Africa…our Africa.

I didn’t know what to expect when our flight touched down in King Shaka International Airport about 35 kms north of Durban, in my home country of South Africa.
We were off to explore a region I have never been to, northern KwaZulu-Natal, a mecca for bird and nature lovers and paradise for anyone seeking to escape the chaos of city life, in the company of creatures great and small and extraordinary plants and trees.

We arrived late afternoon in Ndumo, on the Mozambique border, having stopped for provisions en route and settled into our little thatched cottage equipped with all the basics. And mosquito nets… They were the only unwelcome locals,
(66 recorded species!) but with candles and spray, nets and garlic, (everything is worth a try!) we still were able to sit outside over a welcome meal and listen to the sounds of the bush, with owls, frogs and later bush babies heralding the start of two wonderful weeks in some of the wildlife sanctuaries of this magnificent land.
We drove, walked, sat in hides and watched both parents of European swallow family frantically feed their “ready to fly” young. Their devotion to duty was awesome.
We watched crocodiles glide across the pan, leaving a thin silver line on the otherwise mirror-like water surface, heard hippo roaring and grunting just meters away from us, examined fever trees, watched male weaver birds building nests, only to have them rejected by their partners and waited with baited breath as a group of 6 pelicans landed precariously in the fever tree canopy.
We listened as the fish eagle cried and tracked the movement of a goliath heron. It was baby season in all departments and a three week old giraffe nuzzling its mother will remain in my memory bank forever.
We moved countless tortoises off the road and watched a gorgeous bush shrike (and it is!)quietly cruise into view.
All this in the first full day in Ndumo.
Peace and calm settles in quickly in this quiet and beautiful temporary home, the stars are brighter, the nights are still and the quiet is addictive.

As are the flora and fauna of our most spectacular country.

Today; fish, frogs and oversized princes?

Today was a fun day in the gardens in Kirstenbosch.
The sun shone, the Arisea macrocarpa,
a beautiful blue member of our summer flowering indigenous plants
are bursting into full bloom and the beetles are going crazy with joy!

There was no sign of the spotted eagle owl family
but there was a very aggressive little fellow who tried his hardest to chase me off his patch of grass.. it was quite a sight,
an Angulate tortoise in full charge, no bigger than 15 cms but furious with anyone who came close to him.
I stepped out of his way by walking backwards downhill, while he tried to attack my shoes.
Slowly I walked him towards a guy with a huge lens around his neck, and gently handed over the “Canon fodder”.
It was one of the funniest things I have seen in years.

Then on to a patch of water that holds all kinds of mysteries, so many levels,
so many subtle colours and 3cm long tadpoles….I can’t imagine how big those frogs will be.
I wait with interest, maybe a pond filled with oversized princes?

Meanwhile can you spot the taddie?

Then onto my favourite winding path in the Arboretum,
where the earth was covered with confetti, small pink petals
from a tree high above turned the path into fairy land.

Soon after that surprise I came across one of the most beautiful flowering lilies, Moore’s crinum.
Special.

And lastly I have developed my own ‘water interest spot’ at home
as a distraction to anyone who eats at our table.
I am far too busy these days enjoying our ‘extended garden’
to think about wonderfully creative meals. There will be time enough for that…

A gift of time.

I have been given a priceless gift.
Time. Not since I was a student have I had this precious and very rare opportunity and suddenly the penny has dropped.

Who in the world would be so crazy as to want to give this gift back? Me, until today. Time has been an inconvenient obstacle, brought on by ill health that I have battled so much to accept , until today, whilst walking around on a mission to find some life basics, I realized how wonderful it is to have time to simply observe the world in progress.
Car guards day packs, dangling like Christmas decorations from trees around their work zone. So trusting, yet these men guard our vehicles and us for hours, against theft or harm of some kind.

Charity stores, run by people who give their time for no reward other than to be able to serve. The wonderful people who carry in bags of goodies, so that the charity shops can keep up and running.

The postman who serves our area, always armed with a big grin and a vigorous wave. Always happy rain,shine or howling winds.

The kind and helpful young woman behind the shop counter, filled with enthusiasm warmth and efficiency,
as she sends you off with a ‘have a lovely weekend!’

To be able to take the time to walk to do the errands that I used to drive at pace to get done in an instant,
what a remarkable gift, after years of;
work,
work and marriage,
work, marriage and 4 children,
work, divorce, 4 children and no paternal presence and even more work.

And now, Time.
Why has it taken so long to appreciate this gift?

Strange creature that I am…
Wealth doesn’t only refer to a bank balance, it’s a life balance also.

As in the words of one of my favorite ballads,

To everything
there is a season
and a time
for every purpose under heaven.

Summer baby.

This is our much loved little chap or chapess!
Yesterday for the first time I found the little owlet
standing out in the open, eyes tight shut, with only a smallish bush
to protect it from any predators.

I just wanted to share this with everyone who is unable to get there
but watching the growth process through my blog.
Heir apparent is fat and happy and growing so quickly I can barely keep up the photographic recordings.

You have got to love little, fat and happy!

Transparent and anonymous!

Funny but true.
Strange things challenge the ego.

I was at a wonderfully intimate and relatively small function this weekend
and because it was close friends, I knew everyone there.
Lovely!
A couple walked in who I have met many times and we hugged and greeted one another warmly, then got chatting about this and that and their overseas travel experiences etc. The husband is a high profile person who is well respected in his field and is an interesting man. His wife is….Lovely!

It’s a warm and welcoming experience to be with lots of people you have a history with,
exchanging thoughts and ideas and what the year has brought to everyone so far.

Having chatted with Mr. and Mrs. Lovely for a while, Mr. lovely peeled off to talk to our host and I carried on chatting to his wife, we spoke about her work and changes she is planning in that regard.

Suddenly she asked me if I had got the music she sent me?

(me) No..Which music might that be?

(Mrs. Lovely) The Bob Dylan CD, I sent it via (friend).

(me)To Me?

(Mrs.Lovely) Yes. When we came to supper with you, you said you loved his music and I undertook to send you a CD.

(me) Supper.. chez moi? ( Am I going mad?)

(Mrs.Lovely) Didn’t you make me that bookmark?

(me) I don’t think so? (I am going mad!)

(Mrs Lovely) Don’t you live in that cute little house in xxxxxx?

(me) No.( I live in a large and rambling rabbit warren of a house in zzzzz)!

(Mrs Lovely) Aren’t you a silversmith?

(me) No.I am an artist.

(Mrs.Lovely) Didn’t we come to your house for supper?

(me) No, I don’t think so.

(Mrs Lovely) Um, I must just go to the bathroom! (she carries on smiling and exits the conversation).

Who am I?

I am not sure, just don’t ask Mrs Lovely!