Looks Like a Snake, Moves Like a Snake.........

I have seen yet again, that I am never too old to learn!

On Friday morning I did a load of washing and carried it out into the courtyard to hang it up. The wind wasn't too strong at that stage, so I was able to complete that task without too much struggle. Usually the clothing and I have a bit of a tussle before I peg it into submission, so when I had finished, instead of ducking back into the kitchen and managing to grab the door before it flung itself open and crashed onto the wall, I stood and watched Morris bat an empty snail shell around! It made an interesting tinkling sound, so we were both entertained!

Then I noticed a silvery looking thing on the ground near my feet. At first glance it looked like the tail of a lizard that had been brought in and then abandoned by one of the cats, but when I bent down to have a closer look, I saw that it was too long and thin to be a tail. And there was definitely a head on one end. The other end was a bit chewed. And there were some bite marks in the middle. And it was very dead. Hmm, l thought, this looks very much like a baby snake!

The head is on the left. See the stripes?

Water Water Everywhere!

'Water Water everywhere 
And all the boards did shrink
Water, water everywhere
Except the bath and sink.'

(Apologies to Samuel Taylor Coleridge and 'The Rime of The Ancient Mariner')

We have had RAIN!! Last week we had a humdinger of a storm with lightning and thunder, our roads ran like rivers, ducks were swimming in the puddles, and the wind blew the rain sideways, so much so, it was knocking on the front door! It also managed to find a gap in the chimney and splashed onto the top of our little stove! It didn't do much to clean the windows though, but it did wash a lot of bird poopies off the walls and the roof..................and it filled our two rain tanks!

The smaller of the two tanks.

I have mentioned our tanks before I think, we have one of 2500 litres and one of 5000 litres and these catch the rain off the roof. A week ago they were almost empty, so you can work out the volume of water that fell in one go! We had 15 mm in about 10 minutes and the tanks were actually overflowing.
Just as well as it turned out.

A Guinea in the Hand is worth Twenty in the Bush!!

What is it about the Helmeted Guinea Fowl, (Numida meleagris) that is so appealing? Paintings (I have one), carvings (I have one), knitted toys, table mats, table cloths (I have one), they lend themselves so beautifully to art and craft.

Such characters!

When we first moved here to Jacobsbaai, we could hear them calling from a distance, well, you would have to be deaf not to hear their raucous shouting, but we rarely saw them in the village.

Basil with his retinue.

That has recently all changed. For the last several months, drinking our coffee in bed every morning while we decide how to while away the day, Rob and I watch them scratching and shouting and chasing on the vacant land over the road from us. Basil has a fascination with them, and sits close by watching them while they chase and squabble and kick the dirt around looking for things to eat. They seem to find him equally fascinating and often go quite close to him. I guess they work on the 'safety-in-numbers' idea, as there are sometimes twenty odd birds. 

A-Camping We Did Go!

I realise that this is a little late, by a day or so, but I have made it extra long, so hopefully you will forgive me!

We have just come back from a long weekend caravan trip! A return trip to Fynbos Farm, where we went for our first caravan trip after we bought our beloved Gemsquash, three years ago now. In fact, that was my very first ever caravan trip!

So, for the last three years, we have been saying 'We really must go there again, it was such a super place........', every time we drove past the turnoff. And, now we have been there twice, but, I am happy to go back every month for a week or so!

So, off we set on Thursday morning. I have mentioned the wind farm near Hopefield before now and as we got closer, we saw what appeared to be a black blob thing on one of the blades.

See the black blob on the blade?

Have a closer look.

People in there!!!

It is people! In a basket thing! Working on the blade and hanging miles above the earth suspended by little bits of wire and string! Doesn't it make the hairs on the back of your neck rise? It does mine!

Dry and Dusty!

Rob was looking up our rainfall statistics this morning, and the last time we had rain here was the 5 November. No wonder the bushes are running after the dogs!

The green has turned to khaki! 

I know that it isn't our wet season, but we should have some rainfall , the average over the last goodness knows how many years, shows that November's average is 12 mm (we had 17), December's average is 15.5 mm, (we had 0) and January's average is 13.7 mm, (nope, not a drop so far!) So when I tell you that we are dry and dusty here, you better believe it!

Peace and Quiet and the Dog Came Too!!

Wow, doesn't time fly when you are having fun?

And that is exactly what we had, plus peace and quiet and the knowledge that I had three unread books on my kindle! It's funny, but if I had to sit and read all day here at home, I would feel incredibly guilty that I wasn't pretending to be busy cleaning, or dusting or cooking. But to sit in a camp site and read doesn't carry the same guilt at all! Well, not in my book!! (No pun intended!)

Absolute bliss, a river, a dog........and a book! Or kindle!

Now, I don’t know if this is true of everyone, but the minute we head off on a trek, I start planning our eating stops! So a couple of hours later, close enough to lunch time to be lunch time, we pulled into a little restaurant close to Hermon, called ‘du Vlei’. We have stopped there several times, either to meet friends, or on the way to or from somewhere, and we know that the food is fresh and tasty, and Alfie is welcome! Fortified with quiche and salad and a coffee shake that was so good we had to have another to prove it, we headed off to 'Fish Eagle River Lodge' to be met by the owners and their dogs.

The camping ground at Fish Eagle River Lodge.

What a fantastic place! We had the pick of sites, and we tucked ourselves into the corner, under huge shady blue gum trees, and close enough to the Berg River to simply sit and stare as it burbled past.

The Berg River, We could hear the Fish Eagles calling.

After getting the tent up in a howling gale, we decided not to braai as the wind was just too strong and would put the fire out before it was lit.

Nicely set up and ready to do........nothing! (Pic thanks to Rob)

We had booked for three nights, but we ended up staying for five. It was peaceful and quiet and for us wrinklies, the best part was the fact that no under eighteens are allowed, so it is for mature campers only! Our Malmesbury friends came for a lunchtime braai one day and every evening we walked around part of the farm. They grow olives and courgettes for the local market and their olive oil is delicious with a lingering taste of freshly mown grass. The dam is home to two Egyptian Geese mums and their combined tally of fourteen babies, all bobbing about together and Alfie finally made friends with the farm dogs.

Look carefully and count!!(Pic thanks to Rob)

And then we moved on! Read on!

More Eggcitement on the Corner!

How many times have I begun a blog with the words...'this is not the blog that I had planned for today but life got in the way.....''?

Well, it's happened again!

Remember last month I mentioned that Pieta the goose had started laying eggs (and very tasty they were too)? Naturally they were not fertile, but Philip has geese at the nursery and they, too, were laying. The difference being that the nursery eggs were fertile, and plentiful! So he brought five eggs home and popped them under Pieta who happily sat, and sat, and sat!

Before the 'Summer Hut' was built.

Up until then we had had wonderful sunny weather, so much so, that Philip built a little 'summer hut' so Pieta was in the shade. Then the weather changed and the rain came lashing down! But Pieta was protected from the worst of it by her 'summer hut' and the roof that angled the rain away.

Goodbye Winter............I think!

Last week we had some really foul weather. Huge rain, wind that cut through us like a knife, seas that pounded and crashed through the night, and if we were uncertain about winter having departed, we were reminded of it in no uncertain terms! We even had snow on the mountains inland and every B+B, camp site and Guesthouse was fully booked this weekend as everyone headed inland to freeze themselves daft by playing in the snow! And on Thursday, instead of staying in next to the fire, I had Hospice and Rob had a transfer from Cape Town to Wellington. He set off in rain and arrived home in rain. And in between? Yes, rain!

The Dutch Reform Church in Wellington, built in 1840.

But when we woke up yesterday morning, spring had arrived! A day early I might add! And Rob had to head off to Wellington to pick up the passengers and transfer them to Franschoek. So, I went along for the ride. My camera was charged and ready for me to capture the snow covered mountains, white and shimmering in the early morning light.

Blow, Blow, Thou Winter Wind!

(This is the post that was meant for last week. Since then, we have had more rain, storms and strong wind, and my poor garden is not looking quite so chirpy!!)

I have shown you our 'tree' before, it's the one we bought in Montagu a couple of years ago. Rob attached it to the house-wall facing the road, and many people have stopped to have a look. One or two have asked us about it, and laughed when Rob tells them that the tree was straight when he put it up! It was the wind that blew it sideways! Then they ask 'Does it really blow as hard as that?'

Our beautiful metal tree.

Rob always answers, 'No, sometimes it blows harder!' 

Look at this tree.

Looks similar to ours, but crafted by nature!

It is just round the corner right on the edge of the bay and gives you some idea of the strength of the wind and how our gardens struggle to stay straight! (Some of the inhabitants also find it hard to stay straight, but that has nothing to do with the wind!!) This last week has been quite a stormy one, with strong wind and seas so rough that the remains of the barge Margaret, wrecked here in 2009, are now barely visible. The night before last we heard the wreck banging late at night and when we walked there this morning we were not surprised to see further damage to the remaining bits. It's only a matter of time before she disappears completely and all that will remain is the wooden cross to mark the place where John Charles Mitchell died. (See 'Margaret Day' in the list of 'posts about')

Angels On The Corner!

Remember Pieta the goose who lives on the corner? She is now a large lady and weighs quite a lot, as you see below!

Nicola hidden behind Pieta!

And she loves her 'pond' that Emma and Coert gave her.

Her private swimming pool!

Darling Olives in June!

Yesterday we were forced to go on a trundle. The problem? We were without power for the day as some major additions and adjustments were being carried out on our power here in Jacobsbaai.
So, unable to vacuum, do the ironing, bake or do anything else constructive, I reluctantly agreed to leave the dusting for the day and allow Rob to buy breakfast and lunch followed by an ice-cream for afters!! We loaded Alfie and his ball into the car, dodged Basil who was quite keen to come with us, and headed off inland.

Our selection of olive products, yum!!

Our first stop was the Olive Farm and shop in Darling. We have bought their products for years now and loaded the car with a five litre can of oil, a large bucket of pitted, broken olives (wonderful for baking muffins and bread and takes the fiddle out of eating them), two bottles of flavoured oil, one garlic and one chilli, some olive pesto and two jars of marinated olives. That should keep us going for a while and once the oil is finished, the can will make a welcome addition to our collection of tins and things. Alfie was very good and sat while we tasted the new infused oils.

Dry as a Bone!

I know that I mentioned the heat in last week's post. Together with that comes the wind and the dryness. We haven't had rain for a while now and I think that we are as dry as we can ever be. Even the lamp posts are wilting! And my sister in Pietermaritzburg just told me that they had over 60 mm of rain during a violent storm that did lots of damage last night. We could certainly do with some of that...........without the damage though!

Dry and drab, dead and dormant.

This is what the surrounding 'green' areas look like now. Hard to imagine that in a few months time they will be a colourful carpet of yellow and white. Hopefully!

A tiny puddle left! (Pic thanks to Rob)

This is what our little waterholes on the way to town have shrunk to! The white that you see is salt, even though they are over three kilometres from the sea! In the seven years that we have been here, they have never dried up completely. But I think they may do that this year! The water is now too salty for even the flamingos! There must be a small fortune in rock salt lying there waiting to be harvested. With a fair amount of sheep and cow poo mixed in for flavour!

Arctocephalus Pusillus!

You'd better say that slowly or you could be in trouble! That is the larney name for our Cape Fur Seal, or South African Fur Seal as it is now known.

We have had some very warm weather lately, our 'air-conditioner' has not been working too well, and we have waited until nearly seven o'clock to take Alfie for his daily walk. Even then, he drags behind or finds any bit of shade that he can to sit in and catch his breath! When we stop to chat to people (which happens very often!) he sits in Rob's shadow to keep as cool as he can! (Rob is losing weight though, so the shadow is becoming thinner!!) Sunday registered 35 C on our veranda, but I know that it was over 40 C inland.

The sea has been calm and tranquil lately too, but over the December period we had some huge waves that we could see crashing on the rocks in the bay, and we could see Seal Island being bombarded and pounded, with spray lifting high into the air. Sometimes the young seals get washed off the rocks and we see the tiny corpses lying on the beach. One youngster arrived unharmed during the December holidays and managed to get itself onto the rocks where the fishermen stand almost daily. When we walked nearby, we could see the tiny glistening form lying on the rock in the sun and I was hoping that it would be safe. Some fishermen blame the seals for the lack of good fishing, and will happily beat them to death, or shoot them.

Seal Island is way beyond the houses on the right.

Oh, I do Like to be Beside the Seaside.........!

I know that it's not officially New Post Time, but I just had to share a couple of photos with you (thanks to Rob and the power of his mobile phone!)

Yesterday we set off at 5.30 (after watching 'Eastenders', sad people but hey!) for our daily walk. We always meet up with friends and their two dogs and we usually do a meander to the fishing area and then a quick round-the-block before we head home for a glass of refreshment. As we arrived at the little path going down to the beach, we saw Phillip, Nicola and the gaggle heading to the sea for their daily swim. Well, the geese were, Nicola and Phillip paddled in the shallows!

The neighbours heading to the beach.

When you think of it, these little souls did the equivalent of a human 'Comrades Marathon'. We live a good 500 metres from the beach, and when you are only 15 cms from the ground, that's a lot of walking! And Peta has been doing it since she was only 6 cms from the ground!

Astro doing her 'Life Guard' impersonation!

I must say that it amazes me that they swim in salt water, but there they were, floating and swimming and flapping their little stumpy wings and eating the seaweed that looks like thin green plastic bags!
Alfie and the other two dogs made sure that they stayed out of Peta's reach and paddled a little way away, but Astro was there in the water with the geese, making sure that they stayed within easy reach. And after they had all had enough, out they came and headed home! Peta in the lead and everyone else following.

Today they will do it all over again!

When we came back from our walk, they were all relaxing on the grass.
What a privilege to live among nature like we do.

Braais, bugs and breakfast!

Today is 'Heritage Day' aka 'National Braai Day'. As I write this I can smell braai fires wafting round the village, and our wors and steak is defrosting in the kitchen! It is a perfect day, calm and still with a small nip in the air that tells us that although spring is here, winter is still lurking round corners and in shady areas! I started off the morning in socks and slippers and a fleecy top but after much exertion with a broom on the veranda, I went to change. Half an hour later I was back in the fleece but am being extremely brave about the socks and slippers bit! In fact, I am wearing my Birkenstocks, remember the ones that did the world tour a while ago?

Statice and bokbaaivygies.

And my garden is a picture! Statice is mixed with vygies, geraniums are tumbling over rocks as they have finally had a chance to grow because the veld is green and the bokkies have alternate fynbos to eat. Come summer they will be pruning my geraniums to within an inch of their lives!

Picnic in the Park!

Yesterday we went on a picnic! It's one that has been in the planning stages for at least a month, but the weather kept upsetting our timing, which was just as well as it turned out. Keep reading to discover why!

Our wild flowers are out! Beautiful but shy if the sun is not just right, but on a sunny, calm day the few hours between 11 and 3 are the best viewing time. And the best picnicking time! So, it seemed the perfect way to kill several birds with one stone, namely, see our friends, see the flowers and have a lekker relaxing time with a picnic and all those forbidden things like crisps and brownies and koeksusters!

Pam and Rob ready for action!

Waterblommetjies!

In 1979 a young Afrikaans singer called Sonja Heroldt, released a song called 'Waterblommetjies', written by Anton Goosen. The first two lines of the song  go 'Waterblommetjies in die Boland, Waterblommetjies in die kaap', which roughly translated means, 'Little water flowers in the land above the coastal plain, Little water flowers in the Cape' which doesn't have the same ring somehow! However, the song was an instant hit, it is hauntingly beautiful and it is a song that is still played today. It has been recorded by many Afrikaans singers and it takes me right back to when my children were small!  (Find  it on You-tube and listen to it.)

The Waterblommetjie flower

The song then goes on to sing the praises of a particular bredie or stew that is made from the flowers of the Waterblommetjie or Cape pond weed! The plant is endemic to our part of the world and is widely used to add to the flavour and bulk of the dish. They flower in winter and spring and grow in ponds that traditionally dry up in summer. The bulb then dies down and remains dormant until the winter rains arrive and then they grow again!

Flamingo Reflections!

We had a lovely lone visitor paddling in our bay last week, a Greater Flamingo (Phoenicopterus roseus).While they are very prolific in Velddrif, a coastal town about 30 kms from us where salt pans produce huge piles of salt for the local Cerebos company, this is the first one that we have seen here. And all alone! It seemed very happy as it went about its business, but I felt sad for it all by itself.

Our lonely visitor (Pics thanks to Rob)

They are the most widespread of the flamingo family and are found in Africa, southern Asia, southern Europe (including Spain, Albania, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Portugal, Italy and the Camargue region of France. They are also the largest and average 110 - 150 cm tall, but most of that is legs! For all that height, they are not very heavy, averaging between 2 and 4 kilos. Our cats are twice that weight! Even the smallest one!

Hey there Thick Head!

Can you imagine being called 'Thick Head'? Better yet, what about 'Spotted Thick Head'? or 'Spotted Thick-knee'? Believe it or not, it is the common name for one of our birds belonging to the Curlew family. The Afrikaans name 'Dikkop' sounds less rude somehow!

They are large, aggressive birds with  piercing yellow eyes and long yellow legs, and will take on a dog or cat with ease. Their diet is varied, they eat all kinds of insects, spiders, lizards, small mice, and eggs and chicks of the White-fronted Plover. (That's a bit cannibalistic I think!) Pity they don't seem to eat snails though! During the day they are very relaxed and quiet and blend in with the surrounding countryside, but at night we see them running in the road and hear their loud, mournful call. We have several pairs here, and at the beginning of February, Rob noticed a nesting pair in the old farm just behind our wall.

So well camouflaged! 

This was taken on the 1 February and you have to look carefully to make out the bird in the middle of the picture!

The Grapes of (W)rot(h)!

I have always fancied a grape vine bower. You know the kind of thing, a gnarled old vine wandering up and over a pergola, bunches of grapes ripening in the sunshine, a comfy couch to loll on in the shade beneath, and sun warmed grapes just a stretch away to feast on while the Kindle balances on one knee.

Yes, I had that picture clearly in my mind, so when we were planning the garden, I decided to plant a couple of vines against the courtyard wall, so that they could climb up a very natty wooden rail that Rob made, and shade part of the courtyard, enabling us to set up a couch/garden table and chairs/ice bucket and glasses/books and cushions etc. A very good idea in principle, but it was impossible to dig holes exactly where I wanted them, so the holes were dug where I could get the spade in more than 10 cms. And in went the vines to be tended and watered and trained to climb in the right direction. One died soon after and the other one battled on against the wind.