Ahhh, springtime in South Africa. The beautiful Jacaranda trees are very prominent everywhere you look in the city this time of year. We love it!
The scenic falls at Walter Sislulu Botanical Gardens.
A view of where we live from the hill. The Killarney Mall is in the center, our apartment complex is just behind and to the left, and Jacarandas trees are everywhere.
Beautiful Pretoria, the capitol city of South Africa. It is located about 30 miles North of Johannesburg.
Grocery shopping the easy way. Unlike our Madagascar adventure, grocery shopping is amazingly quick and easy here. No stopping between store and kitchen.
Elder Bird has found someone to talk to. She can't talk and he can't hear. They make a great pair.
The smaller cell towers in and around the city are made to look like palm trees. Who are they trying to fool? Actually, it is a fairly nice way to beautify the skyline. I hope no Sierra Clubbers see this.
What does "hooting" mean? I don't even know how to hoot.
Slug Bug of many colors. So, if you were playing slug bug, and you came across this machine, and you punched your friend and hollered "slug bug", what color would you pick?
Standing on a platform about ten feet high, Susan is feeding the giraffe, which is very handy with that monstrous tongue. The tongue feels like a wood rasp and can flick every pellet out of your hand in one swipe without dropping a single pellet.
This is what big male lions do best. They are content to find a nice comfortable area and lounge, only getting up to stretch or eat, like many teenagers and old men. 
Susan is brave enough to pet these well sedated white lion cubs.
"Oh, yessss, Jasmine, that's the right spot, don't stop now."
This big lioness was just off the road, and when this picture was taken from the van window, she acted like she wanted me for lunch. At this park, the lions are kept in large fenced in areas and you view them from your vehicle on self guided tours. Lion park is on the northern edge of the Johannesburg area, not far from where we attend church.
We go to church in an area called Cosmo City. It is a suburb about 45 minutes drive North from where we live. Our little unit is not even a branch yet. You might call it a Twig. Above is the site of the new modular meetinghouse being constructed for our unit. We hope to be in it sometime early in 2012. Below is the school where we now meet. We share the school with several other denominations and at times it is so noisy with the loud music, that you can hardly think.
This subdivision is in the neighborhood where our church is. It is government subsidized low income housing. The homes are small but sturdy with fairly nice streets and utilities. There are thousands of these units in Cosmo City. Some are equipped with solar water heaters on the roof. Others use plastic bottles with water on the back lawn. Why not? There is plenty of sunshine here.
A more close-up look at the area housing. Most of our unit members live in this type of home. They are very modest but seem to be adequate. Quite a step up from the shanty town areas farther out in the country.
This is the entire working staff of the Johannesburg Temple. It includes the Presidency & Matrons (in front), Recorder, Office Staff, Laundry Staff, Building Engineers and Ordinance Workers. About half of the Ordinance Workers are Full Time Missionaries.
The Johannesburg Temple and grounds. This is the only spot that a full view of the temple can be taken from, due to the close confines of the Temple location. There are many lovely gardens around the Temple. It was completed and dedicated in 1985. It is the same design as the Boise Idaho Temple.
The different colored stone in the brick wall on the Temple grounds is a stone from the original Nauvoo Temple.
The view of the Temple from Jubilee Street which runs by the front of the Temple. The beautiful Jacaranda trees are now in full bloom all over the city and make for a very magnificent scene. They have been in bloom for about three weeks and are now dropping their blossoms on the streets and sidewalks, which gives the appearance of a lavender carpet everywhere. The fragrance is as sweet as the trees are beautiful.
