Spring/Summertime - a month in images

Yes, this blog actually still exists! Seasonally speaking, I have shot straight from mid winter to spring, due to my snail-like blogging pace. For the past couple of months we've had lots of visitors, and have been away again, and on some work road trips... then the eternal game of catch up (my usual reasons for non-blogging).

If this title suggests fresh green shoots, and lovely springlike visions, think again.. on our travels south and north, I have tried to capture the roadside reality of the interior. It's the start of the serious waiting-and-praying for-rain-season now. Not a drop has fallen for many months...Just a hint of spring here though - the suprising green grass on the right hand side of the road is the new regrowth from an earlier bushfire!

Once again, the thatching grass harvest season is in full swing. The little makeshift villages spring up alongside the road, and as the bundles of harvested grass grow in quantity, they evolve into walls, some shelter against the harshness of this environment.

The finished thatch bundles will be sold for roofing. Just down the road, our favourite overnight spot Elephant Sands is undergoing some renovations. New, shiny yellow thatch contrasts with the old, weathered grey...

Here's a sunset on the long road north... Animals are nibbling away at any tiny shoots that can be found on the extreme edges of the roads. This is one of the most dangerous times of day to drive long distance in Botswana, and we make a point of trying not to do it. Luckily our destination was just ahead, or we would have stopped somewhere sooner for the night.

I have to include a photo of this statuesque Mugongo Tree. I never seem to notice them in the lush summer season, but when leafless, they are strikingly noticeable, dotted around the dry grasslands, inhabiting their own particular vegetation belt.

After our travels - it's always a welcome contrast to return to our riverine world, after journeying through the thirsty lands en route.. The sunsets are filtered through smoke and haze at the moment, as fires are constantly burning on the floodplains, over on the Namibian and Zambian sides of the river.

It is essential to escape to the river, seeking the coolness of the water, and an abundance of greenery. Good to see the sandbanks are back after the receding of the seasonal flood waters. They are often re-scuplted while underwater, and tend to emerge with a different look and shape each year!

Thirsty elephants gather in large numbers every evening at a local small lodge's waterhole - this is a favourite place for us to go with our visitors for an evening sundowner. For more pictures of these beautiful creatures, have a look over here.

The elephants are moving around town too. Sometimes driving home after dark you will see a  massive, dark shape materialise and disappear silently over the road.If this photo is not too dark, you should observe an elephant crossing the road, with street lights on the right and the rising moon on the left!

Just outside our own back yard, a real spring picture at last! The orange trees on the farm are blossoming, and the orchards are blasting their incredible perfume out into the air. The dogs, on our daily walks, are much more interested in other scents, and their noses are glued to the ground most of the time! I absolutely love the orange blossoms, and this is certainly one of the benefits of renting a little space on the farm, right next to 'our' orchard, with any actual orchard-related worries belonging exclusively to the farm owners!

Finally, one more image from our travels. The designs on the backs of Botswana buses are often imaginative and quirky. This one was rather touching, and I hoped the people inside its metal shell felt safe and protected, just as we did as we passed by.. I honestly am not too sure about the exact species of the cat featured here, but the bus just gave us such a good feeling, it was almost a pity to overtake it...

Hoping that mid-weekend blessings abound for all...

Till next month (or earlier, you never know!)