A Day at the Detroit Zoo...

After receiving a couple of free tickets at their e-recycling event, we made a day out of it and headed to the Detroit Zoo on Friday, 1st of May. It was a lovely day - not too hot and not too cold - and we enjoyed seeing all the animal exhibits. We took a picnic lunch and ate overlooking the lions and monkeys.

I particularly enjoyed the graceful movements of the swift-swimming penguins at the Endurance-themed penguin centre. Candace loved the zebras, while the children enjoyed the baby chimpanzee, the baby gorilla, and the penguins. We all loved the colourful peacocks walking around the Zoo!

At the Zoo's entrance.

Shackleton's Endurance was particularly well done.

Eliza fist-bumps a diver.

King penguin zooms right past my camera.

I found my flag outside the penguin centre.

Butterflies in chrysalises waiting to emerge.

The indoor butterfly garden was amazing!

We certainly got all our steps in at the Zoo.

Beautiful peacock!

Southern white rhino.

African lion.

Cute little warthogs.

Candace's favourite zebra.

Posing near the polar bear exhibit.

The polar bear was magnificent!

Riding the carousel.

Can you flutter like a butterfly?

Or perhaps waddle like a penguin? What a great day out!

Prim and Proper Dog...

This dog loves to sit with either her front paws crossed or on top of each other. It makes her look quite distinguished! :) 

New Garden Boxes...

Candace recently bought wood from Home Depot, and we assembled two large garden boxes against our fence. We drove down to Taylor and picked up free compost and soil from the recycling depot. The car was quite weighed down on our drive back!

Shovelling compost into buckets to take back home.

Our lovely new raised garden boxes.

Pizza Night...

We hosted friends for a Make-Your-Own Pizza night the other evening. It was a time filled with good conversation, laughter, and of course delicious food. We're thankful for our community in the area. :)

Such good times with awesome people!

Saturday Walk...

While Candace worked on a quilt one Saturday morning in the church basement, the children and I took Dusty for a nice walk around the neighbourhood. 

We ended back at the enclosed church playground, where Dusty roamed around and I snapped this nice photo of our four little loves. :)

E-Recycling Event at the Detroit Zoo...

Earlier in April, Candace sent me a link to an article about an e-recycling event at the Detroit Zoo. People could take their small electrical appliances, including larger items such as TVs, computers, printers, etc., to the event at the Zoo and recycle these items to prevent them ending up in landfills and rubbish dumps. 

For months I had an ever-increasing pile of old batteries and electrical items, including an old computer, sitting in our garage. I was so happy to be able to recycle these items at the Zoo. And to make things even better, we received free tickets to the Detroit Zoo for recycling our e-waste. :) What a great community event!

April Cycles...

With temperatures trending a bit warmer, I dusted off my bike and managed a couple of cycle rides around the area. The first one was a lovely date cycle with Candace, a wonderful time of connection while exercising together. Cycling is one thing that we particularly enjoy and it's a great way to see sights and scenery at a leisurely pace. We love being active, and we even cycled the 109 km Cape Town Cycle Tour back in 2013. 

The second cycle was a slightly longer one that I did alone one Sunday morning. It was a beautiful day and although my legs were pretty tired after my 30 km (19 mile) cycle, my heart was happy! 

I'm hoping to get in more rides as summer arrives. :)

Cycling selfie. :)

Evening Rainbow...

The Lord has blessed us with some amazing weather this April. Now it's true that we have had our fair share of severe weather and places to the north have had major flooding, but we've enjoyed a lovely month with lots of time spent outdoors. The other evening, we witnessed a fantastic rainbow stretching over our back garden. It was such a gift!

Beautiful clouds in the golden hour.

We've never seen a rainbow with such vivid colours.

The rainbow created a natural divider in the sky.

Family selfie under the rainbow. :)

Signs of Spring...

It's a sure sign that spring is here when Jack pops up from the ground in a matter of days. :)

Window AC Curtain...

Using scraps of old jeans, my talented wife made this amazing curtain to give us some privacy in the summer months. There's a slot for the window air conditioner unit, too!

Martian Marathon 2026...

We were all up really early on Saturday, 11th April. It was time for this year's Martian Marathon, and I had been asked several months ago to organise the water station next to the church. We had a great time serving the runners in this community event in Dearborn!

Eliza at the water station.

It was a beautiful morning!

Riaan offers water and Gatorade to the runners.

Anya was so excited to hand out drinks.

Such a fun event!

Beaver Bridge Hike...

On Good Friday (3rd April), we met up with church friends and had a lovely hike down towards what we call "Beaver Bridge" (from where we saw a beaver back in November 2023). This trail meanders its way along the banks of the Rouge River, just across from Fair Lane Estate in Dearborn. 

Walking through the woods.

Ducks on the Rouge River.

So much fun exploring with friends.

The Rouge River with Fair Lane Estate in the background.

Delta Airlines Airbus A330 on approach to DTW.

Smaller Spirit Airlines jet flying the same approach.

Old pumphouse hidden in the woods.

Cute little squirrel enjoying its lunch.