Leopard Hills, Sabi Sands, South Africa — October, 2015

[Atravelynn]

 

You are most welcome. Interesting that a famous artist has crept into your commentary. I had already decided that one would be integral to my next trip report. You know what they say about great minds....

 

I also noted your reference to music. We've got a Humanities course of study in a safari report!

 

 

~ @@Atravelynn

 

My career and livelihood has been predicated on science.

In off-hours, the life sciences have been enriched by the musical and visual arts.

While I watch neither television nor films, watercolors, oil paintings, paper cut-outs, pastels, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, glass and dance have been integral parts of my life for decades.

While I no longer perform — I once played French horn The French Horn! Who knew! in a high school orchestra — jazz vocals, instrumental jazz, bossa-nova, Western classical music, black gospel music, hymns, and Asian stringed instrument music have long delighted me. Too bad you are not able to post youtubes because you could croon a little jazz behind your images.

When out on safari, and when later thinking about safaris past, the arts are effective metaphors for expressing what I feel.

I'm not at all interested in economics or political affairs of any sort. What captures my attention are the interpretive arts, mediating human experience to share with others what has been intensely felt. Ironically, politics and economics can influence art through censorship or patronage.

Oil painters Paul Klee, Frans Hals, Titian, El Greco, Canaletto, Édouard Manet, Hokusai, Paul Gauguin, Albrecht Dürer and Paul Cezanne were masters whose talent continues to inspire.

It will be great fun to read a trip report with an artist tie-in! Thanks!

Thank you for your kind comment.

Tom K.

 

[Tom Kellie]

 

Ironically, politics and economics can influence art through censorship or patronage.

 

~ @@Atravelynn

 

True enough, especially where I work and live.

Life being brief, with free time at a premium, I've opted for four decades to leave politics and economics to those who ardently care about such.

My limited available waking hours have been enriched through enjoying the nexus of the arts and the life sciences.

There's an ample supply of partisans of this or that political or economic strand. They're more than welcome to that.

There's other tunes I hear, to which my heart responds.

I've never regretted my choice, which has resulted in a satisfying career and substantial happiness.

Matisse and Mozart in the savanna, anyone?

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

The two leg bones lay side-by-side,

Their bleached calcium prominent.

How long since the old giraffe died,

Leaving bones as its monument?

Bleached Giraffe Bones

Calcium Sticks

[Tom Kellie]

It's Varanus albigularus,

A white-throated monitor on a tree.

If seen late at night it might scare us,

Yet its truly peaceful as it could be.

Beaded Scales

White-throated Monitor on a Tree Trunk

Varanus albigularus

[elefromoz]

@@Tom Kellie, #642, another pretty tree lined sand track, lovely

[Tom Kellie]

@@Tom Kellie, #642, another pretty tree lined sand track, lovely

 

 

~ @@elefromoz

 

You noticed!

I'm glad. I feel the same way.

You understand what much of the appeal Sabi Sands has for me.

Thank you.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

Xikavi alone, without any other,

Her bold rosettes seem close enough to touch.

She has a tiny cub, is a new mother,

Nursing, cleaning, protecting it and such.

Leopard Rosettes

Xikavi As We Found Her

Female Leopard's Neck

Leopard Ears

[Lala]

Sigh...

You set the bar really really high, @@Tom Kellie - you and so many other STers are really really good photographers...

I'm beside myself with anticipation for the November safari - my Quest - elephants and so much more. I'll be the "leader" of what promises to be a group of first-timers to Kenya... That alone will be fun. I intend to try to get some pix of them - so that they have reminders, after they're home for enough time that they're back in their own comfort zones, of what it was like to live the magic of Africa...

 

All this SafariTalk whets the imagination and the appetite for getting back there...

: )

 

 

 

 

Edited: because I just learned that hitting return for new 'graph reverts font to original and I like to use bigger font because I too have one 20-200 eye and one wonky, legally blind one

Edited April 6, 2016 by Lala

[Tom Kellie]

~ @@Lala

 

Thank you so much!

Wildlife photography, as with writing, is a piece-by-piece process.

The more one practices, the more confident one becomes.

Your upcoming Kenya trip sounds very fun!

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

Xikavi, may this portrait bring your name,

To those who've yet to meet you, face-to-face.

Your beauty surely merits widespread fame,

Of the sort which hoary time can't efface.

Xikavi

[Tom Kellie]

“Too close, too close for comfort”,

An old jazz tune maintains.

Resting there on leaf-strewn dirt,

Her coat clean, without stains.

Drowsiness in Action

We All Have Our Moments

Linear Algebra

Aerodynamic

Worth Another Look

Wynken, Blynken and Nod

[Tom Kellie]

A leopard needs no four-poster bed,

With Egyptian cotton high thread count,

Sheets and pillow case and such, instead,

Shade and safety in ample amount.

Where Xikavi Rested

[TonyQ]

@@Tom Kellie

That is one very beautiful leopard! Cats have a special way of doing "drowsiness"

[Atravelynn]

Great leopard series!

[Tom Kellie]

Why not a bit of yawning,

Followed by a careful cleaning?
For a new day is dawning,
One might need a little preening.

Natural Selection's Inventiveness

It's a Warm Morning

“Lasciate Ogni Speranza, Voi Ch'entrate”

Chops

Grooming

Sun-dappled

Intangible

Mother's Break

Sultry

 

[Tom Kellie]

@@Tom Kellie

That is one very beautiful leopard! Cats have a special way of doing "drowsiness"

 

 

~ @@TonyQ

 

Thank you so much!

Cats do, don't they?

They seem relatively unconcerned about potential threats when they're drowsy.

It may be apparent that yours truly enjoyed photographing Xikavi.

Tom K.

[Tom Kellie]

Great leopard series!

 

~ @@Atravelynn

 

Thank you!

The time spent observing Xikavi at close range was tranquil and unhurried.

One of the finest hours in all of my safaris.

Her calm, unconcerned appearance reassured me that we weren't unduly intruding on her rest time, away from her cub.

Tom K.

[michael-ibk]

Wow, now that's a beautiful Leopard series! Great sighting,Tom.

[Marks]

I got a big smile from the "we all have our moments" photo.

[Atravelynn]

 

Great leopard series!

 

~ @@Atravelynn

 

Thank you!

The time spent observing Xikavi at close range was tranquil and unhurried.

One of the finest hours in all of my safaris. A finest hour! Now that's saying something--or poetically crafting something!

Her calm, unconcerned appearance reassured me that we weren't unduly intruding on her rest time, away from her cub.

Tom K.

 

[Kitsafari]

a stunning leopard. she's got a broken canine in her lower jaw, but i'm sure presents no problem in her feeding!

[Tom Kellie]

Pardus Regina, Leopard Queen,

Whose beauty is beyond compare,

Loveliest leopard that I've seen,

Whose image I'm so pleased to share.

Unforgettable

No Spot Remover Required

Pardus Regina

Ephemeral Moment

Textured Tongue

Morning Toilet

[Tom Kellie]

At last it's over and she goes,

Strolling away on her padded feet,
Her destination no one knows,
I feel fortunate that we could meet.

Xikavi's Departure

Regal Farewell

Rosettes Aplenty

Signature White Tail

A Full-throated Neck

Slow, Graceful Walk

Not Running, But Strolling

Peaceful Retreat

Final Glimpse

 

[Tom Kellie]

A silhouette flashing past,

An unknown bird flying on.

It goes on its way so fast,

That it's here but then it's gone.

Bird of Passage

[Tom Kellie]

Wow, now that's a beautiful Leopard series! Great sighting,Tom.

 

 

~ @@michael-ibk

 

Thank you!

There've been a number of leopard sightings during both Kenya and South Africa safaris.

None were as intimate as this one, under nearly ideal conditions.

Tom K.