On My Walk Today.....

Hello Everyone!!!!

I like to go for an early morning walk, before the day warms up and before the wind starts to gust.....
                The moon was still up ....

and the air was fresh and clean with just a little bite in it .....

    ..... and just as we started our walk, a    jackal cried nearby, but we were not lucky enough to catch a glimpse of it, so on we went ......
              .... An old rhino toilet ......
             (they use communal toilets)

   .....and a rhino scratch pole, the point shiny                            and smooth .......

I really miss them so much!!!The veld feels empty without having to watch out for them!!
....a beautiful Camel Thorn tree.....

(in our second language, Afrikaans, this tree is called a kameel doring - loosely translated, its called a camel thorn tree!!! Kameel = camel and doring = thorn but a kameelperd (camel horse) is afrikaans for giraffe .....

      .... and this is where the giraffe comes in..... These are the seed pods of a camel thorn tree and if you put 2 of them together like this, it looks almost exactly like the spoor of a giraffe!!! Really it does!!! 
And because the canopy is quite high, mostly giraffes eat the top leaves of this tree, and the seedpods, well that's quite a different story!!!! Everything eats them!!! It is loved by all game, cattle, everything and the donkeys looooove it and believe it or not, even my dogs eat it!!!! Crazy dogs!!!

  ..... and these are the thorns!!! Big, sharp and plentiful, they really cover the tree.....

So camel for the spoor of the giraffe and covered in mean thorns...Camel Thorn Tree or  Kameel Doring Tree.....

         
             ....a pretty colorful little lizard....

   ....this funny fan shaped plant...I really have  no idea what it's called but its so pretty, I will have to go look this one up......just look at the huge bulb peeking from the sand!!!It is really really big, isn't it?!!!
              ..
            ...some porcupine quills.....

         .... raw peanuts, the nuts actually grow                           under ground, like roots ....

         .....also known as monkey nuts......

      
       .......... guinea fowl feathers.........

                    ..... a leguaan.....
Boy it's fast!!!Running just like a crocodile, hissing and flicking his tongue, warning us to stay away.....

     ....and just like the rhino,Impalas also                        use communal toilets.......

       ...... this weird tick-like looking bug.....

               .....the sun starting to rise......

  .... the waterhole drying up quickly.....

    .... and this photo was taken later that day    just to show you how dry it really is.....

Now you can see why I am so envious of your lovely green gardens and the very green pathways you walk on!!!! Winter here is very bleak and depressing and when the last rainy season didn't bring our usual rain, it's even worse!!!! We have been in a drought now for more than 4 years!!!! The sand here is like beach sand but even that is turning into powder right now and the wind is just relentless!!! Sandstorms are a daily thing and really terrible!!! The dust gets in everywhere!!
Sooo, enjoy your green and colorful surroundings and make the most of your warm summer days!!!

See you soon....
Love
AMarie