11-11-11

We have Family Home Evening on Monday evenings with three other couple missionaries.  It so happened that our turn was on Halloween.  So, the treat was the famous donuts.  Because of the milk here and maybe the vanilla essence, they tasted a little different but they were very very good.  Sister Gunderson shared them with neighbors, the mission office staff, and even the apartment building staff.  So we did hand out treats for Halloween. Just not the traditional way.  We also were given an awesome treat.  If you haven't heard Tara sent us a card of a slide show and used it to announce our 23rd grandchild was due May 1st!  A great treat-though almost 7 months before we get home!

Check out the long narrow sign below the name of the store.  In the market for some of that?  We were pretty sure that it did not literally mean that it had been used, but perhaps made from recycled paper.  Sister Gunderson went in and looked at it. It was almost see-through thin with what looked like wood fibers in it.  Still it is cheap though.  May have to try it!???  We see many, many funny signs but either do not have a camera or cannot stop to photograph it.

On our way to Ladysmith last weekend we spotted this Secretary Bird strutting through a field.  They are named so because the long feathers in the back of the head are reminiscent of old-time secretaries with quill pens behind the ear.

Also on our way and near Colenso we rounded a corner and there was a flock of Ostriches really close to the road.  The dark on is a male.  They were only behind a standard barbed-wire fence so it must not take much to keep them in.  We saw about 15 more as we traveled the next couple of miles.

Springboks near Newcastle.  These are one of the few species of antelope that we see outside game reserves.  We have seen then crossing the road and jumping fences.  They are aptly named.

While at a traffic stop for road construction, I spotted this old outpost from the British-Boer Wars.  Not a very hospitable place to be stationed.

Last time we were in Newcastle we stayed in the Newcastle Inn a pretty regular motel and not that nice.  Not hardly any motels or hotels in the countryside but there are lots of Bed and Breakfasts.  We stayed in the Avalon Guest House which was very nice and actually cost less than the motel.  This is a garden area outside our back door.

One of the lounging areas in the Avalon.  Sister G Was trying to figure a way to get some of this type of decor home to Oregon.

Two of the staff at breakfast.  We were treated so well and had one of the best omelettes ever.  This is pretty hard to take but all a part of the sacrifice missionary couples must make.

Prickly pear cactus blooms.  This is an invasive species from North America and causes lots of problems for livestock.  The African honey bees really like it though.

On our way home we saw a rather large herd of Cape Buffalo and had to stop for pictures.  By the time we got closer most had dropped behind a ride and were out of sight.  In the background are zebra and hartebeests.

Just as the Jacrandas are fading these trees are blooming.  We have no idea what they are but they are brilliant and really stand out.  We see them mostly around Pietermaritzburg.

This photo is for Bill Winn.  They were falling these trees along a railroad track and to keep the limbs and bole from falling on the track or the highway they took all the limbs off, then the top went, then they took sections off the trunk.  So Bill, tell Brandon if the winter is a little slow in Burns, it is spring/summer here and he could likely find work.