Break for the weekend

The past few months have flown by, mainly because mom has been traveling more than usual. Having her home for the weekend (only one this month), meant we had to do something and off the 3 of us went to Addo for the weekend.

Our first sighting was a the biggest dominant male in Addo, Vallie Moosa. He is a big tusker for sure, even on a distance with a telephoto lens.

From the biggest male to the possibly smallest, Stompie (meaning shorty), a name given to him on account of his half tail. He has had it rough, possibly attacked by predators just after birth.

From one baby to another, we saw but could not really photograph 2 baby Hyenas. The minder/mom was rolling around in the morning sun.

Boeta collected little flowers for mom every time he got a chance.

He was enjoying mom being with us and sharing the experience and he let her know on every occasion that he loved her. Sweet to see.

 

 

From our pup to African Shellduck chicks.

Next, we saw a maybe once in a life-time animal in the wild. The Brown Hyena came out the bushes right in front of us and moved over and away as fast as we saw it. I was shaking, had the wrong lens, but managed to grab a photo. This folks, the Brown Hyena, is 100 times more scarce to see in wild.

We were the only people to see it. We were starry eyed and the excitement was touchable.

Boeta was still sharing flowers.

Our last sighting for the day, more elephant bulls drinking water, but on this occasion the Bull let the warthogs know it was time to move on…

The main image of the post is Nyala mom and baby, I used to create a art piece.

 

Dry summer

It has been a dry start to 2017. We are in the midst of our summer and the rain is staying away. I am lucky because I planned a garden based on succulents, so I do not have to water in any case, but even the poor succulents are looking for rain now. We have daily fires everywhere in the Southern Part of South Africa now and the smoke smell keeps coming and going throughout the days as the winds shift.

Boeta is growing so quickly, it is scary. He is fully potty trained (we took our time and it turned out to be much less of the issue it is made to be). He is becoming more and more his own “man” with his own preferences and moods. He is our trooper living a life unlike most other 3 year-olds. Mom had to fly again and he was up at 3.30 am and eating croissants and watching planes at 5 am yesterday.

Here he is last night just before sunset, still laughing and enjoying life. You cannot but to admire his spirit.

Have a great day.

Always great at Southern Point of Africa…

We spent the first week of 2017 at Struis Bay, which some of the older followers may know as our most special place, holding deepest of meanings.

As our little grows, it just become more special to us. He is enjoying the space and unique environment there too.

We loved taking a drive, buying fish and chips at our favorite shop and eating it at the beach, sometimes in the car, other times sitting on the rocks.

The real Southern Point of Africa has a whole different feel of ominous danger to it. Many a ship has gone down over the years. This part reminds us very much of our home, the rocks being more similar, but not as sharp and pointed.

 

Three years

High guys,

We are back from our quick trip for Boeta’s Birthday. It was a great success. We had a few obstacles to overcome, but all to do with life outside the our family environment, some of which we will share.

The main character turned 3 on Saturday in the Addo National Elephants Park.

We will share with you all the stories, funnies and travel finds (Fauna) over the next weeks. For now I will just share this shot with you and one other…A portrait of Boeta, taken while walking around on the first evening.

Lots more to come….

Walking home….with the explorer!

After turning around, we walked back slowly, still looking for anything interesting.

The sun was going down fairly quickly by now. We still had a bit of a walk back home. Boeta did not care one bit.

Every time I pushed him a little he complained and wanted to walk in the opposite direction, only for the drag of a dad to remind him that it was getting late and we had to go home.

I loved this spot with the green algae to spend some moments here to shoot a few shots, all freehand.

I looked for Boeta who was in his own world, finding another treasure, I am sure. I called him and he came walking toward me pointing at a Oystercatcher flying past and asking what it was.

I again reminded him that we had to move on and he reluctantly joined me as we walked towards home. I took a few shots in that direction. You can just see the houses.

It was a brilliant evening yet again. I could not get enough of the clouds and the setting sun, so every now and then I would get another shot.

As we got closer we saw some fisherman again. Sometimes the ladies join their husbands/friends as they angle in the early evening as was the case with this young man.

Boeta was in great spirits and still throwing rocks, running and enjoying being at the beach. You would never know we were coming to the end of a 6 km walk.

It was too dark now. I was on the built-in flash to get any descent shots. Really time for us to get home.

I took a last shot of the white rocks and the remaining sunlight.This is the last of this series of posts. We hope you enjoyed the full photographic walk with us.

Tomorrow we leave for a short Safari and a few days in the mountains to celebrate our son’s 3rd Birthday. Hopefully we will bring lots of photos of wildlife and landscapes to share next week. Have a great weekend, I know we will.

I looked for Boeta …. he was busy looking for crabs under the flat rocks.

My son – The explorer! Happy Birthday, we are so proud of you! Love you, Mom and Dad!

 

About a toddler

Unbelievably it has been 2 years since we started sharing our rumbling ocean with you guys. Boeta was about to turn 1. Today we are looking at a near 3 year-old…in a month.

In those days I took him to the beach walking down with the stroller, showing him the waves, rocks, beach, birds, boats and dolphins. Today he loves (adores) the beach and on most days, especially in the afternoon after he wakes up his first words are: “Let’s go walk or let’s go to the beach”. He loves throwing rocks into the pools, has to hunt for real crabs, sea snails and most other creatures he can find, only to throw it into a pool.

He now weighs around 17 kg (37.4 lbs) and he stands 1.01m (near 40 inches) tall.

He is a friendly little chap wanting to kiss and hug most people if he is comfortable with them. He laughs easily and we tend to have lots of fun throughout the day.

He is also a toddler with normal “no, no do not want to do this or that” on a regular basis, but never says no to kicking a ball, walking and going to the beach….never. Last time he was sick…one year ago…the flu. He talks a lot, loves to learn, especially from books and counts to 10 in 2 languages, talks mainly in Afrikaans, but also knows colors in english and says the odd sentence in english like, “Are you thinking what I am thinking?” or “You are my best friend” and loves to sing Bah-Bah Black Sheep….When in his element he is a little character…

He loves running, yes toddlers run, but he loves to do cross-country running at the beach…On this occasion it was becoming late..he did not give up and wanted to cry every time I said let’s go home…I flashed the last shots. There is at least a 8 meter (26 ft ) difference between the beach and the top, where I stood. He runs laps in the path and I am yet to see how many he can do, I usually stop and walk home after 6 or 7. He loves it. I am tired after 2 laps….yes 2!

Earlier on this day I took a photo of him riding his bicycle with helmet…he can ride it on flat surfaces by himself, but not uphill yet.

So there you have it. Our little man is growing up, sometimes too fast. We are so grateful for this wonderful gift and we are so very proud of him.

Another project…Boeta, my first finished face!

Thought I would share this project. I have never attempted a portrait oil painting before and this being number 6/7 paintings it is understandable. I attempted my first face using a women (unknown) to learn. It was not a great success, but gave me some needed chances to play with ideas. All the photos were taken with the old mobile.

The face got distorted with all the practice.

I decided I had enough and did not finish her, because I knew she was just an important stepping stone.

I decided to take a chance and paint a portrait photo of Boeta.

I did a 2-tone painting and it looked like I could continue, so I did.

Next was the flesh color and the hat.

I kept building and developing.

Boeta is 9 months old here, has 1 tooth and is wearing his grandfathers hat. This Grandfather is sadly no longer with us, so the original photo had lots of significance as it was taken in his house in Struis Bay. We will frame and put this painting on the wall in that house. So there my first official portrait finished.

Fishing, biking and water ballooning

A few weeks ago we had a sudden change in water temperature due to ocean rip current, which cause fish to scatter everywhere I would guess and some got stuck in the pools in low tide. A brilliant opportunity for the Boeta to do his own fishing. He loved it.

Then came the new bike, his first big boy bike….he really LOVED it….

Finally dad introduced a new game – water ballooning…now this took the cake.. HE REALLY LOVED THIS….

Just some fun moments in the life of our little man who can now put together enough words to explain what he wants to do, where he wants to go or not….

Such a pleasure watching him develop with such an abundance of joy and laughter…We are proud parents.

Ho-ho-ho

For the purpose of keeping up to date with all that happened around the festive season, I have to include Christmas too. This was the reason for Boeta’s Grandparents staying with us and the first time Boeta had more of an idea what it was all about.

It started the previous day with preparations and for the first time a photo of the half-finished kitchen, I am nearly done, just the tiles and a few smaller touches. This is such a nice pick of mom doing her thing, I have to include this.

She is the heart of our house after all.

I took time to shoot a few more shots of her and Boeta.

The photo of Boeta and mom is after his afternoon nap, he loves waking up in her arms.

Christmas Day

We started by opening some gifts with Grandma and Grandpa, while they were still in bed that morning. We spread the opening of gifts over the whole morning for Boeta, otherwise it is too much and he does not enjoy each as he should. After the first session we had breakfast and then we did another stint.

We decided to change and do a Christmas photo shoot. I am pretty certain I do not have to add to much words to this, as you can easily see that we had some fun here…

Personally I would like to add that I love the photo and it represents all that my wife and Boeta’s mom is.

Elegant, motherly, soft touches, warm personality and full of love and again the heart of our house.

One final (official) photo we all liked.

We had a lovely Christmas dinner and after nap-time for the whole family we went to the beach for Boeta’s sake. I took the camera with and took a few shots.

Mom and Boeta watching sundown and throwing rocks.

Grandpa watching the sun going down.

So that was our day, Christmas 2015.

For us…

Perfect.

Family time

I am taking you back to the Karoo and our holiday. Some of you may remember that I was taking you on a walk around the sheep farm, ending with the medusa succulents. When I got back at the stone cottage, Boeta was awake and it was family time. We took the yellow ball grandma gave Boeta, the week before and started playing. From this point I will add a note or two, but the photos will talk for them self….

So much fun to kick the ball past daddy…

Every now and then we worked on the ball catching skills. Boeta was precisely 2 years old and since this point we have progressed to catch and pass, but it all starts somewhere…

Got one…

Then mom got an invite to play along…

Daddy snapped up the camera for a few shots… Boeta was really in his element by now, especially now that mom joined in the fun…FULL BLOWN FAMILY TIME!

I took a final shot of him watching a bird on the chimney as the sun was setting, before joining them for some more play.

About 20 minutes later we had to stop and get a fire going. We had a fun day with lots of exploring and walking great distances, it was time to feed the tummies and build strength for the next day.

Boeta looked for the tractor and while mom took a break, dad lit the fire and the adults had a nice red wine to finish a perfect day as a family.

Round about the time the meat was done, Boeta was also running out of steam.

He slept soundly that night, as he does for most nights. We hope and believe that he does so in the knowledge that he is loved and in his dreams he is still laughing and having quality family time with mom and dad.

Climbing the dunes

Earlier this month the boys decided one morning to go climb some dunes. The 2 year-old has never attempted this before, so it would be a great new experience for him too. We walked past some driftwood left by a previous storm.

The dunes start at this point and Boeta did not hang around, he wanted to try this out.

It is pretty steep. We climb it in a zig-zag motion/action. At the steepest angles you really struggle to go forward/upward, but with some support Boeta got to the top.

I carried my tripod up the dune as well and attempted some new shots from the top. Here are a few.

Boeta got a drink on top and while he investigated the new environment, I waited for a moments in which he stood still long enough for bracketed shots.

The EXPLORER!

I saw a how the wind excavated the top of a dune and attempted to capture it, overlooking the ocean.

Unfortunately the wind also started to blow with strong enough gusts that the sand really bothered the little man, so we decided to walk back down to the beach. More photos of the rest of the walk later.

Purest of Joys and a Birthday

Thursday was a great day for the boys. Mom was on her way back from Uganda after near 2 weeks away. This was the last in a series of trips over the last months that left us alone regularly.

Boeta was dressed and ready to go and fetch mom. He could not wait.

We bought a bunch of flowers (roses) for mom and daddy gave Boeta one to give her when she arrives.

Arriving at the airport we got bad news, the flight was late (delayed). Daddy decided that we had no option but to go to the little airport restaurant and watch the activities outside with the planes landing and departing.

A BA flight was the only one at the airport, preparing to depart.

Boeta was excited about this ability to see the planes and all the trucks and other funny vehicles used at the airport.

We were lucky to get a seat with a great view and we settled in for the wait, which hopefully would not be more than 30-40 minutes.

Daddy got a menu and Boeta enjoyed asking about all the things on the menu. Daddy decided to order a strawberry milkshake. Boeta very first milkshake. He loved it and using a straw made him feel very grownup.

A pair of common doves decided to sit in front of our window and groom each other. Boeta enjoyed this as well because he could get close to them and watch them carefully.

The BA flight prepared to leave. Boeta watched the process with great interest. We saw many smaller airplanes landing or taking off.

Shortly after the BA flight departed we noticed a South African Airways flight coming in.

Daddy immediately realized that this is mom’s plane landing and told Boeta the news. His whole demeanor changed. He was much more alert and immediately teary eyed.

Daddy told Boeta that we had to wait a little longer. From past experiences he knows that the little man becomes much more troublesome at the arriving hall after he has seen his mom. So we watched as the plane taxied to its bay.

Every now and then he would excitedly ask me if we could go now. He wanted to get out and he wanted to get to mom.

We were off to the arriving hall. Here you have a door with security that separates the arrivee’s from the family and friends collecting him, similar to most airports nowadays, I guess. One person does not care one way or the other. When he sees mom, he runs to her. This happens every time mom arrives, but this time I had the camera, because we had a flower and mom came home for her birthday, unlike the previous year when she was in the USA. What now follows is the most the purest of joys one could ever ask for. I do not need any more words…

Daddy got reduced to baggage master in that instant and mom became primary caregiver. Boeta would not let go soon and he kept hold of the rose too.

Mom said he told her: “It is a rose, smell!”

At home he showed her his new puzzles and they spent some immediate quality time together.

Friday Morning

Daddy taught Boeta the “Happy Birthday song” with the aim that we could sing it to mom on Friday morning. Unfortunately after the long previous day and the excitement, Boeta was in no singing mood. He just wanted his morning tea and mom. So Daddy obliged and mom had to face another lonely effort by dad on her birthday. Daddy tried to make the scene festive which was to the little man’s liking.

Boeta had a card and present for mom. The card was written by him with dad holding his hand.

Boeta enjoyed the balloons very much and he is still playing with them as I type this.

He played while mom opened the gifts and then Boeta got into the paper more and really tore it apart as can be witnessed above. Daddy also presented mom with a Cream cheese fridge tart and an oven baked Cheesecake. He made 3 of each.

We end this long post by saying that the boys are so very happy to have their mom/wife back. She is truly our beautiful flower.

In Boeta’s words…a song he only sings when we are all together…

“Family, family, that is what we are, everyone with same name, that’s who we are!”

Toddler is a girl magnet…

So, after many “boys only” excursions to the beach and learning sessions, mom was available for a walk for the first time after 2 weeks.

Boeta enjoyed having this girl back in his life. It is his most favorite girl in the world and he even has a loving name for her…”Mamma!”

They decided to do fishing together, while daddy got a chance to walk on the rocks and deeper in with his camera.

While daddy was shooting the large old barnacles, Boeta who learned about it in the week, showed mom the small ones.

I carried on walking around looking for interesting finds. I looked back to see if they were okay and Boeta had another girl in his midst.

He was less taken by the love showed to him by the 5-year-old, he prefers older women. She seemed to like him and he decided to allow her join him in rock throwing.

He really enjoyed this and decided this girl was okay too (for throwing rocks), not so much hugging, he did not want to hurt “mamma’s” feelings. Then he saw Uncle Bennie and ditched the lot…he adores Uncle Bennie.

It did not take long for the two and daddy to find his favorite climbing rock. Now he could show Uncle Bennie his real capabilities.

Wishing everyone a wonderful week.

Keep up mom…

We drove to the top of a hill and got out to explore. We had the area for ourselves, at least 10 – 15 km in every direction, not including the farmhouse, where we stayed, which was about 3 km or so from our location.

I got going down the farm tracks in order to take a few shots of the 2 year-old and mom. Initially I struggled to see Boeta, as he was busy collecting rocks and having fun in the immediate area. Mom patiently waited for him to finish his exploration. He appeared with a huge rock.

With all the rocks around, it did not take long before he saw another and another in need of inspection. Mom and Boeta traded leading as they walked, stopped, walked, stopped, walked…

I decided to take a few shots of the Euphorbia that grew everywhere on the hill.

I saw a crow in the air and wondered for the slightest of moments about the specie, saw the white and knew it was a pied crow. I asked mom if she saw it and pointed…

At the same time a few “Springbok” gazelle took off from close to me and Boeta noticed, but not mom, she was focused on the crow. I could not get a nice shot of them, unfortunately.

Boeta, unknown to mom, took off, while she was looking up.

When mom looked back, Boeta put some serious distance between them and she needed to lift the speed…seriously.

When the little man got to me, I showed him and mom (a little later), the meat merino’s that were standing all around us on the hill.

We enjoyed seeing fast distances, showing the little man the far mountains and all we could see and find in the fields around us. A special find at this spot with the next post…

Being stopped by grassy irritations…

Continuing our walk, we walked along one of the farm roads until we saw a gate that led us into the fields.

Boeta was reacting as we hoped and he really enjoyed the open karoo. The first thing we noticed was the flowering Aloe ferox.

Then we got a glimpse of 2 “Steenbok” antelope charging away from us as we got to the crest of a hill. They are not very big and pretty nimble.

We looked around and saw a Euphorbia specie with its fingers, some called these medusanoids.

We were now working in the open fields and Boeta got his first lesson. Some “Piercing Grass, Stickgrass, Three-Awned Grass, Buffalo Grass”, whatever you want to call it, started to collect on his sweatpants and in very sensitive area and it started to prick him. He stopped dead in his tracks.

It was pretty obvious what was going on and I could not help giggling. Luckily mom was close and came to the rescue of the confused toddler. She started removing the grass that got stuck like burdock.

He patiently waited for her to remove the causes of his discomfort, which seems to have been a great collection as mom took a while, and I started to look for other subjects to photograph.

Nope still busy….

Okay then, time to head back in any case, so I walked past them and took a shot back to the farmhouse from the top of the hill behind them.

Boeta eventually got freedom of movement back and was off again. As we walked back to the road we saw a dassie (Rock Hyrax) and I got a quick photo before it was gone.

Boeta also realized we were on our way back and he already remembered what was waiting for him there. He started picking up speed as we got near to the farmyard again.

When he saw the sheep, he was off and running with mom in hot pursuit. It was so much fun to witness his immediate and obvious love for the environment he found himself in. How do you know your kid is enjoying himself?? Tell him it is time to go home for dinner and a bath…He did not know it, but more fun was around the corner and the sheep would be there, the next day.

We walked past a flowering Ruschia species, a succulent plant (low bush) with small purple flowers.