Another stay in KY comes to an end today, as I leave in the morning for NOLA and a golf weekend. This one has been weird, as I ended up sick and recovering inside during a glorious fall week, then got (mostly) well but the weather had turned chilly and damp. Shitty timing. Lots of thoughts about it all this morning.

Bouncing back and forth between homes has definite pros and cons. Biggest cons – you never really get settled in with folks and routines in either place. Can’t have a dog. Can’t join a regular activity or club. Easy to get run down and sick with all the time in transit. The expense of two places to maintain.

Biggest pros – it’s not boring. You can choose your climate, to some extent. You can regularly enjoy the features of both locations. You can have close circles of friends and family in both places. And in our case, it’s a way to accommodate two people’s different priorities. Otherwise, we’d have to make some very hard choices.

I look back over the past 3-4 months, and I find that I’m still not over being so sick in June-July, physically or mentally. Having lived most of my life on the easy setting, that kind of adverse health event was unsettling.

Thinking over these last 3-4 months, I reviewed some Africa pictures. Good memories there – physically challenging and painful, but good nonetheless. Here are a few shots that I really like.

First up is a pair of lions, a mating pair according to the guides, walking toward us out of the bush. They have gravitas.

Next is one of my favorite Victoria Falls shots. This is only a tiny part of the entire canyon/falls complex, but it’s not so mist-obscured. The raw power of the place is really something.

Here is one of my favorite elephant shots. I have some closer up, but this scene really captures the peacefulness of them just grazing on dry grass.

More elephants, this time crossing the Zambezi River. Watching them help each other cross was a great memory.

Finally, a zoomed-in shot of the leopard we saw toward the end of the trip. Just a majestic creature. This shot is a little grainy, but it’s a great example of how good the little Canon SX-740 can be. Shot was taken from about 50 feet away.