This morning we were treated to another stunning sighting of mommy and her 2 owlets out in the open
Botswana, Letlhakane Camping – The Plot
Our campsite just outside Letlhakane, Botswana
-
Owl Update
We have been getting daily sightings of the owls, somedays just one visible and other days more. They are living in very dense trees and with their camouflage they can be difficult to find.
People visiting The Plot are delighted to get a view of them. The picture below was taken by a French visitor.
We are just so privileged to have them on our land, here in Letlhakane.
Stretching their wings
Every year a Spotted Eagle-owl pair nest in the same Purple-pod Cluster-Leaf tree about 60m from our house. A couple mate for life but they don’t actually make a nest, they just find a suitable place in a big tree to lay their eggs.
Many years back we rescued a Spotted Eagle-owl that had been hit by a car and when it had recovered we released it here at The Plot. Wouldn’t it be amazing if it was the same one. See https://ourbots.wordpress.com/2016/04/11/snippets-8/
For the last month they have been very vocal, and a few days back Sue got sight of one flying, before it disappeared.
This morning, I noticed something strange on a corner post of our goat enclosure, I soon realised that it had to be an owl. Sue came running with the binoculars and too our delight we saw 2 owlets and probably mommy sitting above them.
Sorry about the quality of the pic, but how awesome is that. We are just so lucky and very privileged.
The Bloom of Death
Gardening in a desert is really tough work. We go to great lengths looking after every plant that we have introduced
There are just so many factors working against us: the heat, poor soil, termites and ants, insects, birds, etc, etc. But when mother nature throws you a further curved ball it almost feels like the final nail in the coffin.
For this beautiful aloe, known as a Century Plant or Parry’s Algave, death is a certainty unfortunately after seeding.
The flowering stalk has taken over five months to develop and tower way above the plant and even the trees we have nearby.
The spectacular yellow flowers, which become the seeds, really stands out, especially at this time of year when everything is drab.
It also attracts many of our array of birds we find here at The Plot. Either by the flower’s nectar, or the insects which are also attracted to it.
The plant undergoes a hormonal change to produce the seeds, and the energy needed to produce the seeds unfortunately is too much for the plant and it dies shortly after doing its duty as a mother.
We have already started collecting the seeds and distributing them all round The Plot and a lot at our campsite. This part of Letlhakane will hopefully be covered with a stunning yellow.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Camping Letlhakane, Campsite, Century Plant, Lethlakane, Parry's Algae, The Plot
3 Comments
First signs of summer
Here in Letlhakane, at The Plot , every small sign that summer is coming is most welcome. The biting, bitterly, chilly winds are being replaced by slightly warmer conditions. We aren’t out the woods yet, as we are sure there will be more cold times before we finally get rid of winter.
For some people that is shown by the return of yellow-billed kites, for me it is the flowering of the Dombeya rotundiflolia, the Common Wild Pear. Which is the first tree to flower each year, in spring.
With the thermometers now beginning to touch 30C (86F) it is still cool and another 10C will make life much more comfortable.
With the warming conditions so we are seeing a lot more bugs. The number of flies is on the increase and the odd mosquito irritates during the night. But unfortunately no dung beetles yet.
World Elephant Day
Yesterday, was World Elephant Day and the theme for this year celebrates the matriarch elephant. A matriarch elephant is the leader of the elephant family or herd. She is the oldest, most dominant female. Adult females work together to protect and bring up the babies and calves.
There is no better country to be in when celebrating this day as Botswana has the largest population of elephants in the world, with about 130,000 animals.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Botswana, Chobe National Park, elphant, World elephant day
2 Comments
A great memory for this weeks picture
This beautiful leopard was spotted in Orapa Game Park, which is only about 25km from us, here at The Plot.
Since moving into Letlhakane we have frequented the park on numerous occasions, and always have been rewarded by great game viewing. The diversity of game in a short period, adds to the overall experience.
A great place, for a day trip.
Posted in Uncategorized
Tagged Leopard botswana, Leopard Orapa Game Reserve, Orapa, Orrapa game park, The Plot
1 Comment
Time to offer a helping hand
Sorry to bore you with stories of our “grand kids”.
We have been monitoring the triplets since they were born, making sure they all got milk. The mother has done well, so far, but now we have that when the mother allows the kids to suckle just 2 were getting milk and it seemed that it was always the same one regularly missing out.
So to help the situation we are also bottle feeding that little one. However bottle feeding 3 kids at once is a bit tricky, as Sue found out, but managed by holding a bottle between her legs.
View the short video of this: https://youtube.com/shorts/J1OESngWoBE?si=KYsdOJcLeHD-uouI
Pete & Sue in Botswana 
