A Little of This and That

Here are a variety of photos from my garden. I'm reluctant to put it all to bed until the rains begin for the season of winter. We are having sunshine this week until Thursday. The rains will be here in time for Thanksgiving. It will rain for almost a week and then the sun is expected to come out again but I notice the temperatures will be quite frigid. I guess I'll need to try and get things done outside around that time.

I've been busy trying to keep up with the Fly Lady routines after participating in the Fly Lady Babysteps "course". Everything is going well, perhaps better than I expected. 

I surpassed my reading goals back in August so I've slowed down in my reading habit. I just completed the 3rd book in a series by Lesley Downer. I really enjoyed the first two books and I also enjoyed the 3rd one but not quite as much. I believe there is one more in the series.

Currently, I'm reading The Minimalist Home by Joshua Becker.  I've seen the author here and there on You Tube and I'm enjoying his book so far.   It's doubtful I'll be implementing Mr. Becker's system though I agree with his philosophy of getting rid of unnecessary things so you can enjoy the things you deem necessary.  I also just like reading about different approaches to major decluttering like the Kon Mari Method, Swedish Death Cleaning, the Fly Lady and so on).

I've got a simple dinner in mind for Thanksgiving as there will only be two of us and no guests this year. Ham (I'll save the turkey dinner for Christmas and New Year's dinners), sweet potatoes, Brussels Sprouts, maybe some scalloped potatoes too, a few crunchy veggies (crudités) instead of a salad and a pie of some kind. Perhaps cherry pie just to be different.  I always make more than enough food so we can enjoy leftovers and I can make ham and pea soup once or twice. Soup is always good but especially at this time of year when the weather starts turning cool.

What about you dear reader? What is the weather like where you are? Do you celebrate Thanksgiving? If yes, what will you have for dinner and what will you remember to give thanks for in 2020? As for me I am very grateful that my family members and friends far and wide, are safe and that I am safe. I had a bit of scare last month when a friend of mine had a family member test positive for Covid in the country of Kenya. Thankfully they had very minor symptoms and are fully recovered.

Thank you for stopping by. I'm joining in a little late with Our World Tuesday.

Rhinos and Baboons

These photos are from my archives and were taken in Nakuru, Kenya, East Africa. 

The first photo  was taken from the north side of Lake Nakuru on a return trip to see the Menengai Crater.  You get a glorious view of the lake as you approach the city from the north.  I will try to share photos of my visit to the crater in another post. Today's post is about Lake Nakuru and the wildlife park situated there.

 

The next view of the lake is from Baboon Cliff Point in Lake Nakuru Provincial Park.  The point is situated on the western side of Lake Nakuru and the views from the top are fantastic.  It's one of my favourite spots in the park.  The name derives from the fact that so many baboons are living in this particular area of the park.

I'm only sharing two of the photos of the baboons. There were so many baboons and they are quite mischievous. They will enter your car and take things if you are not keeping a close watch.  The monkeys do the same.

Here you can see baboons climbing all over the parked cars.

The rhinos in the next two photos were an awesome site. These rhinos are called black rhinos though the colour can range from brown to grey.  The World Wildlife Fund for Nature Kenya  has been working with the government and other organizations and people of goodwill, to save the black rhinos from poaching and loss of habitat and so the population has more than doubled over the past 25 years.  You can read more about black rhino conservation needs and efforts here. Sadl, the Northern White Rhino is virtually extinct. Just over a year ago, Kenya harvested the eggs of the two last white female rhinos in the northern part of the country.  They are hoping to fertilize them with the sperm of the last male white rhino that died in Sudan in March 2018.  You can read more about white rhinos here.

I took a little time to see many wild animals both in zoos and in their natural habitat while I've been on missions trips to the very poor in Kenya.  I feel so very fortunate to have had the opportunity to see many of these wonderful creatures in their natural habitat.  My hope is that through the good will and good work of people in Kenya and around the globe, these majestic creatures will not go extinct while we can still do something to save them. The largest threats to their survival are poaching and loss of habitat.  If you love wild animals please consider a gift to those that work in conservation.  If, like me, you are interested in alleviating the suffering of the very poor who barely eke out a living, kindly read more at the various links on the side bar and consider being a change maker along with me. During this global pandemic they are suffering even  more than usual.

I hope you enjoyed this brief post on Kenyan wildlife. I'm joining up with Eileen's, Saturday's Critters meme today.  Please come and visit this space again soon.

Enjoy your weekend and stay safe.