And as promised....

As long as you promise to look at the rest of the blog, lol, you can see more pictures.

Probably one of the most amazing animals we saw while at Kruger National Park were the Cape Buffalo. In 1957, there was not one Cape Buffalo in the Park. A few were brought in, and it was hoped that they could survive there. Well, survive they did. On our way into the park, before we'd ever made it to Jock Safari Lodge the first night, we literally came up over a rise, and before us were 300+ buffalo in a herd, blocking the road. We'd heard they were rather aggressive animals so we kept a healthy distance (about 100 yards), but it was fascinating to see that many of them. Young, old, babies, mothers. Then a day later, while out on a Game Drive at Jock, there they were again. Only this time we got to park in the middle of the herd (no kidding), so we had buffalo within touching distance for about a half hour. These animals are huge and dumber than bricks. lol If one gets upset about something, they ALL get upset, without knowing what they're getting upset about (wait a minute! I've met people like that online, most are called trolls).

You can see in the third picture that I wasn't kidding about being in the middle of the herd. And the first picture was what blocked the road our first day of our trip. Stunning to see hundreds of buffalo just taking their time crossing the road.

We only saw hippos in a couple of places, but as our guides kept reminding us, some of them could be underwater at the watering holes and dams we stopped at, and we wouldn't even be aware that they were there, until they pop their heads up to breathe. They are probably the most dangerous animals in Kruger. Possibly because people underestimate their speed. They look heavy and ungainly, but they're quite capable of running faster than a human. But the biggest reason they are the most dangerous is that if you happen to be between them and water, they will run you down or attack you, in order to take refuge where they are most comfortable.

And those really are crocodiles next to all the hippos. Apparently, there's some sort of agreement reached when everyone is near a watering hole and resting in the sun. The crocs weren't making any move to go after the hippos, the impala that were on the other side of the river, or the birds that were all over the place.

The funniest thing we saw going on with the Hippos happened at Lower Sabie in Kruger Park. The hippos were all over the place there, and the ones that were in the water were being used as surfs boards by the various fishing birds there. I called it Hippo Surfing, as the birds would only leave the hippos when they were fishing, and then would fly back onto the hippos backs to eat their catch.

Not quite Africa pictures yet....

I lied, I think you should see anal in action once again. I make no bones about being anal when it comes to designing things for my home.

A couple years ago, we chose an Italian porcelain tile for the kitchen. We decided to lay the tile in a stairstep pattern, but wanted something special there too. We decided on small 3 X 3 hand painted tiles to fit in the corners, and we also chose some solid color ones to alternate. Because these little tiles were hand painted, I had to cover each with three coats of a polyurethane meant for floors. And because they were hand painted each had to be coated with polyurethane by hand. What a production. But the floor was finally finished and we both loved it to death.

These are what the little tiles look like (there are five different patterns).

Now, being my normal anal self, I wanted to take those patterns and incorporate them into the rest of the kitchen. However, we hadn't decided on a back-splash, and had only put a new counter on the island, and not the actual kitchen counter yet. So, I didn't have the opportunity to "add" anything to the main countertop or the back-splash. But lest you think I couldn't come up with anything, there were still the fur-downs (the area between the tops of the cabinets and the ceiling). :-) So, I had John cut me little blocks of wood which I then painted to match the small tiles in the floor. I told you I was anal. I love having things tie together, but my version of "tie together" is obvious. I don't just do a color tie-in. I want the pattern there also. The first 3 pictures are of the painted wood blocks once I'd mounted them with Velcro (so I could remove and clean them). The last picture is of the island with the quartz, but it gives you a teensy glance at the floor in the background. I just now realized I don't have any pictures of the floor.

Some drawer dividers.

Usually, I get stuck doing stupid stuff for someone else. But this time, I wanted to see if I could avoid running to Walmart to buy plastic boxes (sans lids) to use in some drawers. I wanted something simple, but I didn't want them to just be cheap plastic. I wanted to cover them. Then I discovered cat food cases...not for the big cans for for the little ones, such as the ProPlan food I buy for my kitties.

I got this grand idea and decided to do a couple of "drafts" the same way I would if I were making something brand new for myself or someone else. I must say, it would have been easier (probably) to sew the covers, but instead I chose to use Elmer's Glue and some fabric I'd purchased sometime in the 1980's (well, maybe not THAT long ago, but a while ago) and see what I could come up with.

I started with just an ordinary cat food case (holds 24 3 ounce cans), 2 fabric pieces cut to follow the lines of the box (one for the inside and one for the outside), and a bottle of Elmer's (I could have used any glue as long as it would work on both cardboard and fabric. Elmer's was the only one I could find that I knew would bond both.

Viola! And they're already in use. Next time though, I'm going to work them up by sewing a cover, as the glue drove me crazy. But if you're going to try this, based on these pictures, make sure you do the inside first (center on bottom of box, glue bottom, flatten the fabric onto it, then carefully glue each side on both inside the box and the outside edge - the fabric will fold over). I'm not much on giving tutorials but at least that will get you started and the box will turn out halfways decent. And now, onto more Africa pictures! :-)

And the last of the bunch tonight.

The next time you see my words, it will be about the drawer dividers I made today. :-) But for right now, we have more animal pictures. :-)

A Kudu is of the antelope family and its horns are the symbol for the South African National Park System. These animals are amazing, and luckily we got a couple of good still pictures of them. The last picture is a Kudu cow.

The flowers in and around Kruger were starting to bloom (as it was the spring there). I caught a couple of great pictures of Bougainvillea that I wanted to share.

Another member of the Antelope family is the Duiker (pronounced DAKER, rhymes with Baker). This little guy is one of the smallest in the family, and very shy. That we got this picture was pretty amazing.

And I found out the hard way that it is almost impossible to take a picture of a whole Giraffe. :-) We had to be a great distance away to get the whole animal in the frame. Instead, I had to settle for some closer shots.

More pictures of the trip. :-)

Thought I'd better get on the stick and post some more pictures of our trip. This will probably be the last set I post here. I figure if you've seen one rhino picture, you've seen them all. Same goes for elephants, lions, leopards, etc.

The young man in one of the pictures in this group is dressed in his Zulu costume. It was Heritage Day in South Africa and South Africans are encouraged to dress in their traditional garb. He descends from Zulu warriors, so he is wearing a period-exact piece. The pink across his chest and the necklace around his neck are beaded pieces. The Zulus have a huge business in jewelry now. In fact, everywhere I looked there was jewelry for sale, hand-made by the tribe. The beads they use are different too. All are glass, but they don't look the same as the beads we see coming out of China now. These, in his outfit, were gorgeous. His sandals are hand made, as is the rest of the outfit. He was one of the few employees at Jock Safari Lodge to wear traditional clothing that day, but I'm glad he did. Besides which, this guy was adorable. Tall and handsome. Sigh....

The red and white flowers are from a bush called an Impala Lily. It blooms with these flowers before it ever gets leaves, similar to a Lilac. The picture, luckily, captured that wonderful color. But no fragrance. :-(

The next is a Lilac Breasted Roller. This is one of the most beautiful birds I've ever seen. She/he stands about 6-7" tall, so its not a big bird. It is named the "roller" because of the acrobatics it does when its looking for a mate. It soars high into the sky, then dives, rolling as it falls, to attract the attention of the opposite sex. I wasn't able to catch this dive with my video camera, as it happens unexpectedly and very quickly, so I had to settle for a still picture of the colors. :-)

Then some elephants again, cause I fell in love with them over there. They are the true kings of the bushveld, jungle, or wherever you go. Lions will run from elephants and if they don't run fast enough, the elephants will chase them. I have it on video. :-)

Now onto a Blue Wildebeest and a Rhino family. :-)

I'll stop here and make another post with some Cape Buffalo, birds, and a few others. :-)