The kids and another one.

It is nearly impossible to get a photograph of all our dogs in one shot. So when the farmer took them for a swim yesterday, I had to snap this:

In other news:
Last night I went outside to check the rain meter and decided to pop in and see the vegetable garden. The story goes like this:
1. Walk towards the garden and stand a bit to admire the beautiful cabbage 2. See that the dogs are sniffing at something next to the gate 3. Hey Vegter, Bliksem, get away from that frog 4. Walk closer to inspect the frog 5. Fuck, the frog has a tail and is almost 1m long 6. Scream at the dogs to get away 7.Close the gate and scream again. Slang/snake!! By now the farmer is outside and looking for his spade 8. Unfortunately the farmer has to kill it because we are not sure what type it is and are afraid the dogs might get bitten 9. Farmer brings it in the house and it's still alive, opening it's mouth and hissing at us. 10. Take the photo and snake is thrown away

This morning, the farmer wakes me with a cup of coffee as always. We watch morning live as always. Then he asks if he can get a cup of coffee. Walk to the kettle and as always he has spilt sugar, milk and what not. The dishcloth is lying by the kettle so I reach for it to wipe the mess. SCREAMS again. Our friend from last night is tucked under the dishcloth, smiling at me. Farmer thought it was a HUGE joke. NOT!

** I love (and fear) snakes and think that they are one of the most beautiful creatures on earth. Hate killing them, but I would rather have a dead snake than a dead dog.

Enjoy your weekend!

Hectic. Snakes. In that order.

The last two weeks have been hectic. I can seriously not remember when last I have been so busy in the office. There is no time for lunch, blogging or afternoon naps. To top it all, I had to go to Cape Town for work on Thursday. As always, the Cape Town trip was a whirlwind and I did not get to see any of my friends. At least I spent some time with my parents and brother.

On Saturday morning, it was back to the farm again. As I came closer to our gate, I saw the farmer, two of our dogs and almost the whole of the community standing in the road. What a welcome committee... No, they were looking at the below. Farmer thinks it was a Boomslang. (Not all boomslange are green as I thought)

I jumped out to take a photo and nearly got a heart attack. The serpent's tail was still moving. As I walked away, the farmer picks up the snake and throws it at me. Second heart attack. But as the Farmer loves to say:"Afrika is nie vir sissies" (Africa is not for sissies)

Diezel update. Just look at this face.

Diezel

May your week be better than mine!

XXXV

35 (thirty-five) is the natural number following 34 and preceding 36

35 is the title of a book written by Casper Schipper

35 is the licence plate code of Izmir/Turkey.

In years of marriage, 35 is the coral wedding anniversary.

35 is the minimum age (in years) of candidates for election to the position of President of the United States, President of Ireland and President of Poland

35% is the amount of our waking time we spend at work (assuming a 40 hour work week and 8 hours of sleep).

The bad news is that I have just realised than in 30 days I will be 35.

The good news, I can run for president of the U S of A!

Off to Cape Town tomorrow for business. See you on Monday!

Love thy Farmer.

The farmer is not what you'd call a romantic. At all. So when he returned from town earlier with the below, my heart (and the cake) melted!

What can it be?

Red Velvet cake!

MERRY VALENTINE'S DAY!

A.W.O.L

Truly and deeply sorry for being "absent" this week. Everyone wants to travel and change their flights. It has been hectic. The economy is definitely picking up!

1. Luckily no loss of pay. I am working my ass off.
2. I know MORE than enough attorney's to get me out of a court martial.
3. Being a travel agent has already scarred me for life!
4. Please discharge me. In need of a holiday.
5. Already confined to the office.
6. Family disgrace? I don't think so! (Daddy will always forgive his girl)

Woza weekend!

Today...

... is one of those don't know if I am Arthur or Martha days in the office...

It's true. Four dogs. One office. They are killing me!

Ta-ta.

Google and Graveyards

This post is probably a bit weird, but I cannot believe what you get when you Google!

Yesterday my uncle Googled "Graveyards in Onrus Rivier". This is where my grandparents were laid to rest. And lo and behold, someone actually took a photograph of their headstone and put it on the Inter webs!

My grandparents lived in Onrusrivier and we used to go there every single holiday while growing up. Onrus will always, to me, be one of the most beautiful coastal towns in the world!

A few famous people also thought so and they are buried in the same graveyard as my grandparents...

Uys Krige

Jan Rabie and wife Marjorie Wallace

My grandmother would have loved the fact that she is "famous" and on the internet.

Have a lekker day!

Street Style Heidelberg

Yesterday, town legend, "Ouma" agreed to pose for a Street Style shoot. (I doubt that she'll remember posing though)

Love the Vintage dress and matching tights. The shoes do not match the outfit, but still a fashionable Zebra print. Do not try to obtain her hairdo yourself. Rather consult a professional stylist.

Three minutes into the shoot, Ouma bid me farewell with a "Jou ma se p%$s" and then passed out.

Today...

... has been a long day and it's not even over yet.
... I need to start planning my mother's birthday bash - she turns 60 this year (any ideas?)
... Veldskoen the foxterrier jumped into a smoldering heap of hay. Roasted a bit, but he is okay. Luckily he has been neutered.
... the vegetable garden is coming on very nicely.
... (lol) I overheard our housekeeper calling "Diezel"the boerboel,  "Deksel".
... jumping with joy! Got a group booking of 48 passengers for flights to Cape Town.
... I realised: There is NEVER a dull moment on this farm.


Left row = mealies / Two rows on the right = carrots

Almost weekend!

May you become a GIANT pumpkin!

Each year the farmers in the region have a Giant Pumpkin competition. Last years winner weighed in just over 208kg. This year I convinced the farmer to enter too and our pumpkin is growing nicely. It is not close to where it should be, but we still have a month and will enter just for fun in any case!

Our pumpkin

A friend sitting on one of last years winners.

River Monster!

About 36km from our small town (Heidelberg) lies the picturesque seaside resort of Witsand. This town is situated at the mouth of the Breede River and also has the highest concentration of Southern Right whales on the South African coast (July till October). It is the country’s largest river estuary and some regard it as one of South Africa’s top fishing (note fishing) locations.

Now, to get to my story... Since I have known the farmer, we have heard many rumours about sharks in the Breede River. And not just any shark. The Zambezi shark, believed to be the most dangerous of all sharks to humans! In January 2009 the below female Zambezi shark(4m) was caught 5.5 kilometers upstream. Rumour turned to fact. One shark? Come on! So last night the farmer and I settled in to watch River Monsters on the Discovery Channel, and they have a whole episode dedicated to the sharks in the Breede River. Jeremy Wade, angler and presenter of River Monsters caught another TWO Zambezi Sharks. As with the first one in 2009, the sharks were tagged and set free. Unbelievably, there have been no reports of sharks attacking humans in the river...

We will still take our boat trips up the river, but skiing and tube riding is a no-no!