African Striped Skink

:: African striped skink - Trachylepsis striata  ::

I have a couple of Lizards living in my bathroom court-yard garden and I often find them sunning themselves on the walls or the rocks and tree stumps. These cold-blooded reptiles eat insects such as ants, beetles, larvae and flies, so the ones we get around the house or game lodges are actually very welcome! They also often enter my bathroom, decorating my walls just the way I like it! 

Being cold-blooded means that they don’t have a control mechanism keeping their body temperature constant irrespective of their surroundings. They need the sun to warm their blood and provide them with energy to move and will remain mostly inactive on cold days and may hibernate in winter. There are no poisonous Lizards in southern Africa and South Africa is home to more than 200 lizard species, making it the richest country for lizard diversity in continental Africa. 

 

A sunny position on the wall is greatly prized.

The African striped skink gives birth to live young, but other reptiles lay eggs. The lifespan of lizards is between 1 – 3 years. 

 

This little lady (I think!) looks decidedly pregnant!

 Getting together almost certainly means confrontation! Shortly after I took this photo, the top lizard jumped onto the bottom lizard, sending him (her) scurrying back into the ferns.

 

All four my resident lizards catching up on on some early-morning sunbathing. They are actually also keeping an eye on the hosepipe on the ground, where I'm watering the plants, and as soon as I remove they hosepipe they will all be down for a drink. I do have several water bowls in the garden for them and the birds, but they seem to revel in the running water, preferring to drink directly from the ground.

The sun rising over the bathroom court-yard wall.

The court-yard provides lots of cover and a safe haven for them and is also warm enough so that I caught glimpses of them throughout winter.

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Sunday pleasures

“A Sunday well-spent brings a week of content.”

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I was sitting in the garden this morning, having my first cup of coffee, enjoying the sounds around me and watching a Sparrow replenishing last year's nest - he was piling fresh leaves and grass on top of the previous lot and I thought I even saw him doing a few little jumps, as if flattening it in place. "How industrious", I thought, "and even clever, using last year's platform!"

There was even a Weaver close-by, starting on a new nest, which the ladies will shortly be inspecting and, if one finds it to her liking, she'll move straight in, decorating it with feathers and other soft material.

As I was sipping my coffee, relaxed and lost in thought, I heard voices on the other side of the garden wall. I got up and dragged my little ladder closer to the wall and peered over. There was Solly's wife busy doing the dishes just outside their house's door and just a few houses away, Chrissie was busy sweeping her front yard and her daughter was busy hanging up the washing.

After I'd settled back in my chair, picking up my cup of coffee, the above quote came to mind, "A Sunday well spent, brings a week of content", and I thought, "Ne'er a truer word spoken!" I was spending my Sunday exactly the way I wanted, relaxing and enjoying nature, which will hopefully set the mood for the rest of my week!

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The Way of the Crow

"If men had wings and bore black feathers, few of them would be clever enough to be crows." 

-Rev. Henry Ward Beecher mid 1800's 

Coco on a rock in my garden - watercolour on Visual 200gsm - Maree©

There is little wonder that crows are very often the subjects of legends, folktales, and storytelling traditions around the world, all of which is very deep-seated and arising from myth and folklore thousands of years old. Anyone that has ever spent time with a crow will know how absurd these myths are and that Crows are no more 'evil' or 'dark' as depicted in these legends than a canary in a cage. 

 I make those remarks in light of the life I shared with Coco, a Black Crow (Corvus capensis), over a span of twenty years. She was keen of sight and hearing, and her other senses were no less acute. As was her sense of humour! She loved to mimic men laughing, producing the exact deep resonance of the male voice. She would also have a conversation with herself, changing voices as she went along, which she reproduced from the garden staff talking to one another. 

Another favourite of hers was hooting like a car, getting everyone in the household to go outside to see who has arrived. She would also call someone by their name at the top of her voice, also getting that person rushing outside to see who was calling, then uttering a long, low laugh, as if enjoying the havoc she's causing. 

She loved to play tag, pretending to peck your foot, getting you to chase her around the garden. And of course, one 'myth' that is absolutely true, is a Crow's love for shiny stuff. No tea tray was safe unattended outside, as all the spoons would disappear and any jewellery lying around the house was at great risk! 

A valuable lesson we could all learn from a crow is that they never "stuff" themselves with food. She would only eat until she was satisfied and then take the rest and hide it all over the garden, ready to be picked up at a later stage. 

 It is this kind of sensitivity that makes crows and other corvids legendary birds. 

Coco passed away at the age of 27 after a stroke and I can honestly say no other animal enriched my life like she did. 

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My mind is at ease in Africa

I wanted to say something about the beautiful country I live in, but I guess I can't say it any better than the words below ... 

Driving down the road under the southern light 

Looking back to see where we've come from 

As we watched the sun go down 

Rain it fell like diamonds from Kimberley mines 

On the road to Jo'burg with the dying light 

Farewell Durban City of Natal 

Stopped a while to stretch my thoughts 

As we crossed the borderline and into Transvaal 

I saw the sun go down 

 Under the southern skies 

Over and over 

I'll always remember those beautiful African nights 

In the old V W, we'd count the miles 

We travelled with a friend whose name was Farr 

The stories that he told us talked of faces times and places 

 Sang and played his guitar 

Driving down the road we hear the morning rise 

Leaving all the past so far behind 

The sound man played the Eagles as we listen 

 'Take it easy' Echoes on through our lives 

I saw the sun go down 

Under the southern skies 

Over and over I'll 

always remember, I still hear them call 

No matter how far those beautiful African nights 

- Unknown 

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Angel wing

Angel wing 

you inspire 

light 

hope 

love 
:: 

You faded away... 

A few years ago I was heavily into Begonias and a favourite was the "Angel Wing", a beautiful plant with exquisitely coloured leaves and beautiful pink flowers. I also had a couple of the more usual Begonia cultivars, but seeing as there are more that 1,500 species, I rarely even knew the names of those I bought. (Information from some nurseries regarding the plants they sell is sometimes pitiful, leaving you up to your own devices of trying to identify something.)

Begonia "Angel Wing" (Begonia aconitifolia × B. coccinea) is a hybrid Begonia which resulted from a cross between Begonia aconitifolia and B. coccinea. The hybridization was made by California plant breeder Eva Kenworthy Gray in 1926.

The plant gets its name from the shape and colors of its leaves. Usually, 'Angel Wing' grow upward on one stem. They flower and produce blooms that range in colors from red to white. The leaves grow with a wide range of colors also. The top of the leaf is often a dark green with metallic silver specks. The underside is a deep red.

Often, these plants are used as year-round houseplants. They are fairly easy to grow for a gardener that understands begonias. Since they are native to the tropics, the ideal growing conditions include high humidity, good circulation of the air around the plant, a lot of water, and a lot of light. The more light, the more brilliant the color of the leaves.

Angel Wing Begonias will grow well under shade cloth, lattice or in early morning/late afternoon sun. They will burn if grown in direct mid-day sun. The flowers are edible, with a sweet tart taste. 

Sadly I gave my Begonias away when we moved and maybe, just maybe (because they take a LOT of care!) I might consider getting another one.

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