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Wednesday, 31 December 2014

December 31, 2014

All eyes on 2015!
It has taken me ages to sift through the hundreds of photos that I have taken since April 2014.
This was the first step towards fulfilling my New Year's Resolution.
It also took a two day 'photo trip' and very late nights to do all of 47 new postings on the blog. 
Phew!!  I will NOT let this happen again.  
Although a daily post is not part of my resolution I will post on a regular basis.

Wishing all who sees this, a wonderful 2015. As my friend Brenda put it:
May you have enough!

Sunday, 28 December 2014

December 28, 2014

CMR Beetles are great colourful subjects to photograph but they do so much damage!

Friday, 26 December 2014

December 26, 2014

While working in the garden, I removed picked up a rock and found this little snake under it!
What a gorgeous colour and such an obvious dark head.
After I took the photos I did a Google search and found this to be a 
If you click on the name of the snake you will be redirected to Wikipedia to read more about it,
This was quite a find and I am very glad to have had time to fetch my camera before the little snake slowly slid away to find a new spot to sleep.

Thursday, 25 December 2014

December 25, 2014

Being Christmas today I had in mind to post something red, but
the red flower that I had hoped to photograph today had fallen off overnight 

Walking around the front of the house, I found this Red Bishop chasing a grasshopper ...
... and he had a number of followers

Wishing everybody a very joyous Christmas!


Wednesday, 24 December 2014

December 24, 2014

A Brown hooded Kingfisher was sitting on the tennis court below my house.
Every now and then it would flap its wings very briefly.
I must have taken about 40 photos to try and catch him at the right moment.
 How cool is that! 

Wednesday, 17 December 2014

December 17, 2014

The Hluhluwe Imfolozi Park is beautiful at the moment. So green that it looks unnatural!

The rivers do not have much water at the moment.
This vehicle is parked in the spot at the quarry where we saw 
Elephants drinking (photos posted on 18 May) 
There is also a video on YouTube of Elephants crossing at this same spot.  
 This is the link: Elephant Crossing
The same scene viewed from the look out point towards the quarry.
The  left side of the widest pool is where the vehicle pictured above was parked. 
The fact that the Elephants cross the river here is probably the reason it is so wide at this point 

Black Bellied Bustard
Poor bird, no wonder he looks so upset -  probably heard someone call him by name!

 African Jacana - always on the move before they sink

These ducks have me puzzled because they have all the markings of the 
White Faced Whistling Duck but without the white face??

 My first shot at a Goliath Heron. I am delighted!

Whatever flees from the Little Egret is quickly caught by the opportunistic Barbel that follow it.
Taken at ultra-zoom from the viewsite above the Hluhluwe River
This would have been a brilliant shot if the wind didn't blow the branch into the picture!!
The water is teeming with Barbel.

Natal Francolin feeding and having fun in a Rhino midden

What a sighting! 
This is an extremely green area just below Hilltop Camp
We had seen no Elephants all day and this one seemed to be waiting for us right next to the road.


No need to super-zoom for this one!

Smiling Crocodile lazing in the sun. I wonder where they go when all the rivers run dry?
This question made me search for an answer and led to this amazing National Geographic article.

I found it rather strange that we saw no Wildebeest today. 
Until I zoomed in on a dark patch on a hillside in the distance. Wildebeest with calves!


Sunday, 14 December 2014

December 14, 2014

On October 4 I posted a photo of the lonely Baobab Tree on the R22:


This is the tree as is looks now.

Wednesday, 10 December 2014

December 10, 2014

Dumper certainly knows how to keep busy during the day!!
Makes one wonder what he does at night?
While we are all looking forward to the school holidays I wonder what will happen to Dumper. He  often followed my friend to my house and I am hoping he will come around to be fed during the 6 week school holiday.

Thursday, 27 November 2014

November 27, 2014

While I was out watering the potplants Mr Fly graced me with his company ;)

Saturday, 22 November 2014

November 22, 2014

 The Waterberry Tree is in full bloom and will soon be abuzz with insects and birds

Sunday, 16 November 2014

November 16, 2014

A friend gave me a plant a few years ago and this morning I noticed a flower bud.
I am very eager to see what this will become

Saturday, 8 November 2014

Monday, 3 November 2014

November 3, 2014

We have inherited a cat.
I posted the story of this cat on December 30, 2013
My friend has retired and moved away. Unfortunately she could not take Dumper with her.
Dumper now waits for me at the office in the morning where she gets fed.
 She then makes herself at home on her favourite chair in reception to sleep for the rest of the day!

Saturday, 25 October 2014

October 25, 2014

We were up bright and early & spent the morning participating in a Bass fishing competition
It was such a blessing to see my mother enjoying the competition for a ninth year in succession
(Mother will be 88 years old in January!)

It turned out to be a beautiful day and the scenery was magnificent

 A 'hearty' bug landed on Mother's sleeve and we were hoping it would bring good luck.
Sadly by the time the hooter said 'Lines Up' neither of us had caught a fish :(
It was great fun though, and I am so thankful that I could spend it with my Mother who has been a keen fisherwoman since childhood

On our way out we found this Warthog wallowing in a pool near the dam.


Saturday, 18 October 2014

October 18, 2014

Egyptian Geese are regular visitors to the pool area on the school fields.
I have never seen them use the pool though

Wednesday, 8 October 2014

October 8, 2014

Yesterday saw the arrival of seven good reasons why there might not be many 
photos other than puppy photos taken over the next few weeks!

Monday, 6 October 2014

October 6, 2014

Early morning rays add a golden glow to this Blue Headed Tree Agama (Bloukop)

 Uppity attitude!

Sunday, 5 October 2014

October 5, 2014

A visitor to the front garden,
Fortunately this is all it left behind











Saturday, 4 October 2014

October 4, 2014

This lonely Baobab tree grows in the field near the R22
It is without leaves at the moment and looks extra dreary on a moody overcast day

Wednesday, 24 September 2014

September 24, 2014

An African Masked Spider brought to me for a photo shoot

Although the container was lined with leaves and quite comfortable, the little spider was pleased to be set free and I had to act fast to get a few shots

 These little spiders have amazing defence tactics as you can see below
It lifts and moves the abdomen from side to side while stretching out to look as big and threatening 
as possible. I call it the jungle dance - all that's missing is the beating of a drum.
Note the 'mask' and the position of the front legs - held in such a way to look like pincers

Monday, 15 September 2014

September 15, 2014

A Portia Spider found on the wall in the ladies' room at work.
I can think of quite a few captions for this photo ,,,,

Sunday, 14 September 2014

September 14, 2014

 Often I sit and work on the laptop at the front veranda table. 
The camera is always part of this 'office' and today's photos show why.
This Masked Weaver perched in the tree at the fence and peeked at me through the gap in the poles that line the edge of the veranda.

A House Sparrow takes a rest while carrying material to line the nest for his lady
Poor little thing looks a bit bedraggled!

Blended colours and textures of nature - what an amazing word we live in