C is for.....

This is me... aahhhh...what a life!

Bill..........

Charlie..........
Birdy..........
Bud.......
Smokey........

and.....Hannah!

All five these cats are cats of a chess player, he lives in Florida(USA)...(there is a Florida in Johannesburg, SA too....only difference...Florida in Jo'burg is just a suburb and not a state!)This is what he says about his felines...- and they just turned up at his house....and he was kind enough to home them and to care for them.....- "Charlie likes to catch popcorn in the air. He is quite animated! Bud, who I think used to be a prize fighter, has mellowed a lot. He likes to cuddle with Bill or me. Bill, the ambassador, gets along with everybody. He has had cancer surgery and is living on borrowed time...and we appreciate every day we have him. Smokey was an abused Main Coon cat who was severely under weight. He keeps to himself as I think he would rather be outdoors hunting wildlife! Birdy was a stray who having been fed by me for several months finally accepted me and became a member of the family. His eye was injured while he was a stray and could not be saved...but he seems to get along quite well with the one. Hannah is the only outside feline in the family. She prefers to not be around other cats. She is tiny but very street smart. She has feline aids and asthma, but appears to being doing ok. In the evenings she stays in a separate building that has creature comforts including heat and air."

Very sweet of him! Wish more people would do that with pets!

Follow this link to the Cat Federation of South Africa and have a look at the competition you can enter in October! and...have a look at previous years' cat winners...

And here...The Southern Africa cat council.

Here....to follow links to
International cat sites all over the world.

Have you....

His book translated into Flemish here.

Have you read...."The soul of the white Ant"...or..."Die siel van die Mier!" by Eugene Marais... if not....you have a gap in your culture...:))....get "The soul of the white ant.." and read it...


Where is the soul of a termite, or the soul of man?

“Someone once said that all behaviourism in nature could be referred to as hunger. This saying has been repeated thousands of times yet is false. Hunger itself is pain – the most severe pain in its later stages that the body knows except thirst, which is even worse. Love may be regarded as a hunger, but it is not pain.

“What protects animals, what enables them to continue living, what assures the propagation of race? A certain attribute of organic matter. As soon as one finds life, one finds this attribute. It is inherent in life; like most natural phenomena it is polarised, there is a negative and a positive pole. The negative pole is pain; the positive pole is sex. This attribute may be called the saving attribute of life; and it is here where one comes closest to what appears like a common purpose beyond nature.” (Eugène Marais, The Soul of the White Ant, 1989:261)


Eugène Nielen Marais[1] (1871-1936) was a South African lawyer, naturalist, poet, and writer. Although Marais is remembered by South Africans more for his contribution to Afrikaans literature than for science, he has been described as being a scientist far ahead of his time.


He began life after leaving college as a journalist, then studied medicine for four years, but eventually took up law and was called to the bar by the Inner Temple. He was a scholar and a man of culture.

However, it was not only as jurist that Marais distinguished himself as a brilliant (yet eccentric) character in South African history. He has been described as “… a human community in one man. He was a poet, an advocate, a journalist, a story-teller, a drug-addict, a psychologist, a natural scientist.”

In 1910, he abandoned his law practice and retreated to the remote Waterberg (‘Water Mountain’) – the mountain area north-west of Pretoria. Here he studied two creatures – termites and baboons that, on the face of it, had nothing in common. Both fascinated him, as did all wild creatures.

Read more HERE...

World of Birds

Wonder what they are talking about! See more here.

If you wonder where this picture comes from, visit THIS site to see more...

Guinea Pigs.... friends!

I forgot to say....that Paint kept on bullying Penny...and so we've decided to get another little one to "force" Paint to get along with Penny! So....here you can see them all....
Paint....posing for her picture...a bit curious..."..and where's the yummy?"

...not sure..."shall I go down or am I safe!"....then she decided that she's still safe...

and..."WHO's there! Knock a bit harder and speak up...can't here you!"

Threesome...better than being lonely!

Penny! Your turn!

And...the well-mannered Paint...letting Sannie out...for her to come and pose!

"Wow! I think I should run for my life! What are these people up to!"

"Still can't hear you!"

Big 5, Small 5 or....the baby 5

If you know only about the BIG 5....you know a bit less than other people...South Africa also have the Baby 5

Still Tuesday

This is the place to be! Pelgrims Rest is the historical town, see my blog for it! Click on the link...Pelgrims Rest...to read more....Royal Hotel....lovely place...

Click on the map for a larger image

That's me! Cleaning/tidying..."opruimen" is the Dutch word same as Afrikaans for cleaning...Afrikaans word - "opruim".

Models in New York where the fashion show ended....they look like....they're on their way to a butcher!

Ellie the Elephant....

And...the butterfly lion!

Fantastic book for any child age 8-11...setting in South Africa/England....

Tuesday's quote!

Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.- Edmond Burke

Sponsor wildlife in SA!

Follow this link!

http://www.enkosini.com/Contact%20Us.htm





Olifants River....just north of Lydenburg! GREAT FUN!
http://www.ingwenyatours.co.za/olifants.php

All the World's a Stage

All the world's a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances,

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages.

At first, the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse's arms.

Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel

And shining morning face,

creeping like snail Unwillingly to school.

And then the lover,

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad

Made to his mistress' eyebrow.

Then a soldier, Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,

Jealous in honor, sudden and quick in quarrel,

Seeking the bubble reputation Even in the cannon's mouth.

And then the justice, In fair round belly with good capon lined,

With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,

Full of wise saws and modern instances;

And so he plays his part.

The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slippered pantaloon,

With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;

His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice,

Turning again toward childish treble, pipes

And whistles in his sound.

Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion,

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

William Shakespeare

Interesting reading too

http://www.hempmuseum.org/ROOMS/ARM%20HISTORY.HTM







Kudu bull.



Lions greet!

Chess and Charlie's Angels

Hello Earl, this first picture is specially for you! :)




This chessboard is a game played by Anand and Alekseev (hope I've got his name right!) The game wasn't finished....this was only at a stage during the game...



Horses! one of my favourite animals!



And........South African artist...J H Pierneef....stamps to commemorate his work!

Meerkats

These animals are SO cute! I love them....follow the link to read more...

http://www.fellowearthlings.org/

And in National Geographic Magazine...

http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0209/feature3/index.html

Arnold Theiler, South African Vet

In 1898 the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR) appointed Sir Arnold Theiler as its first government veterinary surgeon. His specific brief was to combat rinderpest (outbreak in 1896) and it was soon eradicated, never to return to South Africa again.



Onderstepoort--- where Vets get their training...it is situated on a huge farm, part of the course is at the University of Pretoria itself too. Onderstepoort is also part of the University. This photo, as you can see, was taken in 1908! and is now in the archive....



This is the Institute's Library....





Follow this link to see a gallery of pics of what they do at Onderstepoort...

http://www.veterinary.up.ac.za/vah_gal.htm

http://www.sava.co.za/public/history.asp

Save the Springbok!

In South Africa the new government want to get rid of the Springbok and to replace it with "something else"...what a SHAME! It is part of our history....how can you change a country's history! The Springbok should STAY! Our Rugby team won't be anymore the "Springboks" if they are not a Springbok.....if you look at that animal, you see pride! courage, speed, all you need in a sport! They will probably change it to......(let me leave it for you to think what i think!)

Penguins Boulders beach

Cute animals

The dog in the picture was my dog in South Africa...a VERY CUTE doggie! Followed me everywhere....as in EVERYwhere....even to the toilet! and wasn't happy to wait outside...! A cross between a fox terrier...my favourite...and a Jack Russel....a very bright dog...