The long weekend...

It's been a busy week and, despite last weekend having been a long one for Jake & I, I am really looking forward to this coming weekend.  We don't have anything planned and I'm quite excited to just relax and do what we want to, when we want.  I've had both book and dinner club this week and I am exhausted.

While we've been lucky with our weather this winter (the weather has really been gorgeous), today's cold and rainy, so I'm extra pleased that I can slob on the couch without feeling too guilty about it.  Jake does have a rugby festival tomorrow morning, which will be fun in the rain - the things we do for our kids.

Anyway, amidst the rain, here are some pics from our long weekend in the sun. 

Jake absolutely loves cherries.  They're so expensive at the moment, but it's worth every cent to watch him scoff down a whole bowl of them in 2 minutes...

Somewhere during his feeding frenzy, he realised that cherries are a little heart shaped.  Here, he's telling me he's love struck (with me, of course!)...

On Monday, Danie had to work, so I took Jake ice-skating.  It was tons of fun and Jake had a ball.  We laughed from the minute we got on the ice. I was very unsteady; I haven't skated since I was a kid and falling's a little more daunting these days.  And it didn't help having Jake cling to me every time we moved away from the railings.  I was VERY stiff the next day, but we'll definitely go again, it was a good laugh watching Jake wobble and fall everywhere.  At least he could laugh at himself!

On Tuesday (public holiday), we hooked up with Rosanne and Gareth and went through to Spier for lunch.  The weather was glorious and it was wonderful to sit in the sun.  Unfortunately, the picnic site is not running properly due to renovations, but it meant going to the hotel for lunch. YUM!

They have a bird sanctuary, which I'd promised Jake we could go to.  He was totally amazed to be able to touch various owls and even hold some.

The guide was getting these little barn owls to dance to music on his cell phone.  Very cute how they rocked from side to side as soon as the music started...

Snoozing barn owl...

All of the birds are rescued for various reasons.  Many are rehabilitated to be released back into the wild, however some have been so badly injured, release is impossible.  This beautiful Fish Eagle has only one eye.  Another Martial Eagle has had to have her wing amputated.  Fortunately, in the case of the Martial Eagle, she will be used for breeding in an attempt to help raise the species diminishing numbers...

This Martial Eagle was in good condition - the injured one was behind a fence, so I didn't get a great shot of it.  They are magnificent...

 

 Next up were the Spotted Eagle Owls, which we were allowed to hold.  We managed to get this one onto Jake's head for a moment...

We couldn't get this guy off Danie's head.  His name was Craig...

Jake loved it and we managed to draw quite a crowd on the other side of the fence...

This Cape Vulture seemed to be trying to escape, but apparently often sticks his head out from under his cage to catch some extra sun.  His neck's supposed to look like that...

We saw them feeding this secretary bird too.  Her left leg was broken previously, and she'd been badly taken care of.  She's not as big as most of her kind, but it was great to see how they kick to kill prey.  There are still plenty of these gorgeous birds in the wild...

Next up was the cheetah enclosure.  Jake's been dying to go; I just wasn't brave enough to let him go on his own.  This is Pedro.  They have 6 cheetah for encounters at Spier (out of 19 on the premises) and only allow males to be part of this programme.  They're apparently less temperamental than the females.  Pedro was beautiful and it was amazing to be able to get up close and personal with such an incredible creature, even if it wasn't in the wild.  We had to pay to go in and they have very strict rules about where you can stand in relation to the cheetah.  Unfortunately, the rules meant that we weren't allowed to walk around freely to take photos and the guide actually insisted on taking all the pictures for me.  He did OK, I just wanted him to take a hundred more...

Anyway, home time for me.  Let the weekend begin!  Hope it is a good one for you all.

Love Sue XXX