a change of heart?

many years ago i was introduced to the sport of hunting. there was nothing like getting up early and retreating into the african bush with a rifle and accompanied by a experienced tracker. starting out at sunrise, in the crisp winter air ,walking slowly looking for prey.
for those of you that are having a heart attack at the thought of such barbarity ........all i shot i ate .
the main aim of the hunt were impala, warthog and if they presented themselves ,kudu.

 this photo was taken in the kruger park.... so this one lives....unless a lion got him or he died of old age.


the meat is tender and can be turned into a most delicious venison roast and  superb biltong.
now ,now you anti hunters stop licking your lips at the thought.
as per my previous discussion i spent the week-end away in the bush. fortunately or un  i had no rifle and it was a reserve..... so no hunting.
i must now confess that that did not deter me.

                     sunrise sunset???

at six in the morning i was up with the birds, dressed and ready to shoot.
i checked my equipment and loaded for bear i set out.it was a lovely quiet time of the morning.the sun coming over the hills, the sound of birds and not a breeze.(she was still sleeping) perfect for hunting.
the first thing to look for was spoor.

                          he went that way------>

slowly i followed revelling in the hunt, loving the solitude and appreciating the beauty surrounding me.

                   big enough to shoot.

suddenly i heard am impala ram snort in warning ...i froze.... started forward slowly. still no breeze.( sleeping?)
then i saw them about 150 metres away. a small herd of zebra and impala. the grass being a bit long i had to settle for a zebra.i aimed, focussed and shot.

                      it too still lives


so the change of heart, my rifle for a camera. will it last? i don't know..... will i still eat biltong and venison ? yip!
 did i enjoy the hunt ? very much.
i will definitely do it that way as much as possible.

here's mud in your eye

last weekend my breeze, her son shaun, charlotte and i spent went to a 'spa'  named thangami. a little resort in the  hills of zululand, rich with history. where once the great king shaka had his royal hunting grounds and also  enjoyed bathing in the hot water springs. found in the valley near the river is, a tranquil, quiet, mineral mud pool.
i wonder if king shaka knew about the 36 different minerals it contained, or if he cared?

for those of us who are conceited about our looks, or lack thereof.......we care!


so with great excitement we travelled the long and winding road ( a good title for a song) to enjoy all that a few days away in the african bushveld had to offer.
it was the end of august and spring was well on the way. temperature in the high 20's (celsius)........ the day we left.....a cold front came through and  temperatures plummeted to the middle teens. but we were not  daunted and the great trek was on.

 arriving at the idyllic resort  dressed for an artic winter but  ready to brave anything for the sake of vanity and relaxation. off came the layers of clothing and on with the swimming gear. the consensus was, mud first and then clean, warm spring water.

a useless fact.. the mud pool is about 2 kilometres deep , but the thick mud keeps one from the long drop.

after a stroll down the hill we came upon the crisp unclear pool. who was to be first to brave this magical pool of youth???
well i had to take the photos so not me!

that would be shaun first...........

where did he go!!?!!

then charlotte!!!

then breeze and the the freezing screamer!!!

look ma no hands!!!

well once in ...we had  to get out and clean. for this, there was a cold water shower. which seemed warm as the temp outside was colder than the water.
have you ever tried to walk around with 10 kilograms of wet mud trying to drag your swimming gear off while trying to keep a towel around you for warmth? i now know what my children felt like with wet and dirty nappies.(diaper s)

the out house next to the out shower.

well after that....off to the hot showers for me...no warm springs.

then clean and warm, we sat and enjoyed the outdoors and a hot fire.

so............do i look younger or what!!??!!!

hunting moby dick.

my daughter leah and her fiancé wilhelm came to visit.

the plan was to leave early in the morning at 5h30 and to go and try and catch moby dick.so according to plan, we were up at 5. it was pitch dark outside with a slight drizzle falling. with fishing rods prepared off we set for the best place to catch fish in richards bay...................

  

                                                                       
..................the sea.

when we arrived it was still dark.  just as well we had my trusty maglite. lines were tied and hooks baited and moby dick was warned. all around us the 'fellows and all' were catching shad by the ton. all except ......       

                                                   
...............................yours truly.

wilhelm caught 6 shad and a seagull.....yip a  seagull. it flew into the line and had to be set free as wilhelm only had a fishing permit. it was really restfull to watch the sky change colours as it got lighter. we even saw a lone dolphin that came to watch me not catch fish. then excitment... a garrick (type of a fish...no chips) was caught.

                leah with the garrick we did not catch.

now, if you promise not to tell the kzn wildlife and fishery rangers i will let you in on a secret.
wilhelm has a fishing permit and he is allowed to catch shad...... 4 of them. somehow 6 decided to get caught and we could not separate them from their brothers and sisters, so we were forced to keep them.
unfortunately we could not keep the 6 together. so leah and i took 4 in a plastic bag to the car so as to avoid problems and unnecessary explanations.

                         exhibit '1'

as we were strolling to the car with a sack full of fish we walked right into.........the fish police!
'how did you catch those fish?'.....er...er...er.....'we were given them' lied i. then proceede a lecture in fish conservation and the 4 shad rule.      'do you understand?'...'yes' says i.  'any questions?'.........."are you going to take our lunch?' they let us keep the fish.they either felt sorry for an old man or a stupid one.

              everyone friendly and happy to help.

           where she blows?

          well moby escaped again to swim another day.

on the way back to the car i took time to read a notice on the beach.

       anyone for a swim?

dr stanley i presume?

december 2009 i had the privilege of visiting my brother and his family in vancouver. when i got there i thought that i was prepared for the winter. i had packed all my south african winter clothes, and i was ready....wrong.. the second day there my brother, roy , asked me where my winter clothes were and i said i was wearing them. this at a time when i was so cold my nose was sliding off my face and my ears were  frozen to the side of my head.

                                                             photo courtesy of roy.......note my hairstyle.

the first sunday the snow fell. what a wonderful sight, the first time i had ever seen snow fall. i was in a wonderland.

                                                                             lovely white grass

so...what has this to do with stanley?  i will explain.

during my visit i was introduced to 'ice hockey'. the first time i watched i saw all these men skating up and down, back and forth, crashing into the rink sides and each other, chasing after a little black dot that kept shooting around the tv screen.( have you ever seen a cat chase a red laser dot? now you get the picture.) with much patience roy taught me the rules of the game, except for 'off sides', i still don't get that one.
well i was hooked...and my team....the canucks of course. i learnt the names of the players, and as i got to enjoy watching the games with roy , i could add my expert advice from the comfort of my chair.

during my stay, vancouver played host to the 2010 winter olympics.

                                                                       the 2010 winter olympic flame

                                                                         the city getting ready


one of the events of the games.........ice hockey. i came to the conclusion that the only reason that vancouver hosted the games was for the hockey. the rest was a run up to that event.

i too was caught up in all that excitement, and the highlight ..... being able to watch the final hockey game between canada and usa with roy and his family and i got to participate in the joy of canada taking gold.

since then i have been addicted to the game. i follow the scores and when i can, i listen or watch the games on line. this year my team, the canucks are in the final play offs for the holy grail.........the stanley cup.

as of tonight the score is 3 wins each to the two teams in the finals....the bruins and of course the canucks.
with one game in hand.....winner takes all...at 5 pm on the 15th june....2 am south africa time....yes i get up to listen/watch.

i do however have a grave concern should the canucks loose. roy is in a state of extreme excitement at the prospect of the canucks winning the stanley cup. he also keeps making mention of a popular bridge spanning a highway that the ardent canuck fans seem to dive off if their team looses. so now, is he worried about the back up in traffic , or is it his destination should his team loose?diane please keep an eye on him.

                                                                   dr livingston i presume??? no ....yours truly




        this year the stanley cup is for roy!  go canucks ..go!

this and that

                                                                                 me

the little hamsters in my head are spinning the wheels of my mind in a lot of different directions.


i received some old photos of me when i was younger, from a time when i still lived in a world of black and white.
among these were some photos of my late mother who passed away in 1970. my children did not get to meet her or ever learn to know 'granny rose'. so with the technology of the coloured world i was able to put them together.

                                                       'granny' rose at age 17 with granddaughters hannah and leah.

                                                                               and grandson kylen.

as i  get older i think of times past and look forward to times to come. here today gone tomorrow........
now that you are all seriously depressed......smile.....if you are reading this you are still with us. however it is good to remember those that gave us life, shaped our lives and set our hamsters running in certain directions even when the wheels come off.

of the gentlemen reading this, who uses a can of shaving cream in the morning to shave? how many live in times past and still use the good old shaving brush?

                                                                  my badger hair shaving brush

my sweet breeze bought me this shaving brush. it is as soft as silk. we even found old fashioned shaving soap. next.....a cut throat razor......well................ maybe not.

who says cats don't contemplate the world around them.

                                                                       sox puzzled at life

                                                             sox just puzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

a taste of heaven.

for those that do not know i am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.one of the beautiful principles we believe, is that families can be together forever.

as in the ancient scriptures, we have many sacred temples throughout the world, one of which is in johannesburg, south africa.

                                                                             temple at night 

my sweet wife breeze and i had the honour and privilege of working there for 6 weeks. it was one of the most spiritual times of my life and the closest i have come to experiencing what living in Heavenly Fathers presence must be like.

                                                                               temple by day

it would be remiss of me not to express my gratitude for the knowledge i have gained and the great blessings i have been blessed with in my life.

                                                                         a call to the world.


http://lds.org/church/new-ldsorg

my neon green tie and i

a year ago this april i met, was smitten by,fell in love with, engaged to and married breeze, the other half of my soul. as the preparations for the big day were made, i, as the eager groom tried to assist where i could. (and if i had a tail it would have waged non stop.)

i was told all was proceeding well and that all i needed to get for my wedding was a neon green tie to go with my suite and match my beautiful bride's outfit.

at first i was sceptical about the colour....... neon green dress??? (green being my least favourite colour. so least.... that if i was adam i would have worn a flower and not a leaf.) but after seeing a sample of the pale green veil and having been assured by all and sundry i proceeded to look for the perfect tie, and whenever we went near a shop i headed off to the men's section to continue my quest.

everywhere we went when the topic of the wedding dress was broached all would ask" so how is the green dress coming along?"and a discussion would ensue as to its progress. the friend who was to perform the ceremony even  asked breeze why on earth she chose that colour for a dress as i tend to the conservative.

time was drawing nearer and the only thing i had to buy for my outfit was not yet bought. i could not find the right shade of neon. panic was starting to set in.the perfect green garter was chosen and set aside and i was starting to sweat. would i be the one to spoil my sweethearts day by not matching her handmade dress???

from my future mother-in-law to all the friends on face book, comment was made about the dress and how stunning it would look,and i agreed.if anyone could carry it off, breeze would. she would look spectacular in green, also matching the green on our unconventional wedding cake.

plan b:  if all else failed the dressmaker would make me a tie...........and then i found it.......perfect colour..... i was in love all over again and i would not disappoint my bride to be.i bought it, rushed home and showed it to my breeze. her face lit up with joy....a perfect match! she showed it off to all. oooh.......aaah...'.lovely, beautiful' were the comments ...grins all round........and i beamed.

seeing as i had no best man i had asked my daughters ,leah and hannah to stand at my side during the ceremony.i explained the colour scheme but said that they did not have to dress to match the green theme.

the day before the big day i was sent to collect the bride's necklace and lime green garter. which i dutifully did but due to uncertainty as to which necklace she had chosen i returned empty handed.....?

all was ready..the day was here....

 my tie and i

dressed ,ready and nervous i waited at the chapel doors for all to arrive.all that entered smiled big smiles and chuckled at the nervous groom. my beautiful daughters walked in..my eyes full of tears ..i greeted them....big smiles from them............happiness!!

leah looked lovingly at her dad and said" i like your tie" (my chest puffed out another 6 inches") and then reaching out to me she lovingly said 

                          "here is the real tie"

it was cream to go with my brides spectacular dress. so i sheepishly took off my special tie and banished it to my pocket to be part of the ceremony unseen and unappreciated.

where is your tie?????            here it is!!

i and only i and my tie were the ones blissfully unaware that there was not to be a green wedding dress . and all that were privy to the secret (which happened to be the population of the world, yours truly excluded) kept mum about it...and said not a word, and let nothing slip.

     and so good friends that is the story of my neon green tie and i.