There isn't much to do on a Sunday on the Ranch. I don't have access to any vehicles during the week. So Sunday's are when I drag JB out to try and do a spot of photography. Today we went checking on the firebreaks...

Gabon........ The land of the hiding sun........

We will always find hope in reaching upwards.......for light, for growth, for help, for praise.....

Branded....

Branded to say I belong to Him,

Branded to wear the scar,

Branded for identity and for all eternity!

Cattle branding on the Ranch...

People are like grass, their beauty like a flower in the field, the grass withers and the flowers fade... 1 Peter 1:24

Aren't these Cameroonian Zebu 9 month old calves so beautiful? A cow with freckles...

"Prince Panther Teeth"

Whilst passing this chap on the road, I noticed his choker of teeth, so stopped to him ask him which animal were they from.  He said the Panther Madam. I know we have them on the Ranch, as when I go for my daily walk, I see their fresh faeces in the same vicinity every day.....Here is a write up about them, The African Golden Cat....  They are quite shy, and illusive, so I doubt I will be able to see them....

Those "dark clouds" make the colours of our life so much more vibrant!

5000 head of cattle on 100 000 hectares and needing to build up to 20 000 head in the next few years.....

Yes Jean-Bernard has a huge task on his hands, but he loves cattle...  Here are a few Zebu bulls....

The road less travelled.........

Stag Horn Ferns for free...

They grow in the wild here.........

All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen...... Ralph Waldo Emerson

Nyanga River, Gabon....  The view from our home...

The Sahel horses..........

A little history from where these "tough" and "hardy" Ranch horses originate from....
The SAHEL REGION is a belt of up to 1,000km wide that spans the 5,400 km in Africa, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea...

"The wealth of the States came from controlling the trade routes across the desert. Their power came from having large pack animals like camels and horses that were fast enough to keep a large empire under central control and were also useful in battle.  The Sahel states were limited from expanding South in the Forest Zone of the Ashanti and Yoruba as mounted warriors were all useless in the forests and the horses and camels could not survive the heat and diseases of the region." ( yes, ask me about it!)

These lovely friendly Ranch horses came from the North Cameroon area of the Sahel region and have adapted well.

And here is another link written by someone who lived in this area and owned 2 horses
https://chocolatnegro.wordpress.com/2012/03/21/the-horse-of-the-sahel/

It's been a week of finding "different" plants..................

We took another "exploratory drive" today being Sunday........ We have so much to discover on 100 000 hectares of "bush" that is so alien to us....... Found another scrubby looking bush, I won't call it a tree, as doesn't seem to get too tall, covered in these fruits which just want to make you bite into them.  The birds had already been having a feast, so am sure its safe to munch on, but I had better wait for the ok!  The fruit reminds me so much of the "custard apple" Cherimoya Fruit  or the "ox heart"  Annon reticulate which we know..... What do you think......

Intoxicating Mango............

Wish we could share mango's with you all.... we have baskets of them!  The intoxicating smell and tantalising taste sensation, doesn't just draw the human's but the monkeys and elephants too, therefore we have to pick them green........wherever you go on this Ranch, even in places people don't dare tread, there are mango trees, the wonderful Gabon Forest Elephant spreads them everywhere.... and I'm so thankful!

Amazing what one finds whilst walking.......

So many things are missed whilst rushing past in a vehicle........
I walk this route daily and due to a shower of rain yesterday, look what I found.
The closest plant nursery is in Libreville, a 12 hour drive away, so guess what I dug up today to fill  empty spaces....... Anyone know what they are?

Granadilla like flower in the wild........

When JB has an opportunity to leave his office and visit one of the many different cattle camps on the ranch, I grab my camera and jump at the chance........  This morning whilst he was busy looking at the new calves, I wondered off to explore.
 Everything is so different to the "Africa I know", plants, trees, birds, animals, even different parasites in the flowing rivers, people and of course, the language.  It's all very "alien" to me......
I came across this creeper on the ground, with a flower so similar (but smaller) to the ordinary granadilla.  They told me they eat the fruit, which is similar to a gooseberry.

I have a common granadilla growing on our fence and its flowering right now, so took a quick snap of the flower just after a shower of rain.....

These awful green grasshoppers are eating my vegetable seedlings as they pop out of the ground....

Whilst walking this morning

I dug these seeds out of an elephant dung lying on the road and threw them in my pocket, not sure what tree they belong to but love their singing faces! 

His perspective not my own.....

God views things through a "wide angle lens". He takes a wide sweeping view, though we tend to be limited and view life through our "macro" lens, up close and at oft times, greatly exaggerated.

All the struggles of this life have to be seen in terms of eternity.... God takes the long view!

Thankyou Lord that in the midst of my ups and downs I can trust your perspective and plan for my life.

...
Had to climb a very rocky outcrop to get this view of the road leading to the work area, Nyanga Ranch.  Its cloudy most of the time so it quite hard to get a "light" pic....

Pointed to the lens at my feet .... rocks everywhere.......

We have a lovely Catholic Church built on a hill overlooking a small part of the ranch....

It was beautifully built by a local chap who is still employed by the company.  He did all the carpentry (using beautiful hard woods, which there is plenty of ) and the building.  I have added a lot of pics onto this post as just want to show you a close up of all the art, painted by a local artist that adorns the walls of the church.... The artwork so depicts life in this area......