A lovely new surprise.

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A little bird warned me that somebody was stealing a granadilla from our garden fence.
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Some of you will remember that we had a big family of squirrels at our old house, but since we move here into the new place, no squirrels until today.

We had a big family of different wildlife that inhabited our garden at the old place, squirrels, geese, robins, thrushes, white-eyes, sunbirds, and even an occasional mongoose. The new place is much smaller with two tiny gardens, one at the front and one at the back, and we were hoping to get some wildlife here again.
Slow progress is being made, as you will see below.

Hey Zac! the little sunbird shouted, someone is stealing the granadillas.
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And there he was! A squirrel thief, and we were so happy to see him as it is a first.
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A brave guy, as after he scanned the area for predators, he plonked the granadilla down and started to eat it right here in front of us.
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Of course, he couldn't see me with the camera, but it was such fun to watch him and it brought back such great memories.
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We have always fed whatever has shown up at our door, be it human or animal. Hunger has no conditions, such as race, color, creed, or whatever, and it is up to each of us to do for others what we can. Millions of little children are starving over here and it is not fair to allow little children to go to bed hungry.
Just so it is with little animals, but fortunately nature always takes care of them. Sadly I cannot say the same for our human situation as nowadays it is everyone for themselves with no regards for the sufferings of others.
Be that as it may, we will always do what we can.

And That's All Friends.

Photos by Zac Smith-All Rights Reserved.

Camera: Canon Powershot SX70HS Bridge camera.

Thank you kindly for supporting a post on behalf of @papilloncharity

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116 comments
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Double collared sunbird sure would let you know, what a pretty warning mechanism you have there.

Duke the squirrel has arrived, yup I need to name one for you, so good to hear yourself and Marian are happily establishing yourselves in the new neighbourhood.

Too many children going to bed hungry, we put food out daily, in the blink of an eye it is all taken home, yes waste not want not!

Life is tough!

@tipu curate

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Glad to see that you know that little Sunbird Lady Joan and we will gladly name him little Duke.
It was so great to watch him getting that granadilla in the fence. Life goes on and all that we have to do is to flow with it. So yes, we are happy.

I know and it is a great worry for us. We heard that there is a new NPO in the township that has started a feeding project and we will go and investigate in the new week. I hope that they are not just another bunch of chancers as we have burned our fingers a few times by backing the wrong horse.

Life is tough indeed and thank you kindly for the tipu.

!PIZZA !LOLZ !LUV

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Well if Duke isn't Duke you can move to Duchess !LOLZ soon he will have Marian feeding peanuts...

I have a small sunbird flying around garden, think it is the Olive, trying to get clarification before posting. Our regular is White-breasted sunbird, every so often a different one may arrive.

Many more con-artists will come out the woodwork now, keep an eye and keep checking.

!PIZZA and !WINEX go down well for dinner.

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He was here again today raiding the granadilla fence, but still too young to see the gender.
Have a look and don't blush.

Oh I forget, you Durban chicks are tough birds and you don't blush anymore !LOLX

Yep, thankfully we know the beat and the first things that I ask for is to see the audited financials and the registration certificate. A case of don't tell me, show me.

!PIZZA
!WINEX

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Once tasty peanuts arrive granadilla will no longer be fruit of choice.

Good luck moving forward with NPO/NGO and squirrel, another new week and other work on my desk to attend to!

!BEER

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Hahaha, never saw truer words spoken!

Having severe plumbing problems to sort out and and spent the whole day chopping through walls and even ripped the shower floor out. Tomorrow and Wednesday will be the same.

!BEER

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Plumbing at the new home? That doesn't sound too good.

Hope your woes are overcome quickly so you are able to enjoy some time off.

!LUV

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Not good at all, especially as we were not informed about the problems. Prior to the transfer of a new home, one needs to receive 4 legal certificates of compliance and we only received two.
Electrical and plumbing was outstanding, as prior arrangements were made by the owners for the repairs to be done. They must have thought that it was only something small, but it is going to cost them a wallop of funds, as deeper defects were unearthed.

We were also not told that all of the interior was done with dry-walling. Or that the roof needed to be replaced.
Thankfully we have a good lawyer company that are handling everything.

!LUV.

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Absolute nightmare once you move in and realize people have not completed all the requirements, if it's a more modern home you can expect all kinds of weird and wonderful faults found hidden.

Lucky to have a lawyer handling on your behalf, although what has transpired it totally illegal to my understanding with my younger sister preparing her home to sell.

!WINEX
!LUV

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You can say that again Lady Joan and yes things are a bit tough, but we have much experience in climbing the mountains in life and slowly, slowly we will win.

We will have to wait and see what is going to happen as it is out of our hands for now. All that I know at this stage is that they are working on it.

!WINEX
!LUV

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Lovely cute thief I must say. You are really right, hunger can make an innocent person or animal become desperate and desperation can make one bad.

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Que ardilla tan hermosa desearía que llegasen a mi jardín😂, son tan encantadoras, que buena manera de recordar viejos tiempos con un agradable amiguito

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What a beautiful squirrel I wish they came to my garden😂, they are so lovely, what a good way to remember old times with a nice little friend.

This was what you said as I translated it into English.
Thank you and yes he indeed bring back many fond memories of the family of squirrels that we had before. Who knows, maybe we will have another family here in a while.
Blessings!

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Your new family is growing, Zac, the first squirrel is here and it will tell the others about a new place where they can live in peace.
Sadly, we have made this world as it is, but you two guys belong to the ones who take care of everyone, you give hope.

!WINE makes a delicious dinner with !PIZZA :)
!invest_vote

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I think that you know that I had the same thought Hannes, but I thought that somehow word would reach our squirrels at the old place.
Amazingly the squirrel was here again about an hour ago and look how cute.

A little youngster that is out on it's own.

Thank you for the kind words my friend, but we are only empty vessels that obey. It is the Spirit that flows through us to His glory.

Cheers and thanks.

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Good evening Zac,

I just wanted to let you know that I'm fine but I don't have a lot of time at the moment, but maybe I'll find a few minutes tomorrow to go online and catch up with my notifications here and on Twitter while I'm working another nightshift 😉

Yesterday and today I have been busy at work and then we drove to some car dealerships for my van - I just can't wait anymore because I'll be on holidays for a couple of weeks soon and don't want to spend them at home. In the evenings I have been too tired to turn the computer on.

I'm happy that the squirrel has come back and it's only the first one, I believe, and it's a very cute little guy 😊

Have a !PIZZA from me, served with !LUV and !WINE and !LOLZ
!invest_vote

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Good evening Hannes,

I have learned not to worry when you are absent as I know that you are busy with something. Be it work, or a trip somewhere. So now you are going to reply on your nightshift and lose more paid sleeping time.
I think that you should ask for a pay increase 🤣 !LOLZ

At last! How long have we been waiting for a van? So now you are going to put that want to bed by getting a van. Just be careful and don't get desperate to buy the first bargains that you see. Check that donkey out from headlight to tail light before you put in an offer. Look also at the spares prices list to compare which make of van have decent prices.
And finally don't buy a van that has a warranty, as you want a guaranteed van 😉

Sheesh, we see the squirrel every day now and Marian bought a packet of nuts today. Let's see what will happen 👍

Cheers and happy days are waiting for you!

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Good morning Zac,

that's good to hear because in the next few days I'll also be mostly offline. If everything goes as planned, I'll get my new (old) van tomorrow or on Saturday - I'll tell you about it as soon as I have it 😉

I'm replying now so that I don't loose any of my paid sleeping time 😁 !LOLZ

Thanks for your advices, my friend, I'm no mechanics, so I can only look if I see any rust or other damages, but a friend of our family is a great mechanic and he'll take care of it.

The squirrel is just the first one of many 😊

Have a !PIZZA from me, served with !LUV
!invest_vote

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(Edited)

Hi again Hannes,

This is such great news! Yeah, let me know the minute that you get that van so that we can thank the Lord.

Wise to use your awake time to get everything done so as not to disturb your precious sleeping time. Very good advance planning 🤣 !LOLZ

Did you ask your mechanic to have a look at it before you buy it?
I can tell you of a case where one car dealer put some banana peels into the rear differential to hide the oil leaks. If you don't know what a diff is, it is the the gears in the middle of the car's rear axle that the propshaft from the engine connects to in order to drive the rear wheels.
So let's hope that your car dealer is a real honest man.

Oh, but I forget, if the van is a front wheel dive then it does not have a propshaft or a diff.
But just keep your eyes open for tricks.

Hahaha, not yet as he is playing hard to get 😉

Cheers and thanks.

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If everything works I will get it tomorrow afternoon and it's only an old VW Caddy, but it will serve my needs very well, I hope 😃

No, I didn't ask him because it's a 2 hour drive to the dealer, but he'll see it soon anyway because I need Summer tires.

I have no idea what you're talking about but it is a front wheel drive 😂 !LOLZ

I have made the deal with their mechanic because the boss was somewhere else, and this guy seemed to be very honest.

Soon the squirrel will come and knock on your window 😊

!WINE makes a delicious dinner with !PIZZA :)
!invest_vote

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VW Caddy is a great car and it is perfect for your purposes. What is the motor size, as I like the 2 liter Diesel?

Great and then he can also have a look at it.

Hahaha, I thought so and I will find a picture to show you what I am talking about. It being a front wheel drive it has no diff, because only rear wheel drive cars have them 🤣 !LOLZ

Honest mechanics are rare stock and you were blessed.

Waiting patiently for him and I have placed some nuts on my window sill 😉

Cheers and thanks.

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Yep, the Caddy is a great car and it's the perfect size for me - I bought the shorter version because I want to drive everywhere where other cars also still can drive ... you know that our mountain roads are very narrow 😉

It's a 1.6 liter Diesel machine with 102 HP - plenty enough for me, and the motor doesn't want to drink a lot of diesel 😀

The squirrel will come and later he'll send his whole family to you 🐿️

Have a !PIZZA from me, served with !LUV
!invest_vote

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Yes man! A splendid car and a good decision to buy the short version. 1.6 cc is plenty for it's size.
If I can get up some of the mountain passes over here with our VW, then you will also fit on any of the roads that the other cars can go. Plus the bonus is that you will be lighter on Diesel that the other cars.

This is a great buy Hannes 👍💪😊

Oh yes, we certainly hope so.

Cheers and thanks.

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Thanks a lot that you like it, my friend 😊
It's just long enough that I will be able to sleep in the back and store my things under the bed. Maybe I'll also built more furniture in future, but at first I want to get it ready for a week off work :)

!invest_vote

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Now that's the problem that I would have to sleep in it. I will have to take the back seats out, so that it could make a long bed 😁 !LOLZ

Remember that we discussed those slide out tents that attaches to a railing on the roof of the van?
I know that you have to get it ready for the short term, but you should really try for the longer terms to get one of those tents 😉

I bet you first week off work is going to be great with that van and it was a wise idea to finally get it.
After that first week you will also know better what you need to improve things.

Cheers and thanks.

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If my Caddy had back seats I would have taken them out to have more space 😉 !LOLZ

I have thought of such a tent, but I mainly want to do stealth camping outside of camp grounds. So I will keep the van mostly looking as a cargo van from the outside, but I will know more after my first week in the road, just as you say 😀

!WINE makes a delicious dinner with !PIZZA :)
!invest_vote

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Oh, so the van has no back seats. Then it is really a van and you will just have to get along with the current space. But you can be glad that you are not 6 feet tall 🤣 !LOLZ

So you want to travel incognito so that nobody can arrest you for your stealthy doings, just watch out in case somebody reports you as a drug courier 🤣🤣🤣

I read an article yesterday where a guy made the outside of his new 5 ton truck all white. He spent 3 million to convert the inside of the truck into a luxury camper. A picture showed that it was just an ordinary truck from the outside. Maybe you will meet him at one of your stealthy places 😉

Cheers and thanks.

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Yep, only two seats in front and the rest behind the seats is just long enough for me.

Oh yes, I have seen such trucks which look just as ordinary trucks from the outside and the inside is like a huge luxury apartment. If I would put a TV in my van there wouldn't be any space left for me 🤣 !LOLZ

!WINE makes a delicious dinner with !PIZZA :)
!invest_vote

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Great to hear and have you tried to sleep in the van already?

Agreed as it is all 5 star equipment inside those bland big trucks. You can build a small TV in under the inside of the roof at the back 😮 !LOLZ

Cheers and thanks.

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When we visited our daughter I slept in it, but I didn't have a mattress and it was right beside a road, but it wasn't too bad 😊

No TV in the car 😂 !LOLZ

!WINE makes a delicious dinner with !PIZZA :)
!invest_vote

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So a priority would be to get yourself one of those sponge mattresses that one can roll up to save space. Oh and also a sleeping bag if you don't have one already.

A TV in the van would put you to sleep at night when you long for home 😰 !LOLZ

Cheers and thanks.

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Yep, I have a sleeping bag and since last week also a sponge mattress, but it's mounted on the wooden construction that I call a bed 😁

Oh yes, and that's what I am going to do in a minute: fall asleep while watching TV 😂 !LOLZ

Have a !PIZZA from me, served with !LUV
!invest_vote

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So I would take the wooden structure off and simply put the mattress flat down inside the van 😉

You see? That's why you need a TV in the van 😛 !LOLZ

Cheers and thanks.

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That was my first idea: just a mattress on the floor, but when it gets colder in autumn and winter it's better to have something more under the mattress than only the the floor of the car 🤣

No TV in the van, but I could imagine watching a boring movie in my mind and maybe this also helps to fall asleep 😴 !LOLZ

!WINE makes a delicious dinner with !PIZZA :)
!invest_vote

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Easy to fix as all that you need to do is to get some newspapers to line the floor like a thick carpet and then to put the mattress on top of the newspapers. I did that in a shack and the paper does not allow the cold to penetrate through the floor. They are also easy to pack away as the next morning you can just fold them up for later use 😉
Try it and you will be surprised.

Of course, you might be too lazy to fold the newspapers in the morning and then you can just leave them down 🤣 !LOLZ

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Too late, my friend, I have already a carpet on the floor and the bed is also in there - no space for newspapers 😂 !LOLZ ... and I wouldn't like to sleep on newspapers anyway - don't like to sleep on bad news because there are not many good news these days.

Have a !PIZZA from me, served with !LUV
!invest_vote

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Great and now you can sleep much better in the van. Hahaha, only you will come out with a chirp like that 🤣 !LOLZ

Cheers and thanks.

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Thank you for your witness vote!
Have a !BEER on me!
To Opt-Out of my witness beer program just comment STOP below

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(Edited)

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Well, what to do, everyone wants to eat.😀The bird is very beautiful.

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Hahaha, yes true as everybody gets hungry. Glad that you liked it.

!PIZZA

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Your photos are quite stunning! I absolutely love sunbirds and oh my goodness, what a cutie. I scrolled through the comments to discover your cute 'thief' had returned. Not that I can blame Duke/Dutchess when the eating is good 😉. I suspect you may have a regular diner now.

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Thank you and we have only recently bought the place, so we were a bit worried about squirrels being around. Only the one thus far, but where one is many more will be.
It is a process to befriend them and let's hope that thing will once again work out.

!HBIT

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Hunger has no conditions

So true, but this new friend does not look hungry - in fact I think he's eating fruit in an attempt to watch his weight 😂 Awesome to see that the new place is beginning to feel like home 🙌 Is the Sunbird a Malachite?

!PIZZA !ALIVE !LUV

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Well Mother nature can teach many people about weight loss, but the people obviously ignore her teachings 🤣
Slowly has always done it my friend.
No, the sunbird is at the other end of the Sunbird scale. The Malachite is the biggest sunbird and this guy is the smallest. But he is also the best singer of the sunbirds.
He is a male Southern Double-collared sunbird.

!PIZZA !LOL !LUV

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His feathers are also spectacular :) ... Hopefully you will have a large squirrel family soon 🙌

I think I am out of everything, except maybe !PIMP !PIZZA and !hivebits

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Metallic colors that look wet in the sun. Going to be difficult in this area to build a big family, but we will always try.

I have no idea what PIMP is, but thank you and I can give you !LOL !PIZZA and !HBIT

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PIMP is a token by @enginewitty who is a fellow squirrel rescuer :) ...

Thanks for the treats, I think I still have some as well :)

!PIZZA !ALIVE !LOL

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Ah! Okay I have supported @enginewitty as I don't know if you saw that he and his family had a hard time with a fire not so long ago.

!PIZZA !LOL !LUV

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