Follow Me and My Life in Art

'Good morning and what a lovely day it is going to be.
Our Masai warrior is there ready to escort us through the bush to the hippo pool. This is where breakfast has been laid out for us today.

Sitting here while having a cooked breakfast, watching the hippos,this is really an out of this world experience. Colourful birds flit around, and of course we all throw titbit's down for them.

I took this picture of the Masai with the peak of Mt. Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa behind him. Not that I think it shows up that well, but what a picture when the sun hits the peak, it was a hue of colour, but before long the cloud came down over it and it was gone. But it had shown itself to us.

Today we are asked if we minded travelling with another couple who had a child, seems the child liked playing computer games and had a very loud voice! (might frighten off the animals!) We were quite happy to have them and what a great couple they turned out to be.

New designer safari gear every day, we were only allowed a small soft holdall for our clothes. How money talks! We had fresh fruit hampers on the trips with us, and savoury nibbles.

We had the best drives out together, and the child was so interested in the animals, it was a pleasure to point them out. Far better than the other couple who only wanted to slap and tickle the whole time, or argue with each other!

The first time we sat together for a meal in the camp dining room, we learned not to drink his water, it was neat vodka, he would happily top up your water glass, so when you took a swig, your head felt it was blowing off. Boy was it good stuff, and when the cheeses came to the table, with caviar and all kinds of delectable treats, we then became the envy of everyone else.One night after we had been treated, we had arranged for the guard to call us if any animals were spotted, hopefully leopard, we heard the knock, so we both rushed out in our dressing gowns, camera ready and both in a rather blurry state from that night's vodka meal, clicking into the darkness. I could have had some exclusive picture, blue elephants chasing each other!! Well there could have been something still there, although heard it was only a hippo that had passed by!

Thought you would like this picture.

!! If you cannot see blue elephants chasing each other, have another tumbler of vodka!!

By the way this was an exception, not normally heavy drinkers

On our drive we have a stop along the way to walk down to see the river. Walking down on a little path we pass these two crocs. All that separated us from them was a patch of grass a single strand of rope. If one of them had not closed its mouth, we might not have even seen it, but I am sure it had an eye on us. These really are ugly looking brutes from prehistoric times.Maybe we looked a little bit like tough old meat and not worth the effort of moving. If it had, my legs would certainly have moved like pistons!!

'Keeping an eye on those white legs walking by' Bet you can't see me!

'Any dental floss going!

We continue warily on our way down to the river to watch the hippos and look at more crocs. Here there was a drop down from the bank to the river so felt a lot safer.
Standing here watching the hippos, young and old, big and small. birds flit in and out of their nests which are holes in the mud bank.
Dragon flies, their wings shimmering in the sun dip in and out of the water, or hover over a blade of grass.
There is an orchestra of living music being played from insects, birds and the snorting from the river.

It was all this that inspired me to paint this picture.