One of my favourite poems, by one of my favourite poets, is about words. Some may say that’s not so surprising, when I like to use so many of them! And now again I am facing the task posed by Paula in her monthly Pick a Word challenge. Five words, five photos inspired by those words.
-
-
Giraffes’ eyes are beautiful but they can look rather mournful. Maybe that’s a touch of anthropomorphism, attributing human emotions to an animal? And yet …
-
On the outskirts of Nairobi is a very special place, where orphaned baby elephants find safety and refuge. As an elephant lover I was charmed by the residents and inspired by those who care for them here.
-
'I had a farm in Africa, at the foot of the Ngong Hills.' With this sentence Karen Blixen opens her account of life on a coffee plantation just outside Nairobi. It was the 1920s, and this was British East Africa, not Kenya - part of the (by then fading) British Empire. The book presents a vivid, if at times uncomfortable, picture of African colonial life and the relationships between colonists and native inhabitants.
-
Turn your back on a hungry giraffe who knows you have a pocketful of her favourite treats and you can expect to be ‘nudged’ into handing over the goodies. Stacey was quick to remind me, with a gentle head butt, that she expected my full attention, but it was more playful than painful. And as she was happy to pose for photos in return for the pellets I dropped on to her thick purplish-grey tongue, we were each rewarded by our encounter.