Blog catch-up!

Phew! I've been away from my desk and laptop for an absolute age; a week, to be exact. But here I am now again; back and catching up with blogger friends and posts. 

On Tuesday morning at 5am we made a quick trip to the Drakensberg in Kwa-Zulu Natal. John, Debbie and family had arrived home earlier than normal and wanted us to visit.

It's a three-hour trip through the most beautiful Golden Gate Highlands National Park , the journey culminating at John and Debbie's home overlooking the Champagne Valley in the Berg. 

Shortly after we'd arrived and happily reunited with our children and six grandchildren, Debbie's dad and mum, Mike and Barbara arrived from Durban.  

The children's horses are inquisitive and will come and meet newly arrived. Here Misty greets Barbara who's chatting to Eryn

Thunder, a gentle giant of a carthorse, is more interested in the lucern (fodder) which Joshua brought him

After tea and cake enjoyed out on the lawn, we all decided we needed a walk. Debbie saddled Misty up and while Israel and Bethany rode her, Thunder wandered along behind looking for juicy bits of grass to munch on

Later on in the walk I asked Debbie to stop so I could take a photo of them against the skyline

After the walk, John fired up the Weber braai to BBQ meat for a late lunch

A large gathering of family 

Barbara and Mike, who have their own B&B had to leave soon after lunch to accommodate guests. We had a restful evening with John and Debbie and later retired to sleep in their beautiful guest rondavel which stands a little apart from the family home.

The next morning I was up early and photographing the beautiful view of the Drakensberg ...

...and the many, many birds in Debbie's natural garden. (I'll post about these later). While I wandered around, camera in hand, I noticed the children were busy. 

Each child in the family has chores according to age and gender. 

Here below Kerren (2 1/4 years old) takes greens to the guinea pigs

Isn't she just too precious?

Soon after this, four-year-old Israel came out with an empty 5 litre water bottle. He'd been tasked to fill it with rainwater from the tank next to the house. 

Little Kerren follows her brother to the water tank

I should have videod this scene: the conversation between these two little ones was priceless!

Back indoors, seven-year-old Bethany, a budding chef, 

was attending to a pan of eggs for breakfast

Although I didn't record it on camera, the older children were also performing their daily tasks around the place. Eryn had cleaned out her guinea pig pens; Elijah had mucked out the horses stables and Joshua was chopping wood for the hot-water boiler. 

Grant and I returned home, refreshed and rejuvenated after spending time with our precious family.

Here's wishing you all a wonderful week ahead.