Two walks this weekend

 Dear Blogger friends. As mentioned in last week's blog, I have returned to doing the Parkrun (with my trusty Skabby) and I'm enjoying being back in the field. 

Before Covid, my friend, Marelize and I would also attend the monthly evening 5km walk in the Champagne Valley. 

Last night she and I completed our first one in three years. This walk is similar to a mountain hike: very steep downhill paths, rutted roads and several uphill climbs. Marelize (who is 50) had a knee replacement a year ago. She wasn't as fortunate as I was with my knee repair surgery earlier this year and is still challenged while walking. 

Our monthly Friday night walk (0or run for the fitties) in the Valley

However, on Friday night, with Skabby dragging me on the leash and Marelize holding onto my right elbow, we (with four healthy legs and two healthy knees between us, LOL!)  completed the course. It took us more than an hour, but we were thrilled that we'd started doing this walk again. We made a pact to do it every month.

Afterwards at the hotel . Marelize, her daughter,  two granddaughter, aged two and four years old and who had completed 4km (!) and I sat with the other contestants enjoying drinks on the deck. There were also hamburgers for sale.

Skabby, has never been on this walk and was the star of the evening. People who had never met him, made a huge fuss of him. Which he loves, of course. I had his leash under the cast iron chair leg and when one of the barmen came out with a tray of drinks, Skabby moved forward (dragging the heavy chair!) to see what the barman was offering. This man spun backwards and dashed back into the pub, slamming the door! When I went indoors, he said:  hau that dog is so beeeg. I laughed and asked him to bring a plastic container with water for Skabby so that he could make friends with the dog. When the man placed the water in front of Skabby, who stuck his head in and lapped thirstily, everyone laughed. Now the barman was stroking Skabby's head and talking to him. I said: See he's a friendly dog!

This is the beeeg dog that frightened the barman !

On Saturday morning it was Parkrun as usual. I thought Skabby would be hanging back.  Not at all:  as I opened my car door, he hopped in. At Parkrun, I looped his leash around a handy post near the children's swings. At least I then I could hang my car keys up and greet my friends. 

That day we could feel summer is on its way. When we got to the second dam (near the 4km mark), I urged Skabby into the water for a plodge and a drink. This helped tremendously on the last stretch which is always challengingly hot. At this point, it also feels as though the end will never come. 

By now, Marelize and her little Daschund, Tiger, had caught up to, and passed us. She was trying to improve on her time from last week. She arrived at the endpoint at 50minutes and eight seconds. I clocked in a little after her at 50 minutes and 22 seconds. We both agreed that having had the walk the night before made the Parkrun much easier and pleasurable. 

Feathered and hairy critters

Earlier this week I stopped to photograph the resident flock of guinea fowl in the cattle paddock next to the farm road which takes me home.

 Helmeted Guinea Fowl

 A hairy worm found in my house

I picked it up on a sheet of paper and put it on the lawn outside  

I'm linking to Saturday Critters with Eileen, here

HAPPY SATURDAY TO YOU ALL!  

Curiouser and curiouser cats

Hi Bozo and Mum's blog readers; this is Ambrose with a post about me and Unca Shadow. 

Last week Mum left a plastic bag on the floor and first I popped my head inside (it had a yummy raw meat smell) and had a lick for good measure. When I had to come out for air, Unca Shadow, curious as a cat also popped his head into the bag. 

 

 Licking my lips...

 ...and my leg while Unca Shadow takes a peek inside the bag 

For more cute pet posts, please click here

Arty African Critters

Hi Eileen, I'm not getting out enough to photograph real wild critters, so I thought I'd share a few critters with whom I share space in the shop every day.

 Leopard stalking the unsuspecting buck 

 Leopard cub  - one of my most popular sellers

 Lioness carrying a cub. Lionesses move their [very] young up to five times a day; this is to avoid the father or other predators discovering them who would kill them 

 This is a painting of the mounatain peaks in Champagne Valley: Cathkin Peak and Champagne Castle being the two main ones 

 A helicopter rescue into which the artist superimposed the hand of God and the hand of Adam  from Michaelangelo's painting in the Sistine Chapel (the image of the near-touching hands of Adam and God has become iconic of humanity)

 The Bearded Vulture - endangered and now being conserved in the Central Drakensberg 

 The Bushman: the first people and the oldest people in the world 

 Brahman Bull; painted originally on leather and taking four days to complete 

 These cattle were emerging from the dam called Spionkop. This is on the site of the Battle of Spioenkop (Anglo Boer war)

This painting is called Cow and Calf. It hangs on the door to the shop and stops everyone in their tracks 

Muthi and the Meerkats is my best seller on canvas, on coffee mugs, on magnets, coasters, potstands, mousepads, keyrings and clocks 

I'm linking to Saturday Critters here

HAPPY SATURDAY TO YOU ALL! 

Southern Bou-bou

The southern boubou (Laniarius ferrugineus) ('ferrugineus' - rust-coloured) is a  bushrike. 

This species is found in southeastern Africa, in southeastern  Zimbabwe, eastern Botswana,   Mozambique and southern and eastern South Africa.  It frequents dense thickets in forests, mangroves, scrub and gardens. In drier regions, it is found in riverside woodland.

 Southern bou-bou 

 Note the thick bush it's sitting in 

The male southern boubou is a fairly distinctive 20–22 cm long bird with black upperparts extending from the top of the head down to the tail, a striking white wing stripe, and a relatively long black tail with white outer feathers. The underparts are white shading to rufous on the lower belly, undertail and flanks. The bill, eyes and legs are black.

The female is similar to the male, but dark grey above and with a rufous wash to the breast. Young birds are like the female, but mottled buff-brown above, have a buff wash to the wing bar, and are barred below.

I'm not sure whether this is male or female. My photos are too indistinct. Just happy I was able capture this elusive bird in Caroline's garden. 

I'm linking to Wild Bird Wednesday here

HAPPY WEDNESDAY TO YOU ALL! 

Nine years of blogging...

... and a year in the Drakensberg! 

Note: this post is about 15 pages long but as an "old" blogger in more than one sense, with "old" blogger friends, I reckon those who want to read what I have to say, will do so. 

Way back in the second half of the last decade, I came home from living in West Africa.  I had with me our cat Mandu - the first of many times that I'd fly a cat across the Continent. 

Once I'd resettled and involved myself daily working in my indigenous garden, I started to play around on the Internet in the evening. While in Guinea, I had learnt how to "surf" and join chat sites for my writing passion. I also accessed the Weigh Less site as I ran an image club for the very few women who lived on or visited the mine site. 

Through the latter site, I met a young friend, Lynda who was living in Tanzania at the time. She started a blog and sent me the link. I read it and was hooked! With Lynda's help via e-mail, I started my blog and posted for the first time on 1 October 2008. 

I don't have the time to go back and link up to posts that I did at the time. Except for this one. And this one. (do click on this second link - even I enjoyed reading it! LOL!) 

For the first 23 days, Lynda was the only person commenting on my posts. Dear sweet girl. Another blogger "Hill upon Hill" from Oz also commented. 

Through Lynda's blog,  I started "meeting"  other bloggers: Esther Garvi (Ishtar' s  Ark). Esther, a beautiful young woman living in Niger, West Africa, died in a car crash in 2015. Lori (Skoog Farm Journal) Penny, (Snap That;) Peggy from Ireland; Gaelyn (Geogypsy) and Gattina (Writers Cramp.) Diane (Rhodesia)

When I first started to blog, I posted about gardening and also regularly posted recipes; always with a story attached. 

In 2009, I moved back to live with Grant in Africa. Khartoum, Kenya and finally Tanzania. Many of you joined my blog while I was back on mine sites: Betsy (Joyful Reflections) Kay (An unfittie's guide ...) Janie from Utah.

And in more recent years, Eileen (Viewing Nature with Eileen) Diane (Adventure before Dementia) Author Mac Wheeler, William (Ottawa Daily Photo) , Bill (Somewhere in Ireland); Margaret (Birding for pleasure) Anni (I'd rather be birdin') . 

So many of you and all so very welcome. 

Thank you! 

Thank you one and all,  for visiting my blog and commenting.

My life changed oveer the years: I've wandered the streets of Omdurman wearing an abaya (kaftan like covering over my Western clothes) and habib (head covering). I had a tutor and learned basic Arabic. 

Grant and I attended three (one double) weddings and were taken out to dinner (by the company's manager) on several occasions.  Do please click on the links if you have time and read about these interesting cultural events. 

The wedding invitation of one of the weddings probably cost more to print than our whole wedding forty years ago!  

Off to a Sudanese wedding 

Grant and I traveled into the Nubian desert almost every weekend. We rode camels, saw old temple ruins, visited pyramids and picnicked on samoosas and black coffee amongst the golden dunes. (many photo ops in the desert!) 

Moi atop a camel in the Nubian desert 

The Kush Kingdom flourished for 900 hundred years from around 800 B.C. to 280 A.D. and held power over a vast area covering much of the Nile Delta and as far south as Khartoum. Meroe became very important as the Kingdom's center from around 300 B.C. to 280 A.D. Egyptian influence remained strong and Egyptian artisans were used to build the Meroe Pyramids to commemorate dead royalty. The dead were buried in chambers underneath the pyramids. (Source Internet)

Riding through the desert in a 4 x 4 Toyota Landcruiser 

Subsequently our two year sojourn in North Africa ended. We flew home with a new [rescue] cat,  Shadow. We spent three months in South Africa before Grant was head-hunted for a position on a fluorspar mine in Kenya.

During the year there, I crept through the lush African bush in the Great Rift Valley, Kenya 
with my friend, Sue...

My dear friend, Sue with whom I birded and wandered through the bush almost daily 

and across fields birding and taking photos.

A bird's eye view? (LOL!) 

While in Kenya, I entered and won a competition for a recipe which I'd submitted to a magazine. It had a story attached, of course. The prize was dinner at "The Executive Chef's table" at the renowned Sarova Stanley Hotel in Nairobi. Even though it was a six-hour road trip, Grant and I attended, staying overnight afterwards at the company flat in the city. 

Off to the Sarova Stanley Hotel for a chef's table dinner 

Our three-year-stint in Tanzania, was most interesting as well.

I managed the company guest house which housed and fed 21 fussy expats, planning the meals, working with two wonderful chefs and a small kitchen staff; overseeing all domestic issues and going to market every week. I was involved with Grant in everything that happened to the employees .

 I joined the three other ladies at pottery every week, and ultimately became very involved in the school for endangered (Albino) children in Shinyanga town nearby. We made toys, trinkets and game boards for the children. We also baked cookies, made soup and popped popcorn which we'd take to the school and serve the children. 

Below I'm doing a presentation on hygiene and health guidance at the school. (I was in the grip of a high malarial fever at the time!) 

Omary  translates my talk on hygiene while I stood by in a fevered daze!

Grant and I did lots and lots of birding in Tanzania.  I posted regularly about the beautiful (and new) birds we saw.  We also had social outings with other expats. 

In February 2015 we returned to South Africa, ostensibly to "retire" . 

During our 16 months at home, the dogs and I went walking every day. 

Dear sweet Eddy  shaking off after a swim in the dam 

Skabenga still chest deep in the water 

With Grant's health failing in the Free State, our son, John asked us to come and live on his small holding in the Drakensberg while the family was in Mozambique. 

Once again, while Grant recuperated, the dogs and I established a regular walking routine on the property 

When the children put the property on the market, Grant and I moved to a house in an estate a little further along in the valley. 

At the same time, good friends, Steve and Estelle asked me to re-open Steve's art shop in the local shopping centre. Apart from selling Steve's eclectic art and Estelle 's popular souvenirs, I also have a natural multivitamin booster which I've been promoting in the shop and on Facebook. (one of the many positive results of taking this powder, are beautiful nails) 

(I had fun playing with Lunapic when posting the photos below) 

The rest is history...

Thank goodness for blogging; there are many things which I've almost forgotten but managed to find and relive again in the blog archives. 

I'm linking to Our World Tuesday here

HAPPY TUESDAY TO YOU ALL ! 

Digging the foundations

 Skabenga on guard! 

This activity took place on Tuesday and Wednesday. Yesterday afternoon the concrete was thrown. During the day, Grant and Steve did two trips to the local building suppliers in Winterton collecting common bricks. These are stacked at the buiding site as we speak.  

Today the builder, Amon and team arrived fully intending to start building. He set his workers up and then went to another site which he's involved in as well.  His vehicle gave up the ghost somewhere along the line and the Project Manager is rather frustrated at the wait.

However, Amon should be back on site now and laying bricks. 😉

Meanwhile Grant has transported more builder's sand from a point where it was offloaded by the suppliers last night to the top of the hill - where the building is taking place. 

HAVE A WONDERFUL THURSDAY! 

Post script:

Saw Grant pushing a pick-up in the parking lot outside the shop; realized it was Amon!

Amon the builder in pick-up van behind Grant on his way to the site