Welcome to my 2014 blogs! My last few blogs had over 1,450 hits! Wow.. that is up from about 43 hits when I started this blog. See me on facebook (Jackie Asheeke.) All comments are welcome.
Rain, Rain go away, little Jackie wants to play! In Namibia, we don't sing that child's poem like we used to do back in the States. We LOVE rain here and I have learned to greatly appreciate it too. I pray for more.
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| My husband says this is a traditional veggie for his people; for me it's a weed. |
Right now it is rainy season here in Namibia and that means green grass and the budding of all kinds of dormant seeds that were sleeping during the dry season.
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| These sort of 'jade' plants hold their own water and do well in dry or rainy times. They are lovely! |
Don't you just love going to bed at night, snug and warm in your comforters and you hear the pitter-patter of the rain on the roof and the rain hit the windows as the wind blows it around?
While I love that comforting part of hearing water fall, I say a little prayer for all of those without proper shelter during the rain. For them, it is certainly no wonderful thing to have rain beating down on a tin shack with a leaky roof. The mud floors and roadways of the poorer townships in Namibia is not wonderful at all.
Namibia is a low rainfall country. Dunes like this one are more typical in some areas. These areas by the coast of Namibia get a moist 'fog' that comes in every dawn off the waters of the south Atlantic. There is no normal rainfall here.
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| Taken by my friend Paul van Schalkwyk, the greatest artistic photographer I know. Google him for his contact info and buy a print of his shots! |
Tourism helps provide jobs for many in Namibia. Over 74,000 jobs directly and indirectly are owed to the 1.2 million leisure tourists that visit Namibia! When you come to visit, not only will you have a GREAT, world-class exciting holiday experience, you will be helping to empower rural black Namibians.
We had a bit of a snafu in that everyone (including me!) was calling this a drought year because of low and no rainfall in various parts of the country. Indeed, areas all around the country had dead crops, dying cattle and other misfortunes. "Drought" aid flowed in and food products were given out in those affected areas.
In fact, friends of mine who are experts in the climate control field have informed me that this is a NORMAL year for a semi-arid country like Namibia. It is just that we have had GREAT and HIGH rains for the last several years and people got to thinking that the exception was the rule.
Upon returning to Namibia from holiday in Delaware, USA, I found that my two tortoises, whom my daughter Martha named 'Dave' and 'Steve', were actually 'Dave' and 'Stella!"
Now, there are little turtle babies in my garden!
Enjoy the turtle and garden photos. The babies are tiny. But, its amazing, because they are miniature models of their much larger parents.
I took a shot of the little one with my hand to give you a perspective of just how tiny these guys are! I have to get someone over here to give me more information on these naturally Namibian tortoises so I can make sure I know how to care for them properly.
Is that little sweetie not cute?
Please, when you come on holiday to Namibia, tell'em, Jackie sent ya!
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| Doesn't that flower look like a drop-out from the movie "Invasion of the Body Snatchers?" It is actually a cactus flower that popped out after some heavy rains last week. |
Book your Namibian holiday stay at any of the lodges in the Gondwana Desert Collection. Google them and get booking info. They have great prices and prime locations. Also, my good friend Manni runs Gondwana and he does things right!
