Welcome to Thursday Doors, a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing your link in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time). You can join in here: https://nofacilities.com/2022/04/28/cheney-brothers-silk-mill-1/

Last weekend, my family took a short mini-break to Ukutula Conservation Centre in Brits, North West Province. At this centre they do research relating mainly lions and cheetahs in order to ensure the preservation of these wonderful animals going forward. The centre is doing artificial insemination of lionesses using sperm from African lions all over the world. This is to ensure a diversified gene pool and prevent genetic physical defects resulting from inbreeding. There is also a facility at the centre to store eggs and sperm from lions and other wild cats.

There are only 20,000 lions left in the wild in Africa and 50,000 is considered to be the minimum number to ensure the survival of a species. To add to the threats posed to lions in the wild from loss of habitat and poaching, the lion population in South Africa’s Kruger National Park is being further impacted by rising cases of tuberculosis. There is currently no cure and no preventative vaccination and Ukutula is one of the research centres working hard to change this position and protect our lion populations. You can read more about tuberculosis among lions here: https://www.awf.org/news/tuberculosis-imperils-lions-kruger-park

Here are a few pictures of some of the doors at the lodge.

It looks peaceful, but it isn’t.

You can hear the sounds of the bush here – Lion melody

As I mentioned, the centre is mainly for lions and cheetahs, but it also has a lot of rescue animals. These tigers are an example of rescues. Unfortunately, the tigers have limited space, but they are not natural to Africa and they are very unpredictable and aggressive. I wrote a poem about the tigers in my favourite 99-syllable form. It was one of 7 I wrote over the weekend.

Confessions of a tiger

Africa’s not my home

I don’t belong here

I was entertainment for a wealthy man

With no common sense

Who tired of me

***

I cannot be tamed

Or made to do tricks

I’m unreliable even when trained

If my instincts kick in

I will turn on you

***

At least he realised

I would never fit

He asked the sanctuary to collect me

It sees to all my needs

And I have a mate

By Robbie Cheadle

***

I also got to walk with the baby cheetahs.

I petted one for about 3 seconds

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/1qqFqMdO4hg

You can see the cheetahs walking here:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eIyqXolr7iY

We saw three rescue baby leopards. This pictures is also through the links.

I filmed a baby leopard’s first encounter with a spider, so cute:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PkeZNw15ciI

Welcome to Thursday Doors, a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing your link in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time). You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2022/04/21/two-mills-then-now/

During our recent road trip, we visited the Tsitsikamma National Park.

This is how Trip Advisor describes this wonderful national treasure:

Trails, waterfalls, and wildlife draw visitors to lush Tsitsikamma National Park. Set along South Africa’s scenic Garden Route and spanning 50 miles (80 kilometers) of coastline, the park stretches from the mouth of the Storms River to Nature’s Valley. Embark on various adventures here, from a multi-day hike along the Otter Trail to one of the world’s highest bungee jumps.

You can read a little more about it here: https://www.viator.com/Garden-Route-attractions/Tsitsikamma-National-Park/overview/d5613-a17271#overview

The pictures below are of the scenery on our walk to the suspension bridge across Storms River Mouth.

Here are a few pictures of the suspension bridge across Storms River Mouth.

This week’s Tanka Tuesday Poetry challenge explores Ekphrastic poetry, inspired by visual art or photographs. You can join in here: https://wordcraftpoetry.com/2022/04/19/tankatuesday-poetry-challenge-no-270-photoprompt/

This photograph of dolphins seemed to go with my ocean pictures:

Dolphin dues

From the glittering depths

Of the great ocean

Sleek, grey dolphins launch themselves into the air

do a backflip, then slide

down beneath the waves

***

Know for their friendliness

and permanent smiles

These graceful creatures extend help to others

The members of their pod

and even humans

***

What help can we extend

to balance the scales

Dolphins are susceptible to pollution

Reduce your plastic waste

Keep our oceans clean

I will be on a mini road trip until Tuesday so I won’t be around as much as usual.

I love reading about war. Any war is interesting to me and I have read a number of famous war novels over the fast two years including All Quiet on the Western Front, Testament of Youth, A Farewell to Arms, Regeneration, and To The Last Man (WW1), The Red Badge of Courage and Gone with the Wind (American Civil War), A Gentleman in Moscow (Russian Revolution), and For Whom the Bell Tolls (Spanish Revolution). I have over half way through War and Peace but Natasha’s story started irritating me so I put it aside. I will go back to it as I must know what happens when Napoleon attacks Moscow. I am currently reading Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (WW2). I have, of course, read many books about WW2 and I’ve even written one, but that was not in the past two years. I have also read a few books about South African Wars but most of those are non-fiction.

Anyhow, I was reflecting on war recently, possibly because of the war in Ukraine, and thinking that many of our modern battles are not against other nations but rather against more insidious and creeping problems like overpopulation, pollution and global warming both contributed to be consumerism and ultimately greed. I decided it would be interesting to share two poems, one that highlights the horror of battle during WW1 and one that reflects on this creeping change that haunts our modern society.

Here is my recital of The Anxious Dead by John McCrae:

The next poem, is one of my own from my poetry collection, co-authored with Kim Blades, called Open a new door. It’s called The Corporate Giant:

Our modern battles don’t seem so obviously harmful, but given the heat waves, heat domes, cold waves, firestorms, and flooding the world has been experiencing over the past two years, I’m becoming less convinced we are not heading for a situation that is equally devastating.

I have six poems in a new poetry anthology called Poetry Treasures 2: Relationships.

Available here: https://www.amazon.com/Poetry-Treasures-Kaye-Lynne-Booth-ebook/dp/B09XJ76MHV

Welcome to Thursday Doors, a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing your link in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time). You can join in Thursday Doors here:

Tomorrow is Good Friday which is an important religious holiday for Christians around the world. Good Friday is followed by Easter Sunday, a day of celebration and joy.

In celebration of Easter, I am sharing my chocolate Easter Swiss Chalet. Please note, it has a door, actually, it has two as there is a similar door at the back of the structure.

If you are interested in enjoying a sweet Easter tale that showcases my fondant and cake artwork, you can read Sir Chocolate Saves Easter here: https://writingtoberead.com/2022/04/13/growing-bookworms-sir-chocolate-saves-easter-sirchocolatestory-childrensfiction/

Welcome to Thursday Doors, a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing your link in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time).

Today I am combining to weekly challenges, namely, Thursday Doors hosted by Dan Antion here: https://nofacilities.com/2022/04/07/random-hartford-doors/ and Word Craft Poetry #TankaTuesday here: https://wordcraftpoetry.com/2022/04/05/tankatuesday-weekly-poetry-challenge-no-268-4-5-22-tastetherainbow-color-poetry/

During our recent road trip, we visited the Birds of Eden bird sanctuary in Plettenberg Bay. This is what the website says about the bird sanctuary:

“Birds of Eden’s unique two hectare dome (the world’s largest) spans over a gorge of indigenous forest. Currently it is home to over 3,500 birds from over 220 species, with the main focus being African birds.”

You can learn more about Birds of Eden here: https://www.birdsofeden.co.za/

We saw some amazing birds. Here are a few:

This waddling goose made me laugh:

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/9MafLaAw36s

Red Ibis at birds of Eden:

Taste the Rainbow poetry challenge

Taste the Rainbow refers to colors. You do not have to write about a rainbow in your poem. Just include a color in your poem. 

My tanka is a little sad but it ends on a positive note.

How tragic the youth

Moulded by chronic ill health

Tinged purple by pain

Shadowed by anxiety

Still, his silver lining shines

by Robbie Cheadle

Welcome to Thursday Doors, a weekly feature allowing door lovers to come together to admire and share their favorite door photos from around the world. Feel free to join in on the fun by creating your own Thursday Doors post each week and then sharing your link in the comments below, anytime between 12:01 am Thursday morning and Saturday noon (North American eastern time).

You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2022/03/31/frog-hollow-wrap-announcement/

During our road trip in January we travelled from Knysna over the Outenique Mountains to the town of Oudtshoorn.

We passed through the town of Oudtshoorn. Oudtshoorn boasts 8 churches for its population of 92,000 people.

We visited the famous Cango Caves.

A few pictures from inside the Cango Caves:

The pictures really don’t do justice to the formations.

Have a wonderful weekend.

WATCH RWISA WRITE Anthology 2022 : Life Is But A Rose Garden

What Amazon says

If you have ever heard of the organization, RWISA, then you know that it is home to an elite and exceptional group of writers; writers who care deeply about the quality of the work they share with the world, and writers who polish before they publish. That’s RWISA! RWISA writers have the artistic ability to convey information in a flowing and compelling manner, that keeps readers engaged and wanting more and more.

My review

Watch RWISA Write is a great collection of short stories, poems, and non-fiction insights into life during the Covid-19 pandemic as well as other interesting life experiences by the authors.

Harriet Hodgeson has a wonderful collection of six contributions all of which are meaningful and moving non-fiction pieces. The one that I related to the most was Grandma on duty in which she depicts all the various “duties” she undertakes, or roles she plays, as a grandmother. Harriet explains how her experiences in life have helped her continue to make meaningful contributions to society and her family, and to keep growing as a person.

John Fioravanti includes interesting pieces about three excellent quotes, his interpretation of their meaning, and how he applies this understanding to his own life.

Karen Black shares her thoughts and experiences during the past two years of Covid-19 and a frightening short story about a couple who meddle with forces they don’t understand.

Linda Mims has two lovely contributions including a beautiful story about a mother coming to terms with the loss of her chronically ill daughter through interacting with the children in the class her daughter taught.

There are three pieces contributed by Linnea Tanner, a poem, a short story and a non-fiction discussion about how the pandemic and other events over the past two years have influenced her life and her writing. I related strongly to this piece and I think all readers will as none of us have come through the past few years unchanged.

Lisa Kirazian’s piece is a joyous and uplifting commentary about the real meaning of life.

Maura Beth Brennan shares memories of her mother and the things she misses the most about her. A sad but beautiful article.

In true Nonnie style, the poems and pieces contributed by the President of RRBC and RWISA focus on other people and how various circumstances and events have impacted on their lives. Nonnie’s pieces are windows into the human experience and people’s reactions to adversity.

Pat Garcia shares three lovely short stories and a personal piece about Covid-19. My favourite of Pat’s pieces was The Red Wheelbarrow. I loved the development of her character, Jonathan, and the character growth she depicted beautifully through carefully selected words.

PTL Perrin has two lovely pieces featured. My favourite was her poignant story about a grandmother’s last hours with her granddaughter and how her influence extends beyond the grave and influences her granddaughter’s life for the better.

Yvette M. Calleiro reveals her beautiful and caring soul through her delightful observations about the world around her and her personal growth expressed as freestyle poems.

Watch RWISA Writes is a super collection and has something for every reader to enjoy. 

Purchase WATCH RWISA WRITE Anthology 2022 : “Life Is But A Rose Garden”

Amazon US

The Road to Nowhere: A Short Story

What Amazon says

Friends, Steve, Everett, and Reed, are traveling to a lake resort to celebrate Everett’s upcoming wedding when their van breaks down in the middle of nowhere. When they find an old farmhouse, they discover the elderly couple, Aggie and Morty, aren’t as hospitable as they initially thought and find themselves subject to the sadistic and cannibalistic pair. Aggie and Morty will be eating well unless Steve, Everett, and Reed can escape the farmhouse.

My review

I must say right up front that while I really enjoyed this story, it is horror and would not suit all tastes. There are a few scenes that are quite graphically violent and brutal.

Three young male friends are on a road trip when their van breaks down. The trio soon realise they have taken a wrong turn and are lost in a rural and unfamiliar place. They are the sort of youngers that offend old-fashioned and conservative elderly people due to the swear words that liberally sprinkle their speech and the tattoos and pumped up muscles they sport. One of them is gay.

Abandoning their car, they set off in search of a ramshackled house they’d passed earlier in the afternoon. The house is inhabited by two creepy old people who do not own a car or have a working phone. They offer the men a meal and to spend the night as it is now dark and there is no help to be had until the morning. Against their instincts the three accept the invitation.

There are a few hints that the couple are not what they seem. A few well chosen words such as “”There’s always room for one more.” She patted her belly through her yellow floral housecoat” and “His gaze settled on each of them, intensely looking them over as though he were attempting to guess their weight or age like the geeks do at a carnival.”

Of course, everything starts to go a little pear-shaped, and one of the youngers ends up dead. The remaining two must try to escape if they want to see the sun rise.

This is an entertaining and well told horror story that will appeal to readers who enjoy books like Stephen King’s The Raft.

Purchase The Road to Nowhere: A Short Story by Charles W. Jones

Amazon US