Wildfire Heroes!

Can you believe that there are so-called 'people' who find it funny to deliberately start fires?

We have them here in the Cape.

This is the Fire Season, (it follows the Silly Season), a time of year that is dreaded by Firefighters and home-owners alike. A time when the merest smudge of smoke on the horizon can send you running for binoculars, checking for wind direction and doing a head-count, in case there is an awful chance of it advancing when you are not looking, racing with deadly red and orange tongues towards homes, farms, nature reserves and settlements.

Last year my daughter and her husband were threatened by a fire that had crept up on them, fanned by strong winds and helped along by the terrible dryness of the surrounding countryside. They managed to get the hose out and dampen down as much as possible, before the wind changed and disaster was averted, but not before they had packed a suitcase with some of their necessary papers and sentimental possessions and taken the cat-boxes out of the garage in readiness for a quick getaway.

Too close for comfort!

A few days ago a fire was deliberately started in the Somerset West region of the Cape. The usual strong winds fanned it and that in turn, hampered attempts to bomb the flames from the air. Volunteer Firefighters from near and far pitched in to help not only to fight the flames, but to rescue animals, including cats, dogs and horses, that were in the path of the fire.

Monday's Fire map.

Cock a Doodle Doo!

Hopefully the title above makes you think of a rooster and therefore gives you an idea of what is coming next?

And for those who have absolutely no idea...... read on!

The year 2017 is the Year of The Rooster in the Chinese Calendar. Supposedly lucky unless you happen to be a rooster. (South Africa eats an average of 2 million tons of poultry a year. That's a lot of chicken! I wish I could have said 'that's a lot of bull', but it would have to be the year of the Cow then.)

All pics are Thanks to Google!

Which brings us nicely to the end of 2016 and the Year of the Monkey, although officially the Monkey reigns until the end of January!

I haven't made a list this year!

Has 2016 been a good year? It depends. No, from the statistics for our road deaths, domestic violence, murder, poaching, rising cost of living, corruption, drug and alcohol abuse, scams and lies that happen daily in our country and about which we simply shrug, shake our heads and sigh and move on.

We have had a bad year as far as rain is concerned and our dams here in the Western Cape are on average 48% full....... that means they are 52% empty, with no chance of rain until May. And no contingency plans in place! Ostriches and sand??

Bah Humbug!

The shopping is done......what we haven't got now we can do without! Our little village is bursting at the seams and the shopping centres are bedlam.

Christmas is upon us once again!

(All cartoons are thanks to Google!)

Somehow, with each year that passes, I feel less and less 'festivy' and more and more like Scrooge and I have been known to mutter 'Bah humbug' (among other things) at every car that races past. It's just as well that I don't use a walking stick.....yet..... or I would be shaking it at people!

Yesterday (Thursday) was the last Hospice shop duty for the year, so I decided to 'nip' (ha ha) into a couple of places to get a few last minute things like special cat food for Morris and a box of prawns for us as our Christmas braai! (Does the term 'chuck another prawn on the barbie' come to mind after reading that?) But, the vet was out of pouches and he must not eat the 'cheap' food because of his struvite crystal problem (Morris that is, not the vet!) They were expecting a delivery, could I hang around for an hour or two, go to the Mall and come back maybe?

No. I could not.

Dirt, Dust and Speedbumps!

When we moved here nearly eleven years ago......... (I have to actually count on my fingers to make sure that I have got it right as I just cannot believe that we have been here that long), there were 11 houses in our road. Most of them were behind us as it were, and so there was very little traffic passing us. That was wonderful, as the well mannered, careful, and (mainly) considerate drivers meant that the dust from the sand road was kept to a minimum. We loved the fact that our village was as a village should be, and we were happy that the roads were not tarred.

Yes, well time has passed and we now have 29 houses in our road!

For the last five years or so, we have had non-stop building down the road, and the attitude of the drivers has changed as quickly as the scenery. Speeding drivers, delivery trucks, builders, plumbers and brick lorries, plus sand road and wind, equals buckets of dust blowing over us and the garden, the cats and the plants, and the bird baths quickly end up looking like an exotic mud-bath at the beauty parlour! At the other end of the scale, when it rains we have a quagmire that makes it impossible to walk without sliding sideways!

A couple of years ago, the Chairman of the Ratepayers Association managed to organise some speedbumps at strategic places and we begged to have one built outside our house! That worked well until learner-grader-drivers (and an irate husband who arrived with a shovel because his wife was unable to slow down and take the bump at a decent speed), flattened it to a mere pimple.

So a few weeks ago we were at breaking point. Rob phoned our local Councillor and invited him to come and see what the conditions were like on a normal day when the wind was blowing and the dust was swirling. Our neighbours had written letters  as well, so Rob was able to hand over several pleas for the road to be tarred. He argued that although we pay rates and taxes, we get absolutely nothing in return. We are like a 'Lost City' (village really), no sewage, no tar roads, no kerbs to walk on etc and really, this was not on!