Only in Africa!!

and yes, this is a main national road!

Some New Year sparkle

... probably a bit early but teh frocks are oh so pretty!!!!

Some Ethiopian design... with a twist

   Stunning dress by Addis Ababa designer Fikirte Addis! She has a wonderul fresh take on African fashion

A little creature...

Created by Tasha Zimich ( www.tashazimich.com)

Time time time...

Frosted fur & frozen hearts...

A wonderful picture by Kirsty Mitchell

Crawling sofa

What wonderful whimsical things people think of... definitely something i need in my home

Mouse Cigar

by Camilla D'Errico

Walk with me to a new land....

...such strange brothers

If I could be surrounded by anything right now...

A mystical garden... a dream like world!

exhausted...

Tim Walker for Vogue

The MerPeep Show

By Camilla D'Errico for The candy Escape

Just a little bit of Africa...

for a Saturday night??

Some extravagance

A little touch of Europe...

Photo courtesy of my mom!

Let us forget with generosity those who cannot love us— Pablo Neruda

I Am An African

I am an African

Not because I was born there

But because my heart beats with Africa’s

I am an African

Not because my skin is black

But because my mind is engaged by Africa

I am an African

Not because I live on its soil

But because my soul is at home in Africa

 

When Africa weeps for her children

My cheeks are stained with tears

When Africa honours her elders

My head is bowed in respect

When Africa mourns for her victims

My hands are joined in prayer

When Africa celebrates her triumphs

My feet are alive with dancing

 

I am an African

For her blue skies take my breath away

And my hope for the future is bright

I am an African

For her people greet me as family

And teach me the meaning of community

I am an African

For her wildness quenches my spirit

And brings me closer to the source of life

 

When the music of Africa beats in the wind

My blood pulses to its rhythm

And I become the essence of sound

When the colours of Africa dazzle in the sun

My senses drink in its rainbow

And I become the palette of nature

When the stories of Africa echo round the fire

My feet walk in its pathways

And I become the footprints of history

 

I am an African

Because she is the cradle of our birth

And nurtures an ancient wisdom

I am an African

Because she lives in the world’s shadow

And bursts with a radiant luminosity

I am an African

Because she is the land of tomorrow

And I recognise her gifts as sacred

 

 By Wayne Visser

Another wonderful Camilla D'Errico "creation" from her recent show "THE CANDY ESCAPE" in New York! LOVE IT!!!

"Hairball"

And when the mighty herds vanish, may we vanish too my friend.

A person needs a little madness, or else they never dare cut the rope and be free.
-Nikos Kazantzakis

By Tasha Zimich. A wonderful upcoming Canadian artist!

Just a lazy Sunday morning in the bush

We should all love life this much!

It's SUMMER TIME!!!

 

Some summer inspiration .... Mara Hoffman swimwear

Beyond the rainbow...

by Camilla d'Errico

Her eyes are hidden because the true emotion is expressed through her hands and body language, it is a feeling of sadness, grace, and shock. The rainbow represents the girl’s soul, it is literally spilling out of her because where her heart was is an emptiness, there is nothing to keep her together anymore. I’m sure we’ve all felt at one point in our lives as if our hearts have been torn away, and the pain of its loss is unbearable. I was able to capture this feeling by showing the fragility of the girl through the literal spilling out of her soul and gentleness." - Camilla D'Errico

 

Every spring the bush brings forth new life.... a baby nyala seconds after birth!

"I am the voice of the voiceless,
Through me the dumb shall speak,
Till the deaf world's ear be made to hear
The wrongs of the wordless weak

From street, from cage, from kennel,
From stable and zoo, the wail
Of my tortured kin proclaims the sin
Of the mighty against the frail.

Oh, shame on the mothers of mortals
Who have not stooped to teach
Of the sorrow that lies in dear, dumb eyes,
The sorrow that has no speech.

And I am my brother's keeper,
And I shall fight his fight;
And speak the word for beast and bird
Till the world shall set things right.

- Ella Wheeler Wilcox, 1850-1919

HAPPY SPRING DAY!!

Even big boys still like to play!

Lazy lazy afternoons...

 

the seasons are turning and as the weather heats up this little guy

just gets fruitier by the day!

Another Camilla d'Errico masterpiece

Mukluks

...referring to the really cute socks/shoes!

There is one thing I always find so interesting, if you had a Rottweiler or an Alsatian or one of those massive guard dogs people will not expect of it to jump on their lap when they come to visit, on the contrary they will steer well clear but now when it comes to a hand reared WILD animal they just expect it to come rub against them or to want to be tickled behind the ears on a first encounter. They do not realise that it takes hours every day just to keep the animal habituated and that it is still WILD and that its instincts will always dominate. They do not realise that closeness to the animal is earned and that it takes blood, sweat and tears- literally!

You spend hours and hours exercising them, showing them new things and trying to expose them to as many different things as possible – the running water in a stream, the first impala droppings, a murderous thunderstorm, the excitement of making it all the way to the top of a large tree or catching its first field mouse – and still try to give them the life they deserve and still respect their WILD nature.

You learn to appreciate their moods, their fear, hunger, aggression, instinct and love that they will hand out in abundance.

You learn to respect their power, claws and their intuitive nature and you just watch in awe as nature looks after their own child and he just knows what his “forefathers” knew without being taught or having a “real” mother to guide him.

And I still wonder – how do people just walk in and expect this WILD creature to accept them right away?

Tea on a sunday afternoon...

A favourite photo!

My husband has always been the only person allowed to scratch his tummy and he would go all woozy and sleepy whenever he got tickled!

A few days ago I read an article about the illegal wildlife trade and how they found a baby sun bear in someone’s suitcase. Now I don’t know about you guys but I have never even heard about a sun bear let alone see one so of course I had to do some research and wow, they are fantastic!

They are  also known as the honey bear and is found primarily in the tropical rainforest in Southeast Asa, North-East India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Southern China, Peninsular Malaysia, and the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.

How wonderful and full of surprises nature is with this very interesting creature with his orange horse shoe like “necklace”!

 I will just have to go and see them sometime…

Cutie pie!

Pretty funky fashion



Mara H for Bonedrag

In another life...

Stunning rings from "Bonedrag"

( Stunning dress)

After 10 years of being a proud brunette I decided to go back to my “roots”, had my hair stripped back to blond and then added a whole bunch of highlights for good measure… and the first thing I was worried about was how will I smell or rather how my scent will change….because yes, it might sound absolutely crazy but being mom to a wild creature can be quite tricky and something as simple as changing your perfume or body lotion and therefore changing the smell they are familiar to can cause an uproar… so can you just imagine what a whole new “look” might do!

So the first time I went to see this crazy little caracal of ours after the big “make over” I was a bit concerned and a bit worried… will he like the new me…the new smell (I was not sure how the products  used at salons to lighten your hair might smell to such sensitive nostrilsJ)…so, he did a little rubbing, a little sniffing, some hissing and in the end he realised that it is still just mom...and now all I need to do is get use to the stranger in the mirror myself because in the end he is not our little caracal.. we are his PEOPLE!

PS: or maybe he just liked it that the afternoon sun made my hair look like gold!!

Now this is what one should be doing on a Thursday afternoon...

J mendel dresses

So elegant...

So whimsical

So playful...