Three Babies

Finally I managed to get a photograph of all three baby springbucks in one photo. These three were born just over a week ago and have been rather shy compared to last season’s babies which were springy and bouncing everywhere as baby springbucks tend to do.

Vespa in Art

Walking into Bosasa’s refurbished reception area, I could not help but notice the two Vespas models on the one side, just under model Ferrari. I can see some classic Italian influence creeping into the art décor. At least my Vespa won’t feel so alone arriving at work.

You got to have Faith

A top secret project kicked off this morning with two top Johannesburg graffiti artists arriving with the words from Darth Vader “You may dispense with the pleasantries, commander. I am here to put you back on schedule”.

Today’s photo is of one of the graffiti artists, Brendan, giving a thumbs up inside the secret room and a photo of his car which he airbrushed the artwork himself. “I find your lack of faith disturbing.”

Someone once said that absolutes are the straight jackets to spirituality. They are for trend hungry media pindits, religious cults, and Darth Vader.

Here Kitty

With all the fuss and excitement of yesterday evening, today turned out to be a slow day at home. Mind you, slow in a nice way. Relaxing and rejuvenating. Now just to get the cat away from lying in front of the TV. Ahhh a feather will do, here kitty.

Rugby Cat

Who cares about rugby, well not BB the cat. As we scrambled to get ready in front of the TV to watch our pitiful Sprinkboks take on the mighty Somoans. After last Saturday’s disaster start against Japan it was all or nothing for our South African rugby team.

As for BB, what was all the fuss about she would have purred as she plonked herself down in front of the TV as cats do. Although it was strikingly obvious our team didn’t have a game plan, our boys played exceptionally well individually and we of course won.

Thunder Chores

Thundercats! Yesterday, I tried to start my pickup and the battery was totally flat therefore this morning I put the battery into my Vespa’s topbox and headed to work. Because yesterday was a public holiday and many people made it a long weekend which meant that there was not many peeps at work holding the fort down, we decided to shut down early. Perfect for me to get a new battery for the pickup. Wow R850.00 later, talk about everything getting more and more expensive.

I arrived back home at 3ish with a huge Highveld thunderstorm brewing behind me. Quickly get Matthew to do some chores by helping me bring in the washing. It turned out to be more thunder than an actual storm.

Dropping In

Cousins Matthew and Matthew

Last week I got my ear chewed off for not visiting my family in Pretoria. Those who know me well, I am not really big into family because those closest to you tend to hurt the most. In other words, I try to simply live my life and keep my nose clean. One of my favourite words is Fandamly, you can choose your friends but not your family.

Don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with my family especially this one. My fandamly I believe are like most families, skeletons in some closets, but don’t tell me as I don’t want to know. I am a people person and will look over all faults just to keep the peace. Don’t worry, it is me that has the biggest baggage and issues, get over it.

My Cousin Robert

So after hearing from my family last week, I thought I better just pop in and say hello when I drive past picking up Matthew for the weekend. So this morning was the official day of popping in and doing my family duties once in a while. Surprise!

Uncle Tony

Today is Heritage Day and what better way to celebrate it by surprising family that you don't often see. In today’s photos you can see along with Matthew, three generations of Botha boys.

God will Never

The quote on the wall in the Prayer Room is from Hebrews and is referencing an earlier scripture found in Deuteronomy "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you."

They are Watching

Wherever you walk in Mogale Business Park, someone or something is always watching you. Yes they are watching.

This afternoon I was feeling drained and I was starting to micro sleep at my desk. Strange as I am getting enough sleep so I hope I am not coming down with a nasty bug. Energy! I seek energy so I decided the best was to take a walk into the lovely gardens outside my office to get some fresh air into lungs. Breathe!

While strolling, enjoying the beautiful surrounds, some small movement caught my eye. Maybe it was a new baby springbok hiding in the undergrowth as three new springboks have been born this week. But this time something else was watching me. Both this tiny duiker and I were frozen on the spot. Yes not even a meter from me was the smallest duiker I have ever seen, not even 20cm tall. Wow, she was as big as my smallest Italian Greyhound, Jade. Oh I am sure Jade would love to play with this little buck.

Harro Spling Boks

After a disastrous start to the Rugby World Cup tournament by our team, the Springbokke, who lost to Japan’s Cherry Blossoms, it was time to go smell the roses, no sorry the cherry blossoms. But who we trying to kid, as the cherry is dropped and the Japanese team is now called the Brave Blossoms.

Questions abound as the once proud Springbok team becomes the joke of the world. And believe me sushi jokes with a dash of springbucks are aplenty all of a sudden. How can a team ranked third in the world get beaten by a team ranked 13th and who has ever only won one first class game before. Were we ever good enough with defeat after defeat from the hands of lower teams this season? Was the coach Heineke Meyer ever the right coach in the first place?

Oh well we can all scream from the side lines but how can we criticise without wearing their rugby togs. Well back to the baby springbuck that was born a week ago. I still haven’t got a perfect photo of him/her yet but perseverance is the name of the game.

Scadoxus Puniceus

Now this is a come ups for the books. Look what has sprung up in my garden. Well not much of a garden, just trees and wild grass until now.

I didn’t even know their name until now. The Scadoxus puniceus, is also known as the Isiphompho, Paintbrush lily, African blood lily, King of Candida, Rooikwas, Royal paintbrush, Snake lily, and Umgola. Whatever it is called, this plant is very toxic yet at the same time used for tradition medicines.

Team Carleton

What our region looked like in the early hours of this morning

We arrived at our little Bed & Breakfast about 1 o’ clock this morning, a quick shower and bed for me, especially after that hooker thought that we were clients and came to our window to offer her services to us. The photos used in this post where not taken during the operation but today on our tour of the area before heading back to Johannesburg. Please note the following is our team’s report from a game called Ingress and not the official sitrep.

Daytime view of the road to that dark cemetery

Last night we were part of Team Carleton, with other teams travelling all over this beautiful country of ours last night, just to get into position. Our team, Bashles15, BioniKat, Devash15, MaxyJade, Rooliez15, and WaterTech12214, were supposed to meet at 9pm at this dark cemetery outside Carletonville but somehow the Enlightened managed to get wind that something was up and hopped into reactive action. Of course the Toads must have smelt something in the air after we took out the Tarlton blocking links and WaterTech the ones south of Johannesburg.

Non, je ne regrette rien

By the time we were in place, the toads of Randfontein had put up blocking links from inside of a bus factory. Talk about them moaning when portals are used from inside the Mogale Business Park. According to the Ingress Terms and Conditions Office Parks like the one that Bosasa finds itself in are allowed but not in the middle of a factory. But no use crying over spilled milk, the toads used the factory for blocking links to Botswana and to the Northern Cape. They pulled a dirty right in the beginning so we had to deploy our special ops team, Lala, Arno, and Vuurvliegie, to take care of the bus company problem.

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here

With a two hour delay already, we waited in the lights of our cars at a very dark cemetery just outside Carletonville for the words Go Go Go to come over our comms. And then it was a go as the blocks went down, followed quickly by the first of our fields going up. Due to the delays, some of the teams were a little quick and covered us in a field before we could finish our fields. This spelt the end of our part of the operation so our team started dispersing.

God himself laid them to rest

We decided to stay in town and capture all the portals and while in the process, news came in that the big field covering us was flipped and we had to rush back to the cemetery. So at brake neck speed, narrowly missing a hare, we arrived back at the grave part of town. The operation was back on and by the end of our part Bionikat alone had made over 4 million mu with 5 layered fields.

Fresh Eggs

It was now bed for us, and for the other teams to kicked into action and extended the fields even bigger.

Warm Beer

We woke up this morning covered in layers upon layers of blue fields. Well done all who were involved.

The outcome of the operation

Smurf the Earth

This weekend is huge in the making, a worldwide Ingress Resistance event, Smurf the Earth, which is along the lines of the Olympics. Lynda and I were asked to join a team for this top secret mission.

I can’t say much until tomorrow so here is a photo during the event which we found ourselves just before midnight at a cemetery in the middle of nowhere meeting other smurfs in clandestine. The agent’s names left to right are Bionikat, Bashles15, Devash15, WaterTech12214, and Rooliez15.

Ooooh and I am sure there were some movements coming from some freshly covered graves but I couldn’t tell the others as they were on edge already.

A-Wooing Go

A Duck he would a-wooing go, quack quack, quack quack.

The male Wood ducks don one of the most beautiful colours when a-wooing season starts. It is as if God went wild with a paint brush. I think male Wood ducks along with his cousins the male Mandarin ducks, are the most beautiful birds ever. Surely they surpass the fantastic displays of the peacocks.

The duck and his lady, they went to the pond, and this is the end of my romance, quack quack, quack quack.

Size does Matter

Last week I had a klipspringer come to my office and admired herself in the reflection of the glass sliding door. It is hard to judge her size unless you know that the tiles she is standing on is 50x50cm.

On the way home after work, I saw our little Klipspringer on a wall gazing over the boundary fence. It was a perfect shot showing the size difference, even though the angle and distance apart give an illusion that my Vespa is much bigger. Size does matter.

By the time I got near home, the sun was setting and a row of small fluffy clouds caused the light to fan out in a sort of Japanese Rising Sun flag affect. So beautiful that I had to stop and take more photos for the day. Utsukushī hi.

Go Bokke!

Okay stop the bus, let’s start this week all over again on a new page. After my downer of a day yesterday, today was a new birth, quite literary.

I had just popped out of the office to renew my Vespa licence when Ella sent me the very top image. A new baby springbuck has just being born with the little one still on wobbly legs. I rushed back and found the young’un under a bush hiding from predators. Interesting as it was a black springbuck and its mommy was a normal coloured springbuck.

Well timing is perfect as this Friday the Rugby World Cup kicks off with England against Fiji whereas on Saturday our team the Springboks tackle the Land of the Rising Sun, Japan. Go Bokke!

Oh my Hat

Wherever I lay my hat that’s my home, I’m telling you that’s my home. Yes Monday started quite like how most of my Mondays start, and that is with a mug of coffee in bed while catching up on social.

My Monday continued busy as usual for Mondays and of course satisfying but round about late afternoon, I got an email from my ex asking for more and that is when the floor opened up and I crashed and burned. Oh what a tangled web we weave when we begin to conceive.

I arrived back home all sullen, I felt trapped with nowhere to turn, so I crashed down onto my bed. I suppose I felt that when I wake up all my problems would be gone.

Two hours later I woke up in the dark, shuffled into the kitchen and made some coffee. Oh my hat; I still have my problems only two hours older but somehow coffee should make it alright again. End of my Monday.

Cat Bath

Help me please! What are these humans doing?

What a lovely hot weekend it has been so far, perfect time to wash the cats. Now who says cats can’t be bathed?

Little did the cats know that today was allocated to bathing, as you can see from Princess and Minky causally lying outside the bathroom while we prepared their bath. It was about then that we noticed that we were a little low on the cat shampoo and since we couldn’t use the dog’s shampoo, we had to limit the cat wash to only three cats.

First was Minky, as she being use to baths can show the others how it is done. She used to love water but now after the entire winter of no baths, she has forgotten what it was like to bath regularly. Even though she gave me this evil eye, she trusted me fully.

Wow what big eyes you have little Princess and what a lot of noise you made during your bath, it really upset Tiger who was next. Tiger tried to come into the bathroom to rescue his little Princess who as you can see by her big round eyes was really feeling undignified with her bath.

Of course Tiger being a big boy cat did not make a sound as we all know boys don’t cry.

Cats in the Tree

What a beautiful morning, birds are tweeting outside in the morning sun, hopping from branch to branch while two cats Shammy and Minky try to get to them by stalking them among the tree’s branches.

I’m Outa Here

Yes, yes, it is the weekend and I will be picking Matthew up.

So as Ilana’s artwork of the Two Men is finally completed, fine art does take time but as these two men gaze out of the window, I too feel the excitement in the air. Enjoy your weekend, I’m outa here.

I Think you Freaky

Days are getting much warmer, reaching 30°C which mean lovely evenings on the veranda braaing, to end the day. But to get to the evenings means that we have to somehow get through the long hot days.

With the air conditioner on full ball, to cope, Noma had to try on a pair of sneaky sleeper eye mask but the antwoord is that we all think that they are freakier than they worth.

Two Men

Was it two men or three men in a boat? Or was it a boy and a tiger in a boat? Anyways whatever, the Life of Jerome continues. Back at the ranch, eKaymedia, not our digital side but at traditional, they are doing some fine art.

As you can see Ilana is painting these two men sculptures in cultural colours and designs. I know artists don’t like an audience so I popped my head in every so often just to view the process. Believe me good things take time.