'Good morning my fellow travellers' and what a lovely day it will be. Bright blue sky, none of that dreary grey drizzle that we used to wake up to in good old England'

Today we stopped off at a Masai Village, whilst there an elderly man came over to the land rover, poked his head in the open door  to greet us. Suddenly he lent over to Klaus and looked at his knees.From kneeling with work over the years had developed a pad of hard skin on his knees. The man gingerly touched them and called out. Within minutes a group of lads were all crowding around to inspect and feel his knees. Transpired they thought they were like camel knees and never seen before on a human. Klaus was the hit of the day with 'Instant Stardom' without the fortune!! No, don't come looking, thankfully they are now normal.  Can just picture some youngster with the elder round a camp fire being told the tale of a man with camel knees and being warned ' don't ever work in the building trade, keep to our ways!!'You have to admire the women here, they build the huts out of mud and cow dung, grow the food and cook, whilst it is the man's job to hunt and tend the small herd of cattle and goats, as cows blood and milk is part of their diet.
Don't think I quite fancy this life, prefer a few mod cons!!
Having said this, have seen a couple of men arriving up behind one of the huts in a Mercedes car, quickly change into tribal dress and become one of the tribe dancing around for tourists.The modern way of life comes to some of us, others in the villages still live the ancient way of life and traditions.

Continuing on our drive we see something racing along in the distance, it's a cheetah chasing a buck. What a magnificent creature they are. I have always wanted one as a pet, but they are born to be wild, not cooped up.
The buck managed to slip away and the cheetah which we had caught up with, came and flopped down next to us with a big yawn.

                                                                   

                                                                                             
                                                                                                         


To watch this cat run, the speed, the energy when going in for the kill,
you cannot help but cheer for the cat,even if your heart goes out to the poor prey.
This one performed for us,claws out to be sharpened on a tree stump, the cool look at us, and an inspection of our car before the flopping down by the wheel. We then had to wait until it kindly moved on, all the while taking pictures and just enjoying the marvel of it all.

But what a joy to have been part of it all.

We go on our way and pass a few 'DikDik, a very shy little deer. The only good picture I have of one is of my own little 'Bambi' with our daughter Debi when we lived in Malawi.This is going back a few years.

'Deborah and Bambi'

                                                                 

Klaus worked for a large construction company and one of the workers rescued this tiny fawn after it's mother was killed in a bush fire. Klaus brought it back to me to help rear it. This was my first baby, plenty of feeds, love and care, getting me in practise for when we had our own I think!
Bambi grew up to be a member of the family, loved by all and spoiled as well. Our gardener picked the best flower buds for it to eat and was always thanked by being butted by his little sharp horns. Whenever the gardener bent over he would rush out from hiding and aim for that 'bum in the air' I don't know how many times he landed in the fish pond. He would get out with a shout, a shake of the fist and then a tit bit given! I think this became a "who dares" game between them. Bambi was also known for sneaking up when a guest was not looking and pinching their drinks and nuts. Sadly a few years later he was killed one night by a pack of wild dogs that got into his night shed.
Back on our drive back to camp, the evening sun is slipping away , animals are getting ready for bed, others ready for the hunt.
Will leave you with this picture. My very first acrylic that I had finished just before starting to write about our travels.

'Out for a stroll at sunset'

                                                       

'Lala salama'  (Good night )       Have a good rest and be up bright and raring to go tomorrow.

This weeks inspired  picture is of course of Cheetah's

'Are'nt  we Handsome'

                                                               




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          Both my pictures are coming along, but will let you judge for yourselves!

 I have tried using acrylic for the background as I have found that recently the soft chalk pastels I normally rub in are tending to go a little oily. ( maybe due to the heat). I started on the background as the acrylic will not rub off as will the pastel when doing the wolf. So no fear of accidentally resting a hand in the wrong place!  Now its getting on with the fur again.




                                                           

                                                                       

My macaws are taking shape slowly, two pictures on the go at the same time, must be a glutton for punishment! Here of course it's trying to get the right colour mixture, and not all over myself. found I had about 3 brushes each with only  a couple of hairs collecting in my mouth, not enough hands to hold them all and they were all in use. Found my top also had a few new colours added to it's pattern!.

Hopefully you are all enjoying this blog and having a chuckle along the way with me.
Typing is also getting quicker and better!!
See you all again next week.