After Christmas



Widowbird.... has an amazingly long tail. (170-500 lens)



Happy Day after Christmas to everyone. Tomorrow is another holiday here, The Day of Goodwill, otherwise known as Boxing Day in the rest of the world.

I was suffering the few days before Christmas with neck pain… not sure where it came from --but I have a good idea. So I was nowhere near ready for the big day. Really glad we didn’t have any company or major dinner plans. The weather here was bright and sunny and quite warm. We were supposed to have a T-storm or two, but they really haven’t materialized.

Brothers- White Lions




 



Our décor… for Christmas was simple. From the states I brought several strings of battery operated LED lights. Here they have an invasive plant, and a craft has sprung up around the abundance… the limbs/branches are fashioned into yard screens, furniture, and lawn ornaments… and reindeer, stars, wreaths and Christmas trees. I have a tree that stands about28 inches tall with the LED lights woven through. No ornaments… just the lights. It’s just perfect a will do nicely for the next few years.



Big male (Nikkor)

Santa (read that to be DH) was very extravagant this year. Originally we weren’t going to do gifts, but I think DH took pity on my photo gear after our trip to Kurger…. Across the street from the Embassy is a camera shop. We all go there for the various pictures we need for ID’s. Anyway DH visited the shop and picked out some new lenses and ordered a new camera from the states. To say that I am now loaded and my camera gear… will now comprise a fair section of the back seat of the car would be true!!! DH presented me first with a new lens- a really big one… that will really bring me much closer to the subject. It weighs a ton and I will have to get a monopod to help hold it steady. It’s a Sigma 170-500m and takes some awesome pictures.



Wild dog

Next was another lens. A Nikkor (Nikon glass) 70-300m, that will really improve my photos, because it has vibration reduction. The motor is so quiet… and fast for auto focus… that it surprises me. The lens I was using… before Christmas, was also a 70-300, but it is a Tamron… and the difference is noticeable!

Large Male White Lion

And lastly…. A new camera to go will all of the lenses. I now have a Nikon D90. Originally we were going to upgrade my camera body and get a new lens or two… and DH would inherit my old camera. Somewhere in the last year he decided that he didn’t want to carry a huge camera and that I should have 2 bodies with lenses ready to go all the time. What a generous guy!!! Now I just need a pack mule to carry it all.



Lioness



Today we went to the ‘Lion Park’. I don’t think I will ever go back, unless someone really wants to play with the cubs. It’s nearly guaranteed there that you can play with cubs! There are several adult lion enclosures that you can drive through. At noon on Sundays you can watch them feed the lions. We did not do that. But we did drive through. The rest of the park is not worth the comment on. The cubs were not as much fun as the other park we did last year and this one will be the second choice.

I hope you all had an enjoyable Christmas, and that you got all the things that make you happy, wheather it's time with family, friends or alone. The photos above are all from the visit to the Lion Park.

As always.... a bit more later.