Nature is waking up!

Finally the garden is waking up! The first sign that winter was at an end, was the bright splashes of the Clivias, they looked stunning in the shade, providing much-needed colour. Many succulents are also advertising the advent of Spring, some of them flowering for the first time since I acquired them.

My Pleiospilos nelli flowering for the first time

All the garden birds are also more active - the Masked weavers have started breaking down last year's nests and are gathering strips of weaving material from my Windmill Palm. The Fiscal Shrike probably already has her first brood, as she has started following me around the garden, begging for some minced meat, which I duly put out on the feeding table for her. I haven't seen them much most of the winter, was wondering if they're still around. 

My Robbie (Cape Robin-chat) seems to have disappeared, haven't seen him or his wife around at all. Even all my calling has been to no avail. This is very sad for me, I loved having him around and visiting me in the house to get a tit-bit. But ever since the Karoo Thrush attacked him inside my house, nothing's been the same. He started keeping to himself on the edges of the garden until this past summer, when he disappeared completely. I am SO hoping that he'll be back...

So, as they say, Spring is time for pink wine, working in the garden, time for love and new beginnings, cleaning out the cupboards (been there, done that), shopping (not really my thing), getting into shape for summer (not really my thing either!), and time for change. Change is good. I like change. So my resolution for this spring is to work more in the garden, change things around a bit, get my succulents in order (I need to start a succulent garden, I've got far too many in pots!) and clean out the wildlife pond.

What will you be doing this Spring?

Spring is nigh - Help your garden birds in their nest-building efforts

Southern Masked Weaver (Ploceus velatus) building his nest in my garden

Winter (and what a winter it has been! With snow, hail, floods and tornadoes, not our usual winter weather!) is slowly coming to an end here in South Africa and soon the birds in your garden will be thinking of nesting, and a top priority for them will be nesting materials. One of the best parts of providing habitat for birds in your yard is the possibility of your garden being chosen as a nesting site.

Upon searching "nesting materials for birds", I came upon a wonderful article on Habitat Network, which I'm placing here for ease of reference.

Cape Robin-chat (Cossypha caffra) 

--> nest and babies in my garden
The initial excitement of discovering a new nest tucked away in a shrub you planted, or one perched up on a ledge, is rivalled only by the joy of finding that precious clutch of eggs gently nestled within. The fledglings’ eventual success or failure depends on several environmental factors, some of which you can influence, and some of which are in the hands of the parents and chance.

Birds use a variety of materials to build a strong nest and hold it in place. You can help by putting out supportive materials like:

• Piles of rigid and flexible sticks of different sizes
• Pieces of native grape vine or Virginia Creeper
• A collection of coconut fibres or horse hair
• Mud in a bowl or create a small puddle nearby

Insulation is another very important feature in a well built nest. Heat loss due to wind and wet conditions will cool eggs in a nest during incubation recesses and the parent has to regenerate that heat upon return. You can put out a wide range of insulating materials that birds like to use:

• Wool from sheep, goat, or alpaca, cotton batting, and animal fur
• Grass, hay or straw, and leaf mulch can also be easily offered
• Non-dyed Crafting Feathers are excellent and can be a favourite among Tree Swallows

For hiding the nest, deterring predators and for decoration to help attract a mate, offer:

• Pieces of lichen and moss
• Snake skins and spider webs
• Green Material such as pine needles or sprigs of herbs or shrubs

There are numerous ways to offer building materials. We do, however, encourage the use of natural materials to lessen the risk of entanglement in synthetic fibres like netting, twine, or fishing line. Avoid using animal fur that has been exposed to flea or tick treatments or dryer lint because it may contain harmful residues. Keeping all of this in mind when offering building materials will help the birds in your yard produce high-quality, safe, and secure nests.

And, finally, some birds nest in trees and shrubs and are called “open cup” nesters, while others require use of a “cavity” to nest. Historically, these cavities were in dead trees, called snags, but people also provide nest boxes that meet this need as well.

So give the birds in your garden a fighting chance this year by planting indigenous, providing food, water, cover and nesting materials and your joy will be unparalleled!


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There's a whisper in the garden...

There's a whisper in the garden that spring might be on her way...

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September inspiration

Never yet was there a springtime, when the buds forgot to bloom. 

— Margaret Elizabeth Sangster

The 1st of September is officially Spring in South Africa and although all the signs of spring are there  — peach trees full of blossoms, Tiger grass and other plants pushing out new green shoots — today is  one of the coldest days of the past winter with temperatures at -2℃ early this morning and not going much above 10℃. Hopefully this will be the last of the cold and it's forth into summer from here on!

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Wishing you a beautiful Spring season!

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The darling buds of Spring

A bird in the hand is a certainty, but a bird in the bush may sing. 

- Bret Harte 

South Africa is famous for its sunshine. A subtropical location, moderated by ocean on three sides of the country and the altitude of the interior plateau, account for the warm temperate conditions so typical of South Africa – and so popular with its foreign visitors.

It's a relatively dry country, with an average annual rainfall of about 464mm (compared to a world average of about 860mm). While the Western Cape gets most of its rainfall in winter, the rest of the country is generally a summer-rainfall region. At the same time, temperatures in South Africa tend to be lower than in other countries at similar latitudes – such as Australia – due mainly to greater elevation above sea level.

September is the beginning of spring in South Africa. There’s excitement in the air as nature starts turning green, blossoms appear on trees, insects come alive and days get warmer. There's plenty to see and do when you visit South Africa in September and October. Babies are born in the game reserves, northern hemisphere birds start arriving.

One such arrival is the Red-chested Cuckoo (Cuculus solitarius - Piet-My-Vrou) whose beautiful call can start as early as 4am in the morning and actually, I've even heard him 12 o'clock at night - calling, calling - trying to find his mate perhaps, who also made the long journey from the Republic of the Congo or Sierra Leone, Somalia? 

As we move into the summer months more and more species will arrive here to take advantage of the prolific food supply. Already the Wahlberg Eagles are back in early August. As an Intra African migrant they don’t have to travel far and are not away for long. 

Most birds, especially those that attempt non-stop or very long flights, have to build up fat reserves before hand. These fat deposits are a response to hormonal changes that in turn, are a response to environmental changes. Some birds may even double their body weight such is the demand of this hazardous journey. Journeys of 10 000km are not unusual while the longest round trip is undertaken every year when the Arctic Tern flies a staggering 50 000 km. The larger birds like raptors and storks migrate short distances between stop off points and do not need to fatten up before leaving. The Steppe Eagles that come all the way from the Russian Steppes (Palaeartic-African Migrants) arrive here in November/December. These birds tend to fly over land; they need the warm air of the thermals to fuel their flight as well as the food available only from land. Many of these birds, including the Lesser Spotted Eagles, Booted eagles, Storks and Pelicans fly in huge concentrations over Israel and Gibraltar between their nesting grounds in Eurasia and their non breeding sites in Africa twice a year. Their flight plan is longer than a sea route and man-made factors add extra risk. 

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False alarm!

May all seasons be sweet to thee... 

A few weeks ago, we had what I call a "false" spring - green buds on the Celtis africana (White Stinkwood) and my peach tree sporting tiny little blossoms. It happens most years, and yet I never learn. Absolutely keen for spring, I start cutting, watering and clearing, only to be caught out by a late frost or a sudden cold spell, ending up with now-exposed plants being damaged or killed off by the frost.

My Tree Fuchsia (Halleria lucida - to the right of the terracotta pot) managed to stay green all through winter and then, suddenly, Mr. Frosty entered the garden and whipped everybody for daring to be so brash on his watch! Luckily the Aloes (aloe ferox) had a good start with mild weather as it started flowering and was strong enough to withstand the onslaught. 

The fact is, plants have to get ready for the cold. They have to make all sorts of interior preparations — battening down the hatches, so to speak — before winter comes. They essentially create an antifreeze, converting easily frozen carbohydrates in their stems to freeze-resistant sugars, and they quit producing the kind of young, tender growth that will be most vulnerable to spring. But as this warm spell of 'early' spring arrives, plants aren’t battening down the hatches anymore, they’re throwing them wide open, and putting on flowers and new growth like summer was just around the corner.

The plants are now so delirious and careless with this warm weather, that it won’t take much to do damage. Just a few hours of serious cold could do serious damage to plants that have, like me, fallen for this early "false" spring.

The birds are still extremely grateful for the feeders I fill every morning - here the female Weavers are dominating this feeder and I noticed most of the males at another feeder - girls sharing some secrets over a snack? "Do you see him girls? He's the one I told you about! The nests he builds are absolute master-pieces!"

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So, here's to spring -

begin . bloom . fresh . subtle . bright . begin . simple . new . soft . cool . burst 

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August gifts

Every spring is the only spring - a perpetual astonishment. 

 - Ellis Peters 

Don't ask me where I was on the first of August (in mind and body!) when I was supposed to do this post, but life has been a bit hectic on this Southern side of the globe. I got a new Tablet, the Samsung Galaxy P5100 and you know how it goes once you start playing with a new toy - everything else goes out the window. I've been learning it's ins and outs, playing on the internet and with all the apps and time just slipped by!

I was wondering if it's not a bit early to celebrate Spring because we suddenly had a retreat into Winter, with SNOW and freezing temperatures! It snowed all over South Africa and here in Tarlton we suffered -2℃ in the middle of the day! Now I know that sounds like a joke to some of you living in the Northern Hemisphere, but for us, used to winter temps of around 18℃, it really was something major!

Unfortunately we were not lucky enough to have a thick blanket of white here in Tarlton as some other places in the country, but the pic below gives you a fair idea.

 A scene in Nottingham road, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa

But my Celtises (White Stinkwoods in the pic right at the top) and peach trees refused to believe this and are full of buds, positive that Spring is just around the corner. So I'll take my cue from them and quote an old Chinese proverb, "Spring is sooner recognized by plants than by men!"

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As winter fades to spring...

… hangers-on will be forced to let go, 

making room for new growth 

fresh color, 

life. 

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 A little corner created in the shade 

It's almost August and the warmer weather has spawned an activity of going through my garden to check on what needs to be done and I was horrified to notice that the chickens had just about annihilated my whole garden - what the winter didn't get, they did! I haven't been totally oblivious of this, it's just that it's been too cold to do much about it.

 The start of a new garden 

First it was the major job of cutting down and/or removing dead stuff and then taking stock of what was left - lots of open space! Many of the plants I removed were those that needed sun and had totally deteriorated because of too much shade in my garden now that all my trees have matured to 10m beauties - it's amazing how things creep up on you without you noticing… 

 So some new spaces were created in the sun with old favourites. 

 Progress - a little pathway for easy access and still have to add a few more plants 

After removing Red Hot pokers from a shady patch and not having anything to replace them with, I thought it easier to create a feature for the time being, below, but will have to get to the nursery some time or another! 

A temporary feature in a shady patch It's amazing what a bit of crusher stone and things found will do to help out when you're stuck without any plants…

Joseph filling up an empty spot with some crusher stone and turning it into a new pathway.

 

 And of course, no day in the garden is perfect without our feathery friends enjoying a snack! 

Make way, I also need some!

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FARM TALK - Spring Fever, Summer Madness

Spring fever and summer madness happen on a smallholding over-night. The one minute you're still in the grip of ice cold frost and the next minute the first rains have fallen and everything is blossoming and needs to be cut or trimmed, dug over and fertilized and everything hatches or gets born at the same time.

Calves are frolicking in the field and the ducks and geese are busy leading their ducklings and goslings through the garden on a never-ending search for insects and tasty buds (including the newly-planted seedlings in the bed borders!).

The Koi fish are also spawning in the pond and thousands of tadpoles have hatched to the prior songs of their parents, lullabying us to sleep every night - there is no sound like water bubbling over the waterfall and frogs serenading one another at night to put you into a peaceful state of sleep, awaking fresh and raring to go early the next morning.

Dragonflies appear out of nowhere and provided your pond water is healthy and passes their inspection, lay their eggs in the water, and the next generation lives as Naiads (dragonfly nymphs) under the water for the next couple of months until they crawl out of the water onto some tall
plants, shed their nymph bodies and emerge as the spectacular dragonfly, once again claiming their territory as their parents did before them.

 

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Imagecredit 

--> A mole I caught in the garden was summarily evicted and moved to the other side of the garden wall (I apologise for the poor image quality, but he was very aggressive and just wouldn't stay still to be photographed! And those teeth are enough to scare the pants off anybody!)

--> But now also starts the never-ending fight with the moles, leaving fresh mounds of earth all over your freshly-mowed , immaculate lawn. Our smallholding is totally poison-free, so every home remedy and alternative method for eradicating pests has been tried and tested, from 2L bottles of water lying on the lawn to loud music being pumped down the tunnels to hose pipes filling the tunnels with water (with the assumption that the wet and noisy conditions will be too uncomfortable for them to bear and they will therefore surface on the OTHER side of the wall, out of the garden). Alternatively, one succumbs to the daily mounds of fresh earth, raking them down and all over the lawn as a top soil treatment.

Image credit 

As far as moles are concerned, the Golden Mole is a welcome visitor, as he is carnivorous and eats all the cut worm and other harmful insects, whereas the Rat Mole is the one being chased from pillar to post for his habit of eating the bulbs and roots of everything in his path ... but what a wonderful sight to see a mole surfacing at night, grunting and scratching around under the safe cover of darkness (or so he thought!) until he is swiftly scooped into a bucket (those teeth are lethal!) and released the next morning far away enough to, hopefully, not find his or her way back again (and after much soul-searching and worrying about any possible babies that might be left behind and abandoned, common sense prevailed and hearts were hardened and the thought swept out of our minds in favour of a mole-free garden.)

Snakes are treated with similar love and attention, being caught and released in a far-away, safe environment or, in the case of a Mole snake or Brown House snake, being left to their own devices, as rats can be a big problem on smallholdings with all the food being served up for ducks, geese, chickens, etc.

And so summer, and the life-cycle of a smallholding, starts once again!

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Farm Talk - Winter 2008

A cycle has been completed once again - June, and another Winter on our doorsteps. Winter 2006, as the picture shows, was quite severe for us in South Africa, as snow is something we rarely experience and therefore always creates great excitement as well as hard-ship. Especially in the farming community, as livestock is always at risk because of the vast sizes of our farms and the large numbers of livestock we farm with - no barns really big enough to house all of them. No protection against the freezing temperatures and also a great problem with feed supplies.

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Another Winter special is the lovely temperatures we can enjoy at the Coast - no blistering heat or searing sun and a lovely ocean to boot!

On farms and smallholdings though, Winter does also bring a special set of circumstances - exposed pipes from boreholes and water tanks often freeze up and then water is a problem until the sun has defrosted things sufficiently for water to flow freely again. Staff handling livestock outside have to be warmly clothed, wrapped in scarves and gloves and often having their 'konka' (a fire made in a drum) placed close-by to supply some warmth.

Luckily our Winters are short-lived, with our Autumn months being warm, calm and serene. In March the most beautiful colours start emerging as trees put on their Autumn outfits, getting ready for their long-earned rest. April brings all the dropping leaves, ensuing in a great garden clean-up as leaves are gathered for the compost heap ready for use in Spring.

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May is one of the most beautiful months, warm enough outside to sit at the garden table and enjoy the birds frolicking around. The bird baths are still in full use and the lesser foliage on the trees allows the birds to sit and bask in the sun, drying out before the flit off on the next adventure. In June winter starts seriously setting in and by August/September we're ready for Spring again!

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