Impala lillies

Despite the lack of resources around at this time of year, these flowers manage to poke out their happy faces and smile at the world.

 

Out and about

Its not often you see so many babies around, except in November/December when the Impalas lamb.  Lately we have seen baby elephants in almost all of the herds.  This one was sighted about an hour after birth by some of the rangers and he came with his family to the to the lodge waterhole two days later, I was lucky enough to see him.

He still doesn’t quite understand what the long bit on the end of his face is all about and is struggling a little with co-ordinating all four feet, but he’s healthy. I wish you all the best little one…..

 

Sleepless nights

I sleep so much better out here than I used to when I lived in the city, well unless there is an elephant in my garden. This young bull paid me a visit, three nights running. Food is limited out there, things are tough, but inside camp, all sorts of tasty morsels await him.

I managed to get a couple of hours just before dawn, only to open my eyes and see him enjoying the spiky leaves of a palm tree just outside my door. When I opened my door, he came up and rested his head on my patio roof, I was about 2m away from him when I took this picture.

 

Still waiting for rain, the game of patience continues.

One of the beautiful things about this time of year is the sunsets just keep getting more dramatic.  The dust hangs in the air and more and more is whipped up by the wind trying to bring much needed rain, the sky creates masterpieces at the end of each day. Each more spectacular than the last.

Its my favorite time of day, the heat has somewhat dissipated, the wind stills and everything prepares for the onset of darkness.

 

On the move

Driving back from a day in the field with a group of children living in a village near the reserve, I cam across a mating pair of lions, right on the road.  I sat with them for over an hour, watching as she made seductive tail swishes, showing affection one minute and batting him with a fair sized paw the next.

They didn’t pay much attention to me, were a little wary of the vehicle but at one point walked right passed my door, about 2m away and lay down in the shade of the vehicle.  Before long, she got up and stretched, it was time to move, perhaps do a little hunting.

I left them to their courtship and made my home, humbled that I had been privy to such intimacy.

 

In need of rain

I love this time of year, the bush is every shade of dry you can imagine.  The earth is packed solid, dry and dusty.  Dust devils whirl unchecked and unhindered, they come suddenly without warning.  What little green vegetation there is is veiled by thick layers of dust.  The bushveld cries out for rain.

There is beauty and courage in this dryness, the colours, the will of the animals to hold out for just one more day, sheltering in the scant shadows of leafless trees.  We know this cycle, we are wise to the way of nature.

In her own time she will send us rain.  For now, we must wait.

 

Fletcher

The header image of this blog shows a closeup of Fletcher the hand raised squirrel. His mom  and siblings got eaten by a black mamba three years ago and I raised him from baby hood. Now he is all grown up with a family and offspring of his own, he pops in to visit occasionally and get nut snacks from my desk