Animal and technological incidents

So, once again, back to farm life...

"Only he can understand what a farm is, what a country is, who shall have sacrificed part of himself to his farm or country, fought to save it, struggled to make it beautiful. Only then will the love of farm or country fill his heart." - Antoine de Saint-Exupery 

Over the last couple of weeks I seem to have gained two things - a static charge which goes off every time I touch metal or any other being, which was a bit of a shame for poor Lala who got a shock on her wet nose the other day when I was giving her her doggie pill that she hates to take anyway! I have also gained a huge ability to repel technology - most of my electrical items from my electric blanket to my hard drive seem to have died in some way or another. Maybe I am developing some sort of static powered anti -super -power?!

"I don't have a super power" - Ang Lee

In addition to my luck with technology I have also managed to be chased by a porcupine - which was quite scary (and no they don't throw their quills)

“Prickly

When I'm feeling
porcupine-y,
I get nasty,
I get whiny.

Stay away or
I might stick you.
My sharp words are
quills to prick you.” 

― Laura Purdie Salas


 I have also been rammed over and knocked about by our huge goat ram covered in bruises with a twisted ankle :0(

"New York is my Lourdes, where I go for spiritual refreshment... a place where you're least likely to be bitten by a wild goat." - Brendan Behan 

Despite all the bad luck I did have some very good luck and on the evening  I saw the brightest, closest most impressive shooting star that burned up into pieces.

"I guess I could still watch the clouds roll by, make a wish on a shooting star" - Piglet


I was also lucky enough to see the big male leopard on our farm! One of the drivers had spotted him and came back for a few of us, he has been hanging round one of our leopard camps as one of the females has been on heat. We drove around quietly a couple of times and then spotted him in the road, just as he swaggered off into to the bushes. Very impressive boy! 

"I went to South Africa on safari and came eye to eye with a beautiful leopard. We were so close; I was staring at him for a long time and I felt a recognition with my own nature." - Bai Ling 

Here he is for you....

The last few weeks have been very busy. We usually have around 30 volunteers at one time and at the moment we have around 70. Its great fun and we are getting a lot done, but its also a bit hectic! For some reason things always seem to happen at the weekend also. 

"I've got a hectic schedule, but I wouldn't have my life any other way." - Dominic Monaghan 

This weekend has been crazy, with so many people we have some of our volunteers staying in holiday homes, so I have been dropping and picking them up. I dropped them Friday evening and went for then at 7am Saturday, after a coffee I had a funny feeling and  decided to check on the new baby oryx, I didn't know but apparently it had been getting weaker and weaker and I found it with only hours to go, I called our Director, but sadly, nothing could be done for her. 

Baby oryx's are so sweet looking - more of a tan colour than a grey like the adults and all antelopes seem to have such sweet eyes.



Next thing we get a call that a cobra has been spotted on the baby baboon walk and a very quick thinking volunteer gathered up the people and baboons, called us and headed back without incident. Our researcher decided to go off with his research volunteers to see if he could find it with no luck. He is hoping to dig it out in the next few days and relocate it. He wanted to go over the weekend and I suggested he wait for the week so as not to 'tempt the weekend gods' they can be quite volatile!

  After running round all day with agents we then had a braai and I had my guests to run home. On the way back I was stopped by someone wanting me to take a kitten back to my house to stop the jack russell trying to have its way with it. Mother Nature can be strange at times!

"One of the things I enjoy is the challenge of Mother Nature." -  Nik Wallenda 

I have been lucky enough to see my babies a couple of times over the last few weeks and they are growing and wandering further and further. Sometimes they are with the donkeys and sometimes the zebras (like a couple at Christmas time sharing which family they go to). As they wandered off yesterday with their friends they stopped and looked back at me as if asking me to go with. Sometimes its sad I cant live in the veldt with them and they cant live in a house with me!

"Every goodbye makes the next hello closer." - anon

In sad news over the last couple of weeks Jaci's skin infection has been getting worse and worse and she had been losing weight and becoming a sad dog, the ultimate decision to put her down was taken and a few of us took her into the vet last weekend, very sad to say goodbye to an old friend.

"A good-bye is never painful unless you’re never going to say hello again." - anon

"Being strong sometimes means being able to let go." - anon

Both sadly and excitingly this place is a microcosm of the cycle of life, we lose animals - some after a few hours or days nad some after many years and on the flip side we gain animals sometimes one a month, sometimes several a day. Over the last few weeks we have gained a new baby baboon, Kimi 


who somehow came with a pygmy goat- coco.