January inspiration

And now ’tis man who dares assault the sky . . . 

And as we come to claim our promised place, 

aim only to repay the good you gave, 

 and warm with human love the chill of space. 

— Prof. Thomas G. Bergin

Ink, wash and collage in my Moleskine 200gsm “Country Diary” 

I've come to like January, the way it shakes, rattles and rolls - lots of rain, everything is green. This is how the universe works when it's happy.

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December gifts

. . . tomorrow’s flowers . winter food for hungry birds . shapes and shadows for a grey landscape . something to look forward to . december's delights ...

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October Gifts

– Hot, sunny weather

 – afternoon thunderstorms 

 – a warm, earthy, uniquely African smell in the air.

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September gifts

All discarded lovers should be given a second chance, but with somebody else. 

- Mae West 

Today is what yesterday called TOMORROW and every tomorrow always offers you a second chance.

September is when nature gets a second chance, recovers from winter and prepares for tomorrow, when she will dress herself in her full summer finery, never looking back to what was and only living for now, doing her best and enjoying the moment.

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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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July gifts

When I asked for all things, so that I might enjoy life, I was given life, so that I might enjoy all things. 

- Unknown 

Isn't it amazing how Nature plays along to make life easier? Here a White Stinkwood (Celtis africana), which is deciduous, has lost all it's leaves, providing sun to the plants below during the icy month of July and also a sunny spot for the Fiscal Shrike's fledgling to wait till mother brings a tit-bit.

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June Gifts

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Winter is in full swing and my 20-year old Peach tree plays host to two Laughing Doves, basking in the warmth of the early morning sun. 

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May Gifts

Inspirational words on a textured back-ground by Kim Klassen 

May. A soft syllable, a gentle name for the best month in the garden year: cool, misty mornings gently burned away with a warming autumn sun, followed by breezy afternoons and chilly nights.  

Aaah, the changing seasons! How I LOVE May! Balmy Autumn days, sitting out on the patio with a cup of tea watching the birds as they revel in the perfect weather! And this is the one month where we seem to be one with the rest of the world - while the Northern Hemisphere is rejoicing in spring, it seems as if we, here in South Africa, have been given a second spring, gently easing into the colder months to come. The discussion of philosophy is over; it's time for work to begin! 

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April gifts

Birds are a miracle because they prove to us there is a finer, simpler state of being which we may strive to attain.  

~ Doug Coupland 

 W&N watercolour

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It's April already and it feels like just the other day that we heralded in this new year of 2012. I can already feel the change in the season and I watch as my Swallows get ready to leave again. They have successfully reared two lovely babies again this season and I've watched them grow into two beautiful teenagers, often sitting on the wall surrounding my bathroom, chattering and twittering away and not even budging when I go out to fill the bird feeder. This trusting behaviour they certainly learnt from their parents, who have no fear of me at all. 

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March gifts

"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade."
- Charles Dickens

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Echeverias taking in the early-morning sun

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A metal Lizard on a rock

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A feather resting on an air-plant

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February gifts - Light

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As a citizen of sunny Earth, it's hard not to take light for granted. Light is at once both obvious and mysterious. We are bathed in yellow warmth every day and stave off the darkness with incandescent and fluorescent bulbs.

However, I often sit on my patio at night, switching off the garden lights and lighting my old paraffin lamp, sipping a hot cup of coffee by its soft glow, revelling in the insects and night creatures that appear after dark - huge Emperor moths, weird, unmentionable creepy crawlies, excitement as an Hedgehog snuffles around and, if I'm lucky, the joy of hearing one of my resident Eagle Owls settling on the roof.

I salute you, light, for a lightless world would be a gloomy place indeed!

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Picture taken in my garden in Tarlton (Gauteng, South Africa) - Camera Kodak EasyShare C195 - Back-ground texture by Kim Klassen

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January gifts - Cape Reed Grass

green and tawny gold tall grasses . swaying in the breeze
a tumbled tangled garden . that needs cutting down
everywhere I look . love and gratitude follow
- Unknown

Yesterday I went outside to soak up some of this glorious weather we’ve been having and take some pictures. Ambling along my pathways, I was suddenly surprised to find my path blocked by some of my Cape Reed Grass (family Restionaceae). When did this happen? I thought. It has spread beyond belief in just a couple of weeks, even covering some of my miniature Phormiums.

Time to do something here, I decided. So, spade in hand I separated it into clumps, wondering what I would now do with it. Scratching around in my potting shed, I found an old Everite pot which seemed ideal, so in went drainage stones, potting soil and one of the clumps.

I found an empty corner and placed the pot amongst some Marigolds and Hen 'n Chickens (Chlorophytum comosum) and filled the area with a couple of rocks. I think a pot like this is excellent as it will contain the plant as well as show off the grass's natural beauty. Now off to find some more pots....

Another clump of Cape Reed grass that needs to be thinned out

How was your New Year's weekend?

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Pictures taken in my garden in Tarlton (Gauteng, South Africa) - Camera Kodak EasyShare C195 - Back-ground texture by Kim Klassen