On my birthday last month, we wanted to drive up to the nearest hilltop outside town (known on this blog as Mt Zinder) to watch the sun set. My Rhodesian ridgeback Sheba adores hikes of all kinds and joins us for as many adventures as she can; and as a bonus, we brought along her youngest son Kimi.

This was Kimi’s first ride in a car, and he did very well. Next to his mother, what was there to be worried about? For those of you who don’t know, Kimi is a gift to my niece Tabita from her grandfather. He will be joining his new family after they come back from Holland in mid December. After the tragedy of losing a baby sister, it will be good to have a canine youngster around - and Kimi is all ready for his new family!

Jumping out of the car was no problem - after giving it a moment’s reflection. Unlike his mother Sheba, who was born convinced that the world holds no limitations, Kimi is the kind of dog who thinks first and acts later.

The sun had just started to set when we arrived,

but there was still more than enough light to cross over to the Western side.

The Mt Zinder hilltop is one of my favourite places in Niger.

It overlooks the endless expanse of the Zinder bush, which I can never get enough off.

Photographing was a hobby Kimi was not accustomed to, and he found it very interesting, offering his services.

The sunset was a little disappointing at first. As the sun dropped below the horizon, it seemed that all we would be seeing was a cocktail of grey lines.

Kimi didn’t mind, because to him, this was all one great adventure!

“Hey Mom! Did you ever see so much space? It goes on forever!”

Just as we were about to make make our way back to the car, the sky took on a light, pink glow.

We decided to stick around and see what it had to offer, even though we were certain we would not be collecting any skywatch highlights.

But just as as life rarely turns out as we expected - and certainly not often as we planned - the sky had a birthday surprise saved for the end.

While the pink starting mixing with yellow,

…we all sat back and enjoyed.

Golden gave way to pink and purples waves. I asked Anette to take a picture of Kimi and me  to send to his family,

…and all of a sudden, the sky was on fire.

In the past few years, I have learned to lower my expectations, as things don’t always turn out as we anticipated. In those same past years however, I have also learned to raise my expectations, for sometimes, things turn out way better than we ever expected.

For more skies around the world, visit Skywatch!