Virtual Africa: Gabon Park, Coast and Reserves

 

There are thirteen National Parks in Gabon...covering 10% of the country.

These were established in 2002 by President Bongo.

Loango N.P

https://youtu.be/EqPXYanRR6E

Parc Ivindo

https://youtu.be/NcwNqPkvK4I

Lope N.P

https://youtu.be/qTl1i_jBYRU

Akanda N.P

https://youtu.be/E2nf2nxIdMo

Gabon from Above  Pongara N.P

https://youtu.be/OJj3i9GfCz0

Animals of Gabon

https://youtu.be/ZF9sWps4VeQ

Mont du Cristal N.P

https://youtu.be/AgSEIBV47BQ

Plateau Bateke

https://youtu.be/loE5W3skCRs

Minkebe N.P

https://youtu.be/fUrTHzSt5Bg

Five others have no available video.

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed today's adventure.

Our next country will be Uganda.

Until then...

KB is 16...Sisters Day Cookies...Family...Chris Starts his Career and Our Terre Haute Adventure!

 

If it feels like it has been forever since I've blogged...it is probably because it has been.

Just inundated with people...and ran off for a mini-trip the 3rd week of July. 

You know...life.

On the 11th...my KB (...shown above with sister Natalyn...) turned 16!!!!  Can a car and driver's license be far behind??

A couple of Saturdays back, Tina and Lisa and I had our Sisters Day with Quiche and Salad and Strawberry Cream Muffins and a homemade cookie exchange. Tina made French Macaroons with Nutella filling. I made Peanut Butter topped with mini Reeses Cups, and Lisa made her famous Pecan Wedding Cookies.

 Morning coffee was made better for days!

Tina now has The Chicken Cam

 and was surprised to already get one colored egg from the Easter Egg chicks.

Also finally met (...and in one case re-met..) extended family I never knew.

My Great-Uncle Joe and family.

He met me before I was adopted. I was about 2 at the time. He is my (late) maternal grandmother's brother.

I was also able to meet Marsha (would be my 2nd cousin) and her daughter...my 3rd.

It was a great and we are going to try and get a reunion of everyone in Fall.

Don and Chris and I had our Summer Visit recently...with Almost Home Chicken Salad and such...caught up on life...and gardens...and grands...and politics, of course...but the very best was yet to come...

Chris had his second interview with the technology department at ISU and was anxiously awaiting The Call.

Imagine our delight at being present when they phoned and offered him the position!

He was absolutely doing The Happy Dance.

So were we. 

Now he is a University Man...lol...if he gets his own office straight-away there will be no living with him, you know.

Last week John and I spent a couple days in Terre Haute.

(...great shirt and tie...you're never getting that shirt back...)

One of our destinations was 

 

 Logan's Steakhouse...which has literally been there since John not only attended the University...but also when he taught there for his Master Degree.

We tried everything...from Filet Mignon and Ribeye...to BBQ Ribs. Salads and fresh baked brown bread...loaded baked potatoes...breaded mushrooms and onion petals...coffee and a three layer homemade chocolate cake.

We had food for days, leftover.

It was incredible.

When we left it was a lot like this...

"...can't move...digesting..."

Swung by Honeycreek Mall the next day...but it is pretty much abandoned. Only JC Penny's left as an anchor store.

Made the beautiful drive down by Demming's Park.

And found a new addition we were pleasantly surprised with....an Ollies!

Making our plans for Loretta's 80th Birthday next month and to spend a few days out there to relax and poke around...takes her to dinner and some shopping.

She is excited.

"Damn it, Dad...you are leaving me again???"

                                                                  Gadget

 

"I'm still trying to figure out how the hell he gets back in the phone..."

                                                                                                           Sofi

And soooooo happy my guy brought me a couple huge green tomatoes...to slice and fry.

So good!

The Summer Patio nearly spent and I've learned never ever to put out White Cloud Petunias again...replaced immediately with the pink shown. After torrential rain fall the white ones looked like so many wadded discarded tissues.

My hummingbirds prefer these, anyway! 

Another month, and it will all be replaced with mums, sunflowers and fat orange pumpkins!

My roses are nearly ready to burst forth again.

No new book this week but did managed to check out an old new-to-me film.

 A 1994 release with an All-Star cast...Tommy Lee Jones...Jeff Bridges...Cuba Gooding...Forrest Whitaker...Lloyd Bridges...and more.

Jones plays an Irish IRA bomber fixated on Bridges character ( ...once involved with a bombing gone bad...leaving Jones in prison...)who had migrated to Boston and joined its bomb squad.

The plot is brilliant....the acting exceptional...the very best part of it for me???

I had never heard Tommy Lee Jones do anything other that a weathered Texan accent.

The man did an amazing Northern Irish accent!

Watch it...you'll be glad you did.

More Anon...

 

Workout stuff after all that food...

Virtual Africa: Conversing with a Spectre...and Gabon

 

Gabon.....a coastal country situated just west of The Congo on the coastline of Africa.

Trying to find the thing Gabon is noted for is challenging.

"A little help here..."

"You rang?"

"Dr. Livingstone...I presume..." 

"Yes...and that really ceased being funny by the turn of the century."

"Sorry."

"The most notable feature in Gabon is the Oklo-Reactor... the world's only natural nuclear fission reactor."

Oklo-Reactor

https://youtu.be/pMjXAAxgR-M

"Yeah...so I was thinking something a bit less likely to give us all radiation poisoning!!!"

"Just trying to be helpful."

"How about the fact that malaria is rampant here? Don't forget your malaria tablets. You might end up like me. A ghost of myself. Died in the Congo...effing mosquitos."

"That is NOT helpful!"

"Didn't do me much good, either...how about the fact that 1 out of every 5 of the Gabonese people have HIV?"

"Seriously???? No....don't you have something less plague-y???"

"Well, there are the parks, reserves and marine sites...the country is positively crawling with them."

"Hey...that is a great idea! Thanks for the chat...and have a nice Afterlife."

"You're welcome..."  (dissipating)

 

 

 

Gabon is a country which, after centuries, is still heavily influenced by the French.

The name, however, is derived from the Portuguese word for cloak; a nod to the shape of the country. 

The towns have French names, the main language here is French, the main religion is Catholic and since 1961 the government here has been more or less stable...which in Africa is almost a minor miracle on its own.

Well developed, prosperous and home to about 2.1 million people.

The city

https://youtu.be/zkfeoNOlWG0

It has a coastal region, mountains, rain-forests and savannas.

The original inhabitants were pygmies...but most are of Bantu ancestry, now.

Next time we will discover the myriad of  Parks and Reserves that make up Gabon.

The Last Eden

https://youtu.be/-sObtVRHKIw 

 

 

Until then...

Virtual Africa: The Congo Silverback Gorillas

 

Critically endangered after years of wars, deforestation and poaching...the Silverback numbers are in decline.

Immortalized in films...entrusted to breeding programs in zoos to boost their numbers..enshrined in silver coins in the Congo.

Majestic.

Mountain Trek

https://youtu.be/QyCAVHRiUKs

They are gentle giants. The largest on record 6'5" tall. They live in structured family units called Troops and are primarily plant eaters. Docile and shy they prefer to hide away than confrontation...but have the strength of 20 men. The larger males can weigh nearly 500 pounds.

Muhammad Ali once offered a zookeeper an enormous sum of money to let him "fight" one...lucky for him the keeper refused...as he would have been torn limb from limb. 

Silverbacks are the oldest and leader of the troop...the mid-aged males are known as brown-backs and are roughly 13 years old....12 and younger have black coats and are known at that time as black-backs...suggesting their infancy and youth.

...okay...I'm not old...I'm a Silverback...

Gorillas can feel and display a wide variety of emotions from laughter and happiness to grief and anger. They can make and use tools and are highly intelligent problem solvers. 

In DNA sequencing Gorillas are more closely related to humans 30% match than chimpanzees ( 15%).

Silverback

https://youtu.be/VAvPDUatiKo

 One of the best films on the subject

Gorillas in the Mist

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4w6dBwZkqM

 

Next we will explore the Coastal African country of Gabon.

Until then...

 

 

Surfside Miracle- Binx...

 

On Day 16...we received a small miracle in the Surfside tragedy.

It didn't come in the form of a burning bush...or manna...or seas parting...but in a tiny bundle of traumatized fuzzy black fur and bones named Binx. 

A kitty survivor after 16 days.

Before the collapse, Binx lived with his owners on the 9th floor of the doomed 12 story building. 

Two of them managed to escape that night, and are hospitalized...one is still missing.

The family also had another cat and a dog. Both presumed dead.

When everything stopped for a minute, and Binx was found, I freely admit...I cried.

84 people have now been pulled from the wreckage, dead. 

The fact that this little guy survived gives us a bit of happiness where very little has existed for days. 

The family has been reunited with him, now.

And the search goes on.

But yesterday...for a brief moment...we smiled...and were reminded that miracles do exist.

Some even purr.

Not a lot of purring going on with Sofi and Gadget this week. As John and I work on our decluttering both fuzz-butts are seriously disturbed.

"What do you think you're doing??"

"You are messing up our world!!!"

"I liked to have clothes to snuggle into."

"You aren't THROWING that away, are you???"

"You`re leaving me again, aren't you???"

Cats have extreme OCD.

Slowly we are making progress...despite them.

My goal is Christmas.

Yes, of THIS year...smart-ass.

To be completely clutter-free by Christmas.

My gift to me.

The boys are doing fine. The eldest back to work after a truly horrific dental extraction botch and dry sockets, last week...the middle making it through his first hurricane/tropical storm- alone...and the youngest set to embark on his career, soon. (Yay!!!)

Loretta already anxious to see John and I, and our birthday visit in August...dinner and shopping.

Diane grieving the loss of Tinkerbell (her feline baby) who was almost as old as Tucker, when I lost him.

Brenda and I planning an upcoming brunch together next week...she fell recently...not getting hurt, but blacking both eyes badly.

"OMG...what happened to you???"

"Bar Fight."

sigh

Angie is doing better with her long-haul Covid symptoms...and may be envisioning a new direction with The Shoppe. Also selling several paintings recently!!!

Which has to feel good.

Slowing down a bit today...just some surface cleaning...repotting...a good bubble bath and nap...and maybe working on my latest painting.

I can resume the bedroom excavation tomorrow.

Have a Wonderful Weekend!

 

 

Binx, after a bath, food, water and love...

Surviving the Long Weekend...Politics...14 Days...and The Storm

 

 

Took 4 days off from, literally, all the household chores...omg...

In a small apartment that is the equivalent of several years, I'm thinking.

The 4th of July food is gone...finally...gratefully.

A salad never looked so good.

All in all...the down time was amazing.

Yesterday it was more along the lines of

"...OMG...I have to DO something about this mess...and I NEED a bath...and I have to do laundry...there are no pants...!!!"

Yeah, it was kind of like that.

By bedtime it was back to a manageable level.

The older I get...the less tolerant I am with clutter.

...you never really get over OCD...you just find levels you can live with...

John and I engaged in The Great DeCluttering at our respective abodes. For the next week or so...or as long as it takes

The Bedrooms and Closets

The cats are much less than amused.

Last night, the focus was on the storms. Both Elsa hitting the Gulf Coast where Lennon is living, and the much smaller one that struck here early this morning.

Woke to thunder, lightning, wind and torrential rain...and the Sofi-Cat clinging to me under the covers-

"Save Me, Mom!!!"

Lennon will call and let me know the situation there when he wakes up. Last night the outer bands had reached him and by 10 the water in his cul-de-sac was rising. No thanks in part to the dismal job Manatee County does of maintaining the storm drains and the low-lying area. 

"I have things in Rubbermaid totes...should have bought more sandbags and towels stuffed between the doors, Mom."

He is great at planning ahead.

Our storm here did little more than scare the hell out of the cat, upend or turn over a few potted plants...and manage to cause the hummingbird feeder to fall.

The Dougs are distraught.

...yeah...I name them all Doug...just like the frogs are all
Bob...okay???

This morning tiny hummers were hovering just outside the patio doors

"This will NOT do..."

Their Cafe on its side on the concrete of the patio.

"I want to speak to the manager..."

Karen-Dougs.

Learned this morning that, apparently, when disaster strikes the news cycle gives you about 14 days.

Case in point- The Miami Condo Collapse

Day 1 through about day 11 we were getting so many many updates. Every time they discovered another body it was added to the death toll...2 then 4 then 10...then 4 more...by about 26 they just stopped telling us...

By day 14...it was an afterthought...a story that was moved from the headlines.

Local Miami news now says that 46 have been found.

You would never know from MSM.

Over 100 are still missing.

14 Days.

That is all the time you get.

And then there are the daily political battles.

Masks...Anti-Maskers.

Vaxxer...Anti-Vaxxers.

Republicans...Democrats

and Q.

Pro-Gun...Anti-Gun

and some responsible gun-owners.

Rumors that Trump will be "reinstalled" a President on August 13th.

Rumors that Biden is a Body-Double...Animatron or Hologram.

At this point the masking and vaccinations are completely up to personal choice...and perhaps they always have been...and especially the decision to not vaccinate seems...well...kind of Darwinian, given the new variants...the increased infection and hospitalization rate of the unvaccinated...and the stats emerging that 99% of new Covid deaths are occurring among those who have not been vaccinated.

But hey, you do you...

I don't care which party you support...as long as you understand where each stands and vote accordingly.

Okay...except for the Q-anon people...who are just out there.

I know there are responsible gun owners. There are also people you wouldn't trust with a firecracker, okay.

Over the 4th of July there were somewhere in the neighborhood of 300+ shootings in the USA,

This is NOT the way to further your cause.

This is the way to assure that stronger, more restrictive gun laws are made and passed.

Regardless of what is circulating Trump was not reinstalled in January...March...July...and will not be President in August, either...

and Joe Biden is just Joe...not a body double...not an animatron...not a hologram...and certainly not a radical leftist...or senile.

Just Joe.

Good old slow and steady...dependable and focused...moderate...devout Catholic...loves his wife, children, grandchildren and ice cream...Joe.

 I may not always agree with what he does...but I respect him tremendously. 

Now, back to clearing the clutter.

 

 

 

   

Virtual Africa: The Congo River

 Winding its way across the jungles...The Congo River (Formerly the Zaire) is the second longest river in Africa...and the deepest in the world.

2,920 miles long and over 720 feet deep in places.

It crossed the equator twice...and is the only major river to do so.

Life on the Congo

https://youtu.be/SFrcIwXSzJE

 It twists and turns through the Congo rain-forest.  The second largest rain-forest on Earth.

 

https://youtu.be/55hfFLG0Ahg

 

The river also boasts Livingstone Falls.

 ...yes...THAT Livingstone...

 

https://youtu.be/SJhfhQ1fi3o

 

Which would have to generate a serious

"Oh Shit"

moment...if you were traveling down this is a boat..unaware.

Speaking of generate...this huge river has Hydroelectric power plants scattered along its basin and generates much of The Congo's power.

 

With only ten bridges across the river and its tributaries, and 16 ferries...there are only so many ways to cross.

 

Congo River Ferry

Fish in the Congo

https://youtu.be/0vDYzZnTmhg

Crocodiles of the Congo

https://youtu.be/iHy119g-dQo

Longer Congo Video ( BEST)

https://youtu.be/uWLnGqhBocw

 

I hope you have enjoyed today's virtual adventure!

 

Next time we will check out The Silverback Gorillas.

Until then...

 

 

July 4th

Fireworks...family...friends...food and fun! 

Started the morning by baking pie to go with some homemade vanilla ice cream and coffee.

Great way to begin the day.

Caught up with family and friends...and there will be fireworks and fun later tonight.

Sofi and I sat out on the patio last night and got an early start on the firework-watching as someone was setting off a great display across the road!

She watches, sitting on my lap, and doesn't seem upset in the least by the flashes, booms and pops...

And the food?

Well, later, there will be burgers and dogs...potato salad...baked beans...watermelon...and yes...probably more pie!

Have a wonderful and safe 4th!

Love, 

Carla and Sofi-Cat