Shop kitties update

Yes, you read the title correctly. Tere isn't only one kitty in Colette's shop anymore; there are FOUR.

Colette's and her husband have moved and while their new place is being organized, she's brought three of her cats down to the shop. One is a full-grown male, named Baby and he has the softest nature ever. The other two, Ginger and Smokey are only a little bigger than Missy and the sweetest kittens ever, 

  Baby, the gentlest feline gentleman ever

 Ginger, the newly arrived kitten

 Missy asleep on her own personal bed 

Having been an "only" cat on the veranda or four months,  we were sure Missy would hiss and claw the newcomers. Not so, after the initial at seeing these other critters (Go figure, she's never seen a cat before!) she made friends with them and the rest is history.

Last week she decided to groom Ginger...

 
And finally all three kittens fell asleep together

Missy, Smokey and Ginger 

I'm linking to Saturday Critters with Eileen here

HAPPY SATURDAY TO YOU ALL!  

Rent-a-granny

Said tongue in cheek! 

Yesterday we celebrated two of my granddaugher's birthdays: Eryn who turned 15 and Bethany who was born on Eryn's sixth birthday is now nine! 

I visited the family on the farm on Monday night and wished the girls. As I was leaving, John and Debbie invited me to a family breakfast at a local hotel in the Valley: The Drakensberg Sun. When I hesitated, John said if not, they'd have to "rent-a-granny" because they were only meeting with Debbie's parents today and it would be nice to have a grandparent present. 

 Gran and two birthday girls on Monday evening 

 I accepted their kind invitation and am I glad I did ! 

 The front entrance to the Drakensberg Sun Hotel nestling in between the trees

 As always: the majestic mountains above

 Eryn, a beautiful young woman already and her little sister, Bethany 

Granny with her precious grandchildren and Valentin

 Keren - Happuch aka Kezzy with Babes the juvenile Common Fiscal

 Breakfast is buffet style and the children enjoyed having waffles and whipped cream for a meal ! 

You can only wonder if anyone else has Happy Birthday sung in four different languages? We had the normal English version, then John, Debbie, Valentin and the children sang in Portuguese; after this I broke into the Afrikaans version which didn't get much applause. Then the hotel staff brought a birthday cake and while the birthday girls blew out the candles, they sang Happy Birthday in Zulu.

(No-one needed to wonder why this table seemed to get a lot of admiring and envious stares...)  

 The beautiful birthday cake baked in the hotel kitchen

 Kezzy chats to Babes while Erynh takes a bottle of crickets from her brother Joshua. 

Babe's had breakfast as well! 

HAPPY WEDNESDAY TO YOU ALL! 

My view to work

 A rainbow over Champagne Valley yesterday., which was Palm Sunday

 Cosmos, the first sign of autumn in our part of the country

 Floral abundance against the majestic backdrop of the Central Berg peaks

  This morning on the way to work, I stopped again and took photos. So different to yesterday

 Clouds floating lazily across the escarpment, causing an ethereal look 

 

I hope you've enjoyed this view as much as I do every morning! 

Cat photography

Hi Bozo and Mum's blog readers; this is Ambrose with photos only of me. Mum caught me all wrapped up in a rug on her bed, but somehow her settings were a little off kilter...

 Wow, overexposed?

 This is a cozy moment

 Mmm. Mum used her flash here 

For more cute pet posts, please click here

Parkrun critters and people

Last week,. having a chest cold, I missed Parkrun. Today the day dawned clear after three days of rain; I feel 100% better so off I went. 

At the entrance to where we start Parkrun, two ladies greeted me in Afrikaans and asked me what the route is like after such heavy rains. I could see they were serious Parkrunners and didn't want to slip and fall while trying to improve their times.  I explained that it's a  mostly dry and grassy track and mentioned where they should take it easy/ They told me they were from Bethlehem in the Eastern Free State and when I said I was from Marquard 120lkms from this town, the one lady said her husband grew up in Marquard. Just then he arrived and we got talking. He told me his surname was Bruwer. and to whom his parents were related (this always counts when ascertaining your origins!) I said I knew an Eddy Bruwer and he said " that's my brother!" I realized I was talking to Karel Bruwer whom I'd known in the 80's as he took my friend's daughter out at the time. He asked who I was and when I told him, he said I knew Grant well. And it all fell into place.  Karel's late mother and Celia, my daughter-in-law, Amanda's mother, who's my sister-in-law, were sisters! So here I was at the Parkrun, literally running into family by marriage!

 Karel and his wife, Sandra; moi and Koba, Sandra's sister

 As always, there are four-legged Parkrunners 

I started off quite strongly considering I'd been off-color for almost two weeks and had done no exercise. As I was jogging along, I spotted a little blonde girl pass me. Then two little boys and when I saw Valentin hurtle past, barefoot and pushing a double buggy, I realized it was all my grandchildren. Then someone pulled up beside me and said: Hello Mom. John, who'd also had a chest cold and was just taking it easy. 

I finished 47 min 55 seconds which was fine for me and soon noticed all my family standing at the end point. 

 My granddaughter, Eryn with Babes, the juvenile Common Fiscal who also did the Parkrun

 Marelize and Tiger being scanned at the finish 

 John and Debbie with Joshua and Keren; Eryn and Bethany; Valentin ** and me with Israel and Elijah in front of us

**Valentin is a young Mozambican who has come to study in South Africa and is currently staying with John and Debbie on the farm.  

I'm linking to Saturday Critters with Eileen, here 

HAPPY SATURDAY TO YOU ALL! 

Healing skies and surroundings

 Sunrise earlier this week over the farm where I live

  The afternoon sun playing over my lawn on Sunday

I had a summer cold for ten days. Praise God it's finally over. I didn't go to bed or even stay home from the shop. Yet I healed. I believe it's the beautiful surroundings in which I live. Thanks to all who sent me get-well wishes.

I'm linking to Skywatch Friday here

HAPPY FRIDAY TO YOU ALL !  

Kenya, point of my heart...

Three days ago I clicked my Kindle onto the screensaver as I usually do when I'm finished reading.  The next time I picked it up, opened the cover, I noticed that Emily Dickinson's daguerreotype was a lot fuzzier than normal. I slid the open switch to "on";  it shone green but nothing happened. 

Ergh.   I don't have many traditional books in my house.  

I felt lost. 

Bereft.

The next day Caroline arrived at my shop with a bag of bones which she collects for Skabenga and the shop kitty. And a book which she'd been telling me about! Actually, she'd waxed lyrical about it and said she'd bring it down to the shop.

I told her it was most fortuitous that she brought it at this time, as I had nothing to read. And that was a disaster! LOL! 

 A love story about elephants and other wildlife in Kenya 

as told by Daphne Sheldrick 

My blogger friends who've known me for the past eight years, may remember that Grant and I spent one of the best years of our lives on a remote mine site in the Great Rift Valley in Kenya. I met blogger friend, Penny (Snap That) in Nakuru, Kenya a few miles across the Equator. And what a blessed meeting that was. Penny and I were reminiscing via e-mail earlier this week, how we've remained online friends for all these years. I firmly believe that one day I'll be able to go back to East Africa and visit the two countries, Kenya and Tanzania, where we spent several happy years.   Penny may be visiting there the same time; in fact I'll make sure I go over when she is there! Imagine that!    

At home I started on the book, struggling quite a bit in the beginning because the print seems small and quite dull, being on paper and not on a screen as I'm used to reading. But I soon got into the book and wow, am I enjoying it! There are so many places which the author mentions that are familiar to me. I feel quite sad that I can't say to Grant, "Listen to this" and read an excerpt to him, with us both saying: "Oh wow, We used to pass through the village of Gilgil or Narok on the way out of the Valley." Or "And here's a bit about Lake Naivasha  where we photographed huge flocks of flamingos." You can imagine this book is full of nostalgia for me...

Ironically, as I turned on the radio this morning, what did I hear on the news, but that Sudan, the last Northern white rhino male has died in Kenya .  See here

Today is also Human Rights Day in South Africa.  I pray that South Africa will finally be healed of the past atrocities of the previous regime against humanity. 

And that justice, freedom, equality and unity will prevail.

HAPPY WEDNESDAY TO YOU ALL!




 

Identity

Man requires three things in life: Identity, Stimulation and Security and the most important of these is Identity. 

David Sheldrick 

I'm linking to Wordless Wednesday here

 

Playing and resting kitties

Hi Bozo and Mum's blog readers; this is Ambrose and we kitties have been playing and some have been resting. 

Aunty Chappie loves to sit on the kitty scratching post in the sun. Our yoomen dad made this scratching post which is a giant mouse. We all use it as supposed but Chappie also lies on it...

Aunty Chappie relaxeson her perch in the sun

Unca Shadow and I have a game

We both freeze while we wait to pounce on each other !

Here is the nifty mouse scratching post our yoomen dad made for us

Dad Ginger lies on Mum's computer bag and watches all

I scrabbled Mum's typed sheets all over the carpet

It's great fun to slide across the paper laying on the carpet

Outside Mum called me and I came dashing towards Chappie sitting on the veranda 

For more cute pet posts, please click here

Shop kitty

Earlier this week when I posted about our shop kitty, a blogger friend asked if she ever gets off leash, 

The answer is yes!

During the day she is on this long leash which is just looped over a rail which allows her quite a free range but should she get loose and race down the veranda as she's wont to do, I'm able to dash after her and step on the leash, which stops her in her tracks.

At night, however, she sleeps in Colette's shop among and on the hides, sans collar or leash. She has the run of the whole shop from 5pm until 8.45 am when Colette opens her shop.

At present two more half-grown kittens have arrived to share Missy's space. At first she growled and hissed and Mama Jo kept her on "this side" of the veranda. Today she's loose again and indoors with her new BFF. One kitty is a smokey grey and the other is ginger striped. The latter has climbed up on a walled ledge in the shop and fallen asleep there. Missy and the grey kitty have shared a meal together (served separately) and at the moment, are dashing all over the shop playing. 

The door is closed and customers know to enter so it's business as usual for Colette. With the added attraction of the cute kitties on view. 

 Hello Mama Jo, is this a good pose for your blog? (note her leash is free)

 One part of Colette's hide and nature shop

 This is where Missy Miscot hangs out at night and now is playing with her new kitty friend

Soon I'll post Missy and the grey kitty playing... 

I'm linking to Eileen's Saturday Critters here 

HAPPY SATURDAY TO YOU ALL!