It's the last day of 2011, and this seems like a good time for my monthly post! As usual, too much has been happening to even begin to blog about, but I do have many colourful reminders of the month gone by..

These gorgeous pincushion lilies were late bloomers this year, but they certainly did not disappoint with their dramatic November appearance.. These are completely wild plants, which live in the overgrown bush area at the bottom of our driveway, reminding us of their flamboyant presence only once a year!

The breeding activities in our garden have been very dramatic, with paradise flycatchers and  fork tailed drongos both raising their hatchlings in very obvious places in our garden, under our constant observation. Sadly, we are helpless and powerless against the forces of nature, and could not prevent tragic losses of baby birds due to all the aerial, arborial and terrestrial predators which frequent our rather jungly garden. Here is the beautiful male paradise flycatcher on the nest, in happier days!

 

At last - photos of some of the warthog piglets around town! This photo was taken a while back, in the height of the dry season.

These little fellows are growing well, and are actually quite large now, compared to these shots. I am pleased to say there are still four babies in this particular group of hogs!

This is the time of year for mangoes on the farm where we live.. I took a walk with the dogs a few weeks back, to check on the mango progress, and found them looking rather decorative and impressive on the trees. At this point they are busy harvesting and packaging what looks like a bumper crop - good news for our neighbours!

Our beautiful kitten ... met with an accident... but made a miraculous recovery, losing one of her proverbial nine lives! Her name which I neglected to mention in the last post, is Naledi (meaning Star in Setswana) Here she is about to type some nonsense into my laptop, and of course posing next to an apple to show how she has grown!

Around the end of November, another little street kitten found us and adopted us.. His name is Nuvi, and he is pretty much the same age, only a negative image of his adopted sister. Now we have two inseparable and boisterous youngsters to keep each other busy, and us entertanied. They love their long suffering big brother Ash, who allows them to sleep with him on his special blanket,amongst other kindnesses!

Christmas season is always a bit of a challenging one for us, needing to try and run our business whilst all our suppliers are shutting down for the long holiday period. A sudden urgent job in Francistown, our nearest city, caused a last minute pre-Christmas dash 500km south, to sort out a customer there. En route we over-nighted at Elephant Sands, and were lucky enough to experience this rather festive looking sunset in the unspoilt bush... 

Normally we would avoid any cities like the plague at this time, but there was no choice - if a customer calls for help during the height of the Christmas shopping mania, so be it! I usually like the opportunity to purchase things that are not available back home, but when I shoved my way through all the festive shoppers and found that I literally could not move inside any of the supermarkets, I turned tail from the retail frenzies and sat in the car and caught up on some reading instead!

On our return, I was thrilled to find a package in the post: blog friend Angela in Germany (letters from usedom blog) decided to play Christmas fairy and sent us some of her amazing German biscuits, particularly the alphabet biscuits, which have featured in her blog! I also loved making the acquaintance of Shaun das Schaf, in confectionery form - apparently this little sheep is very popular over there.. what fun, to have a bit of European flavour in our Christmas this year!

Our ancient Christmas tree had to be suspended from a roof rafter, to keep it above kitten height! Happily, we even managed to install my beloved Christmas lights on the tree, and the best the little ones can do is to meow longingly at the shiny objects dangling alluringly above! Maybe next year they will have calmed down enough to allow us to have a low level tree once more...

We got back from our business trip literally minutes before our family members arrived to stay for Christmas, so all a bit frenzied, but we managed to close shop for 4 days, and enjoy a very relaxed family Christmas. In between that, and a bit of a crazy time at work in between the holidays, there is always the river - our haven, five minutes away from home. To quickly launch the boat and float away into our own special place where nobody else goes is a unique and incredible privilege.

Here is the magical golden light of late afternoon - looking down river.

As the sun sets, the cloud formations are thrown into relief and gold starts to glow on the surface of the water..

Eventually, gentle pastel colours dominate as we turn back towards home, checking carefully for hippos on the move.. this lifestyle close to nature really makes up for any stress caused by trying to make a living in a fairly remote part of the world, and we try to never forget it!!

I thought I should end off with a few more warthogs, since I have been rather slack on the warthog photography front lately.. this cute youngster hangs out near our office, and I can watch this family from my window!

Here the piglet is learning how to get down on its knees and root around - a true miniature warthog!

I will end off here, and would like to say thanks to all reading this, for visiting and showing interest in my crazy blog journals during this year . Wishing everybody a fantastic, prosperous and truly fulfilling 2012!

October/November - Another Monthly Post

Surprised to find my last post has been sitting around here for a whole month, I've been busy trying to recall what's been going on in the past 30 days by scrolling through my camera! There is, as always, way too much to tell, so this will be a very long post .. it might just take the whole of the next month to read it!

Just after last writing here, early one morning at work, I was summoned from my desk to see a tiny, lone kitten, being gingerly prodded at the end of the cleaning lady's mop. After a fruitless search for her mother and any other kittens, there was simply no doubt whatsoever that I was going to scoop her up and take her home!

She is growing like mad, and developing into a beautiful little cat, with boundless energy. Feline politics at our place have been interesting, with the 3 previous residents and their varying reactions to this new arrival!


At the beginning of November we took a quick trip south of the border. Leaving here in the scorching Botswana heat, at the height of the most savagely hottest time of year, I had to literally grit my teeth and force myself to handle a few precautionary warm clothes, which were flung into a separate bag to be ignored in the back of the car...

On the road down.. The dry, dry season. Dusty and hot, perfect conditions for bush fires.

Sunrise on the way south, after our overnight stop. This gorgeous kudu bull kindly offered us some photo opportunities while gazing curiously at us through the open car window!

The jacaranda trees were in full blossom in Pretoria city, blazing their purpleness all over the streets.

It was great fun to catch up with the kids, and their girlfriends, and to celebrate a 21st birthday, slightly in advance! 

Then - on to a  world of contrast from our home environment - a fly-fishing destination, of course, and a mini reunion with my sister and family. Mountainous terrain is always so appealing to us...

...and to add to the novelty - rain and cold winds prevailed, and the much maligned bag of warm clothing was gratefully retrieved from the back of the car!

At our country cottage for the weekend, we lit up the log fire, and enjoyed the great outdoors and some family time. 

The biggest and the smallest fisherman.

Beautiful roses bloom everywheree in the streets of Dullstroom- so very different to home.

We loved catching up with our twin nephews who are now four years old. One outing involved educating them that, sadly, coins in a wishing well are supposed to be put in, not taken out! After finding the exercise of tossing their coins in extremely boring, they then kept busy tirelessly fishing any accessible coins out, and dutifully flinging them back in - Wishes galore!

 

All good times come to and end - back on the road north.. more moutains and lonely roads...

Back in Botswana, a dirt road en route to our overnight stopover - in the golden light just before sunset.

Here's a billboard that always makes us homesick - only 300km left to go from this spot!

Despite the dryness and the heat, bright green shoots magically appear in the previously burnt areas. Here are a few (almost invisible) roadside ostriches captured in a speedy drive-by shot!

Our new north-south road is finally taking shape with its beautiful black ribbon tantalising us as we bumpily navigate the potholed detour. We are currently allowed access to it for a few glorious km, before being thrown off again..

The only travellers to so far to really enjoy this new road are the elephants, who leave big dinnerplate sized prints on the unmarked highway...

Back home again, and the following weekend my dad celebrated his 70th birthday. All four of us checked out of Botswana, and over into neighbouring Namibia- a boat ride through the secluded channels for a wonderful weekend with our good friends over at Ichingo Lodge.

This haven perches right above the water, in the midst of beautiful riverine vegetation, and, being one of my favourite places on earth, features often in my blogs. The rushing sound of the rapids is always in the background here and one can forget the proximity of our home town just over the river!

The wicked, un-extinguishable, or re-igniting candles on the birthday cake!!

Fires dominate even the riverine world at this time of year, blazing away on the flood plain right up to the water's edge sometimes, and, incidentally, causing incredible effects for sunsets and amazing reflections in the water.

Back home again, back to "normal".  I am playing the never ending game of catch up, but our mini breaks are always worth it..

At the time of writing, I can now report that the rainy season has finally started, and the daily cloud buildups and thunderstorms have at last brought the searing November temperatures down. Fires can now stop burning.  Now we just hope for good rains this season, as there is precious little for the animals to eat in the bush around us right now..

*Special update: the cutest little warthog piglets have started appearing all over town, but so far I have either been driving, or without a camera, so they remain unrecorded in this blog post! Watch this proverbial space, though!

It is time to sign out again, and I'll be back again when I can. For now, sending warm mid-week greetings to all reading this!

Signed, Hopelessly in Love

I recently read author and fellow blogger Lauri's  newly released book, 'Signed, Hopelessly in Love' and it's my pleasure to write about it here on my blog. This is actually the second stop on her international blog book tour!  *For more blog tour details, see the end of this post.

 

All About Lauri

Lauri Kubuitsile is an award winning, full time writer living in Botswana. Her short stories have been published on four continents and she has 14 published works of fiction, primarily for children.  She’s also written six textbooks, two television series and numerous radio scripts. She has twice won first place in Africa’s prize for children’s writing, The Golden Baobab. Most recently she was shortlisted for The Caine Prize.

Email: [email protected]
Blog: http://thoughtsfrombotswana.blogspot.com/

'Signed, Hopelesssly in Love'
In brief, the story, set in Botswana, follows the adventures (and misadventures) of quirky teenager Amo, as she deals with life as an ambitious and lively high school girl, while embarking on an unexpected new journalistic career move  - in the role of Agony Aunt for the popular school paper.

I actually found it to be really different, compared to the more usual type of high school stories that I've read in the past. Having been part of the adventure of raising two teenagers in my own life, I have great affection for teens, and enjoy reading about them. I have also maintained my taste in young adult literature, and this young adult book was a really excellent read!

I devoured it speedily, really enjoying this endearing young lady and her world populated with amusing characters, and sprinkled with snippets of absolutely typical Botswana life!

Q & A Session with Lauri

Afer questioning Lauri on some of the points that interested me about her book, I gained some most interesting 'behind the scenes' insight! Read on...

Q.  For me, the book has a lovely uplifting positive feel to it. I am sure it is old fashioned these days to speak of a 'moral' in stories for youngsters... but is it important to you to send some sort of a worthwhile message to the kids of today?

A. I don’t set out to sell a message, but at the same time I like writing and reading uplifting stories. I remember reading books when I was young and they helped me figure out questions about my own life. I would be very happy if my books help a child do the same.

Q.  One of my favourite adult characters in the book, albeit a minor one, is Beauty. Did you feel inspired by a particular person or teacher? Or, knowing how passionate you are about encouraging youngsters to read, is she perhaps more like your own voice?

A.I was a teacher for many years and my husband is a headmaster, so we are a family that loves teachers. I’ve known many Beautys, both as an adult and as a student.  Teachers who inspire children to be their best.  I really think it is one of the noblest things a person can do, to commit their lives to children in that way.

Q.  I would love to read more about the progress of this lovable heroine one day, as well as to perhaps learn more of her background, or the story of her mother. Are you planning a sequel or a series of Amogelang books?

A.When I finished this book I thought straight away it needed a sequel. But that was more than two years ago now. My husband read the book last weekend and he also thinks it needs a sequel. So …maybe…we’ll see!

Q. I could really relate to the scenes, the sense of humour and the issues raised in the book, particularly from my perspective as a Botswana resident. I did feel though that it could definitely be enjoyed by anybody, anywhere. Are you hoping that the book will be read internationally too?

A.Well the book is published in South Africa by Tafelberg, a South African publisher, so already I think people outside of our borders are reading it. Yes, I would love if people in other countries read it and enjoyed it.  

Q. Where did you get your inspiration for the Amo character?

A. I’m not sure, she really just came to me. When I started writing the book my main inspiration was that I wanted to write a book about a mistake, and how we all think our mistakes are much bigger than they actually are. I also like to write books with “take charge” characters, especially children and women, people who are often made to think they have no power. Amo in her round about way is a girl in control of her own destiny and I like that.

Q. Have you had any interesting experiences with witchcraft, and/or traditional healing during your life in Botswana?

A. I have a friend who is a firm believer in traditional medicine and most of what I’ve seen or experienced has come from her. As I’m writing this I’m suddenly realising that a lot of my books have some aspect of traditional medicine in them. My most recent romance, Mr Not Quite Good Enough has a traditional doctor in it who tells my protagonist’s fortune. My children’s book,  Mmele and the Magic Bones, is about Mmele having to bring his grandfather, who is a traditional doctor, back from the ancestors. And I recently finished another children’s book called Thato Lekoko: Superhero and Thato’s friend is learning how to become a traditional doctor.  So I guess I have more interest in traditional medicine than I thought!

Q.  Can you tell me more about the beautiful poem on page 51?

A. The poem is called “This Morning” from a collection by South African poet Lebo Mashile titled In a Ribbon of Rhythm. I love Lebo’s poetry. I’m not a poet myself but I love reading and listening to good poetry. I heard Lebo perform some of her poetry in Cape Town some years ago and I’ve been a fan ever since.

Bookshopping Links:
It is easy to buy Lauri's book online, and it's a great read for anybody anywhere in the world ... if you already have an interest in Botswana stories, so much the better! Please do follow one of the various links listed below!!

Book Depository:

http://www.bookdepository.com/Signed-Hopelessly-Love-Lauri-Kubuitsile/9780624052883

Amazon.com--(limited availability)

http://www.amazon.com/Signed-Hopelessly-Love-Lauri-Kubuitsile/dp/0624052885

Kalahari.com:

http://www.kalahari.com/books/Signed-hopelessly-in-love/65197/41480273.aspx

Amazon.co.uk:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Signed-Hopelessly-Love-Lauri-Kubuitsile/dp/0624052885 

(claims not released, preorder)

Loot.co.za:

http://www.loot.co.za/product/lauri-kubuitsile-signed-hopelessly-in-love/vdxm-1637-g470?referrer=iosa

Blog Tour Info:
If you'd like to follow "Signed, Hopelessly in Love" on its tour, have a look at the next destinations coming up:

November 2: Myne Whitman Writes (http://www.mynewhitmanwrites.com/)

  

November 16: Straight From Hel (http://straightfromhel.blogspot.com/)

November 23:Monkeys on the Roof: http://monkeysontheroof.blogspot.com/

For the first stop on the trip, last week, check out Selma's post over here.

October 12: Selma in the City (http://selmainthecity.wordpress.com/)

I'll be resuming service with my usual procrastinated border town musings as soon as I can manage it! Sending mid week greetings to all reading this, wherever you may be...
 

Borders/Boundaries/Barricades..and Bits & Pieces of news

Just recently, there has been a spate of petty hostilities, cross-border - which, in our case, involves an imaginary line drawn down the middle of a shared river. Over zealous officials from both countries have started nabbing unsuspecting individuals who may have strayed over the 'line'.  In past years, things were much more relaxed, with an understanding that small reasonable line-crossing areas of the river around our Botswana town, and the opposite Namibian island could be considered almost as no-man's-land, or could be freely enjoyed by vessels of both nations without causing an international incident!


In the direction of travel in this photo, we must now apparently be vigilant, and keep strictly to the right hand Botswana side of the river, for fear of being caught out...

The most dramatic of these incidents was perpetrated further upstream, by the Botswana authorities, and ironically coincided with the official opening and promotion of a cross border Peace Park initiative! This  project covers several countries, for the benefit of wildlife, conservation and the people of our area. They now have a smart office, and a shiny 4x4 vehicle, and appear to be sponsored by or somehow involved with the German government. I don't think this treaty has actually been signed yet, and nor do I know enough about it at this point, but I'm hoping that this peace park idea will bring a turnaround in peaceful neighbourly relations, and also that some lessons have been learned around here by the officials, after the most recent happenings, and the resultant community outcry!

It's a complicated area! Just observe all those yellow lines through the river system, demarcating national borders.

In another development, (unrelated to  the Peace Parks) a  new community conservation area is busy being fenced off along the riverfront. This whole area down to the river used to be totally open and freely available to humans and animals alike... Once again, I don't know enough about the project yet to know what it's actually all about, but in principle, it's good to know that this stunning area is never going to be turned into a luxury lodge or shopping centre..

Here is the new fence in progress. The blue of the river is visible on the other side.

On the other side of this fence is one of our most favourite areas to visit in our boat - it truly is beautiful and utterly  unspoilt... very few other boats ever appear, and floating around here at weekends helps us cope with the weekly stresses! Here you can see the sandbanks tinged with late afternoon/sunset light.

The image of these newly planted fenceposts marching down towards the water saddens my freedom loving soul, but I will just have to trust that this is a good thing for the future...

At least in between all the fences there are always corridors left for the animals and people to reach the river, and there is a compulsory riverfront access on all properties or fenced places along the river but.. slowly, surely, the fencing and the development is growing.  Having said all that, it does not change the fact that Kasane is still a beautiful place to live, and I do realise that development is completely inevitable.

Changing the topic - despite still being in waiting-for-rain mode, it's time for the exciting seasonal changes all around us. Trees are bursting into life with blossoms and leaves. Here you can see our favourite baoabab, newly green, overlooking the floodplain, on the route to work.

Our much loved migratory Paradise Flycatchers arrived dead on time (actually one day early this year), and as usual, I am ridiculously pleased to see our beautiful birds. It always amazes me the way they find our particular garden, every year on the same date!

Warthogs are well into breeding mode, and we have noticed a couple of pregnant females wandering around.  Here are some pictures of warthogs around town, for those who have been complaining of lack of warthog updates! Two of the youngsters outside our office.

Large male "shopping" for food in the supermarket car park.

We have been busy with visitors as usual, and have just had 3 university students - stepson Zac and two of his friends to stay, which has been the greatest of fun, and now my parents are here for a while, too!


Signing off with a golden skyscape captured just before sunset on Sunday. I am resisting the temptation to insert the further progression of this sunset, into pinks and purples, as I feel this blogpost is way too long already!

Tuesday greetings to all reading this... and, I will be back next week, actually, as I have a planned 'blog date' coming up, for once!

Spring/Summertime - a month in images

Yes, this blog actually still exists! Seasonally speaking, I have shot straight from mid winter to spring, due to my snail-like blogging pace. For the past couple of months we've had lots of visitors, and have been away again, and on some work road trips... then the eternal game of catch up (my usual reasons for non-blogging).

If this title suggests fresh green shoots, and lovely springlike visions, think again.. on our travels south and north, I have tried to capture the roadside reality of the interior. It's the start of the serious waiting-and-praying for-rain-season now. Not a drop has fallen for many months...Just a hint of spring here though - the suprising green grass on the right hand side of the road is the new regrowth from an earlier bushfire!

Once again, the thatching grass harvest season is in full swing. The little makeshift villages spring up alongside the road, and as the bundles of harvested grass grow in quantity, they evolve into walls, some shelter against the harshness of this environment.

The finished thatch bundles will be sold for roofing. Just down the road, our favourite overnight spot Elephant Sands is undergoing some renovations. New, shiny yellow thatch contrasts with the old, weathered grey...

Here's a sunset on the long road north... Animals are nibbling away at any tiny shoots that can be found on the extreme edges of the roads. This is one of the most dangerous times of day to drive long distance in Botswana, and we make a point of trying not to do it. Luckily our destination was just ahead, or we would have stopped somewhere sooner for the night.

I have to include a photo of this statuesque Mugongo Tree. I never seem to notice them in the lush summer season, but when leafless, they are strikingly noticeable, dotted around the dry grasslands, inhabiting their own particular vegetation belt.

After our travels - it's always a welcome contrast to return to our riverine world, after journeying through the thirsty lands en route.. The sunsets are filtered through smoke and haze at the moment, as fires are constantly burning on the floodplains, over on the Namibian and Zambian sides of the river.

It is essential to escape to the river, seeking the coolness of the water, and an abundance of greenery. Good to see the sandbanks are back after the receding of the seasonal flood waters. They are often re-scuplted while underwater, and tend to emerge with a different look and shape each year!

Thirsty elephants gather in large numbers every evening at a local small lodge's waterhole - this is a favourite place for us to go with our visitors for an evening sundowner. For more pictures of these beautiful creatures, have a look over here.

The elephants are moving around town too. Sometimes driving home after dark you will see a  massive, dark shape materialise and disappear silently over the road.If this photo is not too dark, you should observe an elephant crossing the road, with street lights on the right and the rising moon on the left!

Just outside our own back yard, a real spring picture at last! The orange trees on the farm are blossoming, and the orchards are blasting their incredible perfume out into the air. The dogs, on our daily walks, are much more interested in other scents, and their noses are glued to the ground most of the time! I absolutely love the orange blossoms, and this is certainly one of the benefits of renting a little space on the farm, right next to 'our' orchard, with any actual orchard-related worries belonging exclusively to the farm owners!

Finally, one more image from our travels. The designs on the backs of Botswana buses are often imaginative and quirky. This one was rather touching, and I hoped the people inside its metal shell felt safe and protected, just as we did as we passed by.. I honestly am not too sure about the exact species of the cat featured here, but the bus just gave us such a good feeling, it was almost a pity to overtake it...

Hoping that mid-weekend blessings abound for all...

Till next month (or earlier, you never know!)