Ginger and Spot settled into the house with Mouse and the dogs quite easily in Vainona where we managed to find a home. They found the walls around the property restricting and they were not used to the noise..but they adapted to being urban animals. Mum and the children had more trouble adapting though. Mum prowled around the perimeter fence of the property like a lioness looking for something to pounce on. Slowly she realised she had to come to terms with the changes that had happened. She started taking her dogs out for walks on leads. Leads?? They had never known what a lead was before but they adapted.

Mum has been a bit busy the last few weeks and so was really sorry that you were all concerned about her not blogging. Unfortunately her staff had put "two step" a chemical down to kill the rats that were eating the maize stored in her sheds and when a rat became sluggish, Ginger managed to catch it and eat it. Mum had not realised this poison had been used until it was too late and so she nursed Ginger until he eventually died a couple of weeks ago. She had helped to deliver him when he was born and he was really a special part of her life for so many years. A happy reminder of the years on the farm when he wondered all over with her and a happy reminder of the years of readjustment to living in town and then semi urban living again.

He is buried next to his brother Spot, who was ridden over by a car when he was wondering around on the plot when we first moved from town to a plot where we could finally rescue our horses (only 4 out of 15 had survived living wild on the farm for 18 months).

Cody in the meantime is getting very old and scraggly. I keep looking at him in wonder and thinking...will I live till I am 14?? Ridgebacks like Cody and Boerbulls like me don't normally live for that many years. Oh well, I still keep trying to remind him that I am the new boss of the house but he and Mum gang up against me and tell me to get back in my box!

Sigh!

Think Mum will ever let me rule the roost???

Keep blogging...and thank you for caring too!!
Musole.

In 1996, when Mum was still a tobacco farmer in Raffingora, two little kittens were born in the linen cupboard in her house on the farm. Spot and Ginger soon took over the house and made it their playground. As the years went by and they watched Mum walk to the barns to check the Tobacco curing at night, they slowly became brave enough to wonder down to the barns with her on her daily rounds. They loved each other dearly and were inseparable. In 2002 when Mum was forcibly removed from her farm and had to leave with only the clothes she was wearing and the truck she was driving, the cats as well as all the other animals had to stay behind. For months Mum tried to get back to her farm but eventually realised that it was not going to be possible and so she settled into a little house in Harare where she went about trying to build a life again. She started from scratch again...pots, pans, plates, linen, furniture...all these things had to be found and put into her new home. On many occasions Mum would think...ok, I have got....and then remember...

As soon as she was able to do so, Mum arranged for a friend to go onto her farm and rescue her dogs and cats.....Le Chat had gone bush and was not to be found, but Spot, Ginger, and Mouse were still roaming around the house, where some staff were trying to keep them fed. The four dogs too, were foraging and were found and loaded onto the truck for trans-location to their new home in the suburbs of Harare.

Mum says she will be back... its a long story.
Lots of love
Musole.

My very precious old friend...who has been around since I was born 2 years ago on 1 October, is getting very frail. Mum seems to have got wrapped up in caring for him, taking us for walks, getting the accounts done, making strawberry jam with the fruit that just doesn't seem to stop appearing at the back door. We have had sheep to slaughter, goats to slaughter, animals to take care of... phew the list seems to grow.

And then we have had a really exciting week!! 12 Baby ducklings and 2 baby goslings...oh soooooo tempting! Mum has to keep reminding me that they are "out of bounds, Musole" sigh!

The gardener, Peter, broke his leg last week ofloading maize from a big truck onto a trailer. So lucky we had Michael here! He splinted his leg and rushed Peter off to the Parirenyatwa Hospital where the doctor was able to see him and put the leg in plaster. With Doctor's strikes, no medicines available, shortages of electricity and food... Mum was really worried that he would not get the treatment he should.

Its weekend again and Mum has promised to take photos of us pets and the flowers. So here's hoping we will get more on line again.

And then she says she is wanting to add some pictures of Ginger, her cat and my not so friend, who sadly dies at the beginning of the month. Mum misses him madly but I will leave her to tell you all about him this weekend...

Till then, have a lovely weekend!
Musole!

Side tracked!! That's what happened!!

Hey guys...I was looking through my pictures this morning and found one of the Old Man and Alex stalking a duck on the lawn!! They kept missing the ducks though and so I had to teach them that the easiest way to find food was to find the ducks sitting on eggs. Mum was NOT impressed!

Stella, my love, that was Cody relaxing on Mum's couch...he is old so she lets him sleep there!! Sometimes Cody jumps over the varandah wall just to prove he is not old. He strolls up the hill to the office with Mum every day just to "keep fit" but also to body guard her.

Cody tells me its not easy getting old! I think he is doing pretty well for "old"!!!!

Take care and have a lovely day!!
Musole

Hello all... Wonder who has looked outside at the evening sky and noticed that we are two days off full moon? Its a beautiful big almost round ball in the sky as evening rolls on and of course, I like to stand on the back varandah (stoep in Southern Africa) and talk to the moon, loudly with my deep bark.

I'm in really deep trouble with my mum at the moment cause I got angry with her for reprimanding me for chasing a man on a bicycle and watching him wobble off it as I gently rearranged his trousers....Mum's hand is sore and my bottom is also sore.

So....enough of that and lets talk about the grumpy old man instead. No, Not our esteemed President. I mean Cody! He really is getting very old. His ribs have begun to show and the big cancer growth on his throat is getting really bad. Its not easy in Africa to just fix these things and Mum has decided to just let him be. He is, after all, over 14 years of age.

Misty moo really thinks she is a human being...she tries to get into Mum's car to travel where ever Mum goes. She is nosey...well...she wants to know everything she can wherever they go. Mum has to keep calling her to come back instead of exploring too far.

But here she is sleeping...

I'll have some pictures of Cody next. He is a real old man. He does think though, that he is a 3 year old still sometimes when he jumps over a wall or runs up the hill after Mum.

Its so good to have time over the weekend to think and be and do... and of course have long walks with Mum!!!!

See you all this weekend guys!

Have fun.
Musole