trail cam, but we’d never been able to see these two Meller’s Mongoose in the garden without it.

If our transatlantic cruise on Celebrity Cruise Line is canceled, we’ll have no choice but to leave around April 23, when the new visa extensions expire. We can only wait and see what happens. Many cruises are canceling now, and ours could soon be on the chopping block.

We’d love to embark on this cruise, but the news isn’t promising. Instead, we’re keeping a positive attitude and loosely considering our options if we can’t sail away. No, we aren’t worried. This pandemic is now in its third year, and we’ve managed to figure out what to do, time after time.

We finally got our refund from Delta Airlines on the flight they canceled for what would have been our trip to friend Karen and Rich’s wedding, upcoming, on February 11. We’re disappointed we couldn’t attend the wedding but being stuck in a two-week quarantine in a hotel in Florida was particularly unappealing to us.

And yet there was no other way to fully provide peace of mind to the wedding party with us coming from South Africa. There are nearly 1,000,000 new cases a day in the US, and the misconception is that South Africa is worse. It is not. Now, 95% of all cases are the less dangerous Omicron variant. But, even if a bride or groom ended up with the cold-like symptoms, typical with Omicron, it could put quite a damper on their wedding. We understood the concern and chose to stay away.

Instead, this week we’re content in Marloth Park as always. It’s Rita’s 60th birthday week, and many fun activities are planned to which we’re included. Today, they are in Johannesburg, picking up Rita’s sister Petra and her husband, Fritz, from the airport, arriving from Germany and staying with them for a few weeks.

They will all be staying at the Khaya Umdani house starting today. On Wednesday, we’re going to that house for a dinner party celebrating Rita and Gerhard’s one-year US citizenship anniversary. On Friday, on the actual day of Rita’s birthday, we’re going on a night game drive with a guide into Kruger National Park, ending with a dinner in the bush, in the dark, with the wild animals surrounding us.  Then on Saturday evening, the six of us will head to Jabula for dinner.

Next week, we’ll invite the four of them for dinner at our house. It will be a fun and busy time. We’re happy to have an active social life with dear friends once again.

Vusi is here now cleaning the house, and we’re sitting at the table on the veranda as usual. Stingy is here along with Imposter Little, but we had many more animals a short time ago.  More and more holidaymakers are leaving the park after the school holidays have ended. Soon, we’ll see many more wildlife visitors, and I’ll be able to take more photos that have been sparse over the long holiday season.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, January 10, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #291. An owl we spotted in Kanha National Park in India. For more photos, please click here.

Gloom and doom about the cruise industry…Worst-case scenarios…

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Gosh, our porcupine is becoming quite a regular. Next time we shop, we’ll purchase some root vegetables for her.

The worst-case scenario of cruising during the pandemic is getting the virus and becoming seriously ill during or after a cruise. However, the next situation would be, after becoming infected, with or without symptoms, and being forced to quarantine in the small cabin for several days, missing all or part of the cruise.

At this point, some cruise ships are requiring all positive-tested passengers to remain collectively on one particular deck, unable to attend regular dining, tours, or activities. It’s entirely possible an infected passenger may be required to forgo their upgraded cabin, such as our usual balcony cabin upgrade and moving to whatever other cabins may be available on the quarantine deck.

For instance, we could be moved to an inside cabin which, without a window or sliding door, would be awful for us. Neither of us feels comfortable in a window-less room. We’re always willing to pay considerably more for a balcony cabin which offers some upgraded options for which we are also willing to pay an additional charge.

Imagine our upcoming 13-night transatlantic cruise with either or both of us infected, spending seven of those days in quarantine. This is not appealing to either of us. As of today, we are scheduled to board the Celebrity Silhouette in 91 days. Will this Omicron thing be eliminated by then? Most likely, it won’t be.

When we went indoors to make dinner, Little was in the garden looking for the last remnants of pellets.

We ask ourselves this question? What happens if we board the ship and in two days it is forced to return to the port of embarkation, in this case, back to Florida, due to too many cases onboard the ship? This could be the case if all of the cases were staff, let alone passengers. This has been occurring regularly, especially in the past few days as per this article below:

“Royal Caribbean, Norwegian Cruise cancel voyages amid omicron spread

It comes after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advised people to avoid cruise travel after launching investigations into cases on more than 90 ships.
By Reuters

Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line on Wednesday canceled sailings amid rising fears of omicron-related coronavirus infections that have dampened the nascent recovery of the pandemic-ravaged cruise industry.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd called off its Spectrum of the Seas cruise for Jan. 6 after nine guests on its Jan. 2 trip were identified as close contacts to a local Hong Kong Covid-19 case.

The contacts have tested negative, but the cruise ship will return to Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in Hong Kong on Jan. 5 to test all guests and crew who must take a second test on Jan. 8, the company said.

A similar decision to cancel trips by Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd was made against the backdrop of the United States reporting the highest daily tally of any country for new coronavirus infections on Monday.

“Due to ongoing travel restrictions, we’ve had to modify a few sailings and unfortunately have had to cancel,” the 17-ship strong cruise operator said, with the embarkation dates for a few canceled sailings as far out as late April.

The cruise line, which requires everyone on board to be vaccinated, has also had to cut short a 12-day round trip from Miami on its Norwegian Pearl ship, citing “Covid related circumstances.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had last week advised people to avoid cruise travel after launching investigations into onboard cases on more than 90 ships. The health agency starts a scrutiny if at least 0.1 percent of the guests test positive.

Norwegian Cruise said guests, who were supposed to embark on the canceled sailings on the eight ships, will receive full refunds and bonus credits for future bookings.

The omicron-led travel uncertainty is also causing guests on other sailings to cancel their bookings as a few ships have also had to skip ports due to onboard infections.

“We booked the cruise last March and assumed that things would be getting back to normal… by mid-December, I was mentally prepared for a change of plans,” said Holly Bromley, a consulting arborist. She canceled her booking on Norwegian Epic.

Meanwhile, bigger rival Carnival Corp said it had not canceled any upcoming voyages, but its shares fell on Wednesday to close down 2.6 percent. Royal Caribbean lost 2.1 percent and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings 3.6 percent.”

Miss Duiker stopped by for pellets. We were happy to send some her way.

I should mention that Royal Caribbean owns Celebrity Cruise Line.

We can only imagine the inconvenience of being stuck in Florida if the ship returns to port or never sails at all due to Covid cases. We will have spent a fortune on airfare from South Africa and quarantining in a hotel, plus meals, for at least a week before we even board the ship. We don’t want to take a risk that we won’t be able to board coming directly from South Africa. (But, we’ll check prior to booking the flight and hotel).

Yes, sure. It’s all up in the air. The third year of the pandemic continues to impact our travel plans. Today we sent the law firm in Cape Town all of the required documents to process our extension. If we get it, it will be good until April 22, 2022.  If the cruise scheduled for April 8th cancels, we’ll have to figure out what we’ll do at that point.

Challenging times continue. If good health supersedes it all, we’ll have no complaints.

Be well.

Photo from one year ago today, January 7, 2020:

This photo was posted one year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #288. An artfully designed temple was built over 1000 years ago in Chennai. For more photos, please click here.

No power!…No Water!…Our road washed out…Huge storm with 100+ mm, 4″ rain during the night…Crazy night!…

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  • A handsome male duiker in the garden.

This morning this message was on Facebook regarding access to our house:

“Good morning.
“Spruit”* in Bird: washed away the road. Impassible.
Eagle: VERY bad: no sedans can drive there.
Keep safe.”

*Definition of spruit:: a small, often dry tributary stream in southern Africa.
Bird and Eagle are the two roads that provide access to our house. I guess we won’t be going anywhere today. We needed to go to the little market for lettuce for our taco salads. But with the meat in the fridge and the power out, it will be spoiled by dinnertime, and we won’t dare to eat it.
Tom put the metal bowl filled with ice in the refrigerator during the night. The ice will be a good indicator that the fridge’s contents will be safe to eat. The freezer should keep the contents frozen for a few days. With the storm’s intensity, we could be out of power for days. But, as we always say, TIA, This is Africa, and occurrences such as this are common.
When the power is out, the pumps for the water supply don’t function. Subsequently, the only water we have right now is left in the house’s lines. Miraculously, I was able to take a quick shower this morning. Soon, Tom will bring buckets of water from the pool to the bathrooms in the house to flush the toilets.
Duikers, the smallest of the antelopes in South Africa, are very shy and don’t come close to the house.
Of course, we use bottled water in a water machine for drinking water. The water is included in our rent. We do not purchase small bottles of water. Why use all those plastic bottles?
The electric inverter provides us with WiFi, able to supply power to the router. Without that, we’d have no access to the Internet. The inverter will run out in less than a day. If we could go out, let’s say, and go to Kruger, we could turn off the inverter and save the remaining power to use later. But, with the road washed out, that’s not possible.
The little rental car won’t make it on the washed-out road. Besides, the Crocodile Bridge may also be covered in water and debris, preventing access to Kruger National Park, even if we could go. As a result of all of this, we’ll stay put and wait it out, until the power returns, until the water returns, and until the road dries out sufficiently to pass.
Stringy and Gordy, preferring not to get close to one another. Bushbucks are solitary animals and rarely travel in pairs or more.
With all the rain, the only wildlife we’ve seen so far today is a few bushbucks, Spikey and Gordy, and Barbara, Lori, their mom, and the two piglets and a female duiker, who all came for some pellets this morning. It will be a quiet day.
We can only imagine how frustrating it is for holidaymakers who are still in the park on what may be their only annual vacation. For us, it’s a lot easier.
This morning, Rita and Gerhard invited us for breakfast at Stoep Cafe in Komatipoort. If we had been able to go with them, they’d have had to pick us up in the big four-wheeled truck. But, after being awake the majority of the night with little sleep, we were still in bed at 8:00 am. By 8:30, we got up to begin our day.
We hope you have a pleasant day!

Photo from one year ago today, January 6, 2020:

This photo was posted one-year ago while in lockdown in a hotel in Mumbai, India, on day #287. A Marwari horse with curly ears at the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel in India. For more photos, please click here.

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.

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.

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.