the leopard anniversary

This photo came up on my screensaver this morning. It is perhaps one of my "worst" photos (technically) of all the tens of thousands of photos from my travels over the years. It is also one of my most beloved photos despite its less than perfect image. It was taken on our first trip to safari Africa. It was our last night in Zambia. We had been working with a fabulous game guide named Sam. Earlier in the day he asked about our experiences in Lufupa (the place we were staying.) I told him we were loving the days and our exploration of the reserve. It had especially good water birds, as the camp was located on a river. But I also mentioned that despite having spent a week in Botswana and now, Zambia for almost a week, we had not yet seen a leopard. I said that it would be a wonderful gift to see one that night as it was our tenth anniversary. Sam said he would try to find us a leopard but that they were solitary hunters and unlike lions which were plentiful, fewer leopards lived in the reserve. Our Land Rover was heading back to camp when Sam spotted him coming out of a cropping of trees. He came right up alongside the jeep and then came around the back (Phil and I were in the back row.). As we drove away he came down the road behind us and I got one "good" shot of him. The others in the vehicle were less lucky. To this day, Phil and I call our 10th anniversary our "Leopard Anniversary."

Our 25th anniversary is coming up this summer - not sure we'll ever top the magic of our "Leopard Anniversary" but who knows what June will bring?