Super Moon!

Skywatcher Tim McCord of Entiat, Washington caught this amazing view of the March 19, 2011 full moon - called a supermoon because the moon was at perigee, the closest point to Earth in its orbit - using a camera-equipped telescope. CREDIT: Tim McCord 

Skywatchers take note: The biggest full moon of the year is due to arrive this weekend. The moon will officially become full Saturday (May 5, 2012) at 11:35 p.m. EDT. And because this month's full moon coincides with the moon's perigee — its closest approach to Earth — it will also be the year's biggest. 

The moon will swing in 221,802 miles (356,955 kilometers) from our planet, offering skywatchers a spectacular view of an extra-big, extra-bright moon, nicknamed a supermoon. 

And not only does the moon's perigee coincide with full moon this month, but this perigee will be the nearest to Earth of any this year, as the distance of the moon's close approach varies by about 3 percent, according to meteorologist Joe Rao, SPACE.com's skywatching columnist. This happens because the moon's orbit is not perfectly circular. 

This month's full moon is due to be about 16 percent brighter than average. In contrast, later this year on Nov. 28, the full moon will coincide with apogee, the moon's farthest approach, offering a particularly small and dim full moon. 

Though the unusual appearance of this month's full moon may be surprising to some, there's no reason for alarm, scientists warn. The slight distance difference isn't enough to cause any earthquakes or extreme tidal effects, experts say. 

However, the normal tides around the world will be particularly high and low. At perigee, the moon will exert about 42 percent more tidal force than it will during its next apogee two weeks later, Rao said. 

The last supermoon occurred in March 2011. 

To view this weekend's super moon to best effect, look for it just after it rises or before it sets, when it is close to the horizon. There, you can catch a view of the moon behind buildings or trees, an effect which produces an optical illusion, making the moon seem even larger than it really is. 

Info from Space.com  

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The Language of Birds

A Red Bishop I sketched in my garden a couple of years ago - done in one of my Nature Journals 

The “language of birds” has many names; some call it the “Language of the Gods”, others the “Green language”. Some have described the “language of birds” as “the tongue of Secret Wisdom." Its vocabulary is myth. Its grammar is symbolism. 

But what is “bird language”? On first inspection, it would be the language that the birds use to communicate amongst themselves. It is a language the birds understand, but we humans do not. To many, the language of birds is therefore nothing more or less than a series of secret codes and phrases, which pass by in daily conversation, except for those with ears that “hear”.

"Hearing" the birds in your garden is a wonderful past-time. By listening carefully, and regularly, you will soon understand each innuendo, each call, each tweet and twitter. I know exactly when my birds are warning me of an intruder in the garden, when there is danger in the air or when they're purely singing for the joy of it. I also know their mating calls, I know when there's a strange bird in my garden and I know their call when they are looking for one another. Most heart-warming is hearing a fledgling calling its parents from the ground, and their response, as they find him and carry him a little snack. 

C'mon, listen to the birds in your garden, or wherever you are, and discover a wonderful world of communication, excitement and a better story than the Joneses next door! 

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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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I had a Dove ...

A Laughing Dove in my old Peach tree last winter - a tribute to Flutterby, my little pet Laughing Dove that I was blessed enough to have in my life for 6 months before she found her mate and started a family of her own. 

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I had a dove, and the sweet dove died; 

And I have thought it died of grieving: 

Oh, what could it grieve for? 

its feet were tied With a silken thread of my own hands’ weaving. 

Sweet little red feet! Why should you die– 

Why would you leave me, sweet bird! why? 

You lived alone in the forest tree; 

Why, pretty thing! would you not live with me? 

I kiss’d you oft and gave you white peas; 

Why not live sweetly, as in the green trees? 

- John Keats. 

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Ink sketch and Watercolour wash on Visual 200gsm 

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Hedgehogs and fires

Just before Winter in March 2008, Golden Girl and Sethlong had 6 babies, first pink and wrinkly with soft little spines, but soon perfect little replicas of their parents.

Unfortunately, soon after they were weaned, their mother, Golden Girl, died. I found her dead early one morning under some grass and all the babies wandering aimlessly around. I couldn't find any cause of why she had died, no apparent injuries, and up until that time she had seemed perfectly healthy.

Sethlong exploring the new area

I gathered all the babies and Sethlong, the father, and moved them to a new enclosure in my bathroom court yard so that I can keep a closer eye on them. An amazing thing happened, quite contrary to Hedgehog behaviour - Sethlong seemed to take over the care of the youngsters. They would follow him all around the garden and at night I would find all 7 of them huddled together in the same box.

One of the new nesting boxes - the photos were taken at night, so I'm sorry about the quality....

It was quite a business, having to put out 7 food bowls every night, and never being sure whether Sethlong was eating the bulk of the food and whether the babies were getting enough or not.

One evening, I found Sethlong kicking out all the grass out of one of the nest boxes - couldn't figure out a reason, unless he wanted to make a new place for himself...

Sethlong threw most of the grass out of one of the nest boxes ... wonder why?

When the babies were about 12 weeks old, I took them all to our local game reserve (Krugersdorp Game Reserve), where they have a huge 4ha aviary and where I felt they would have enough space to ramble to their hearts content and also be safe from predators and the raging veld fires we experience here in South Africa every Winter.

These fires, besides being necessary for the natural evolution of things, cause massive loss of life amongst small mammals, reptiles and birds every year. Many tortoises, hedgehogs and ground nesting birds fall victim to this phenomena. But on a good note, after the fires have either been extinguished or burnt themselves out, you will see big flocks of egrets, herons and storks foraging around for crispy insects.

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I'm serious, stay away!

We were feeding the Ostriches on a recent visit to 'Rustig', a resort with various wild animals and hiking trails up the mountain, not far from Magaliesburg in Skeerpoort (Gauteng, South Africa) and this male put up a spectacular show of protecting his females, ignoring our offerings and charging the fence from time-to-time, a real force to be reckoned with! 

Every now and then he would nonchalantly pretend to be pecking at something on the ground, a ruse that worked a few times, but when the unsuspecting victim got closer, his attitude changed completely! In one instance, an elderly gentleman almost got his ear pecked off! 

This is one of his beautiful ladies he was protecting, a gentle gal with gorgeous long eyelashes who was delighted with the offerings of corn and seeds.

Camera : Fuji FinePix 2800Zoom 

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Just wondering...

1. What you did this weekend...? 
2. What you had for breakfast this morning? 
3. What's your favourite colour...? 
4. What do you have planned for the week ahead...? 

I'd love to hear from you! 

Me, myself, had a very quiet weekend, some rain and a beautiful veggie platter for lunch at the Magalies Hotel on Sunday, topped off with a lovely HOT Irish coffee (it was cool outside as we sat under the thatch, with a cold Autumn breeze, so that's my excuse!) 

I don't eat breakfast, so can't tell you anything there! 

 My favourite colour depends on my mood - mostly it's blue, but currently orange is ruling, even surfacing in most of my paintings and the decor in my house. 

 My week ahead looks pretty quiet, the way I like it. No rushing around here, just spending some time in the garden, checking on the Laughing Dove's new babies (they built their nest in the lower branches of the trees, so with a ladder I can just have a quick peek inside), painting, making a couple of items of jewelry and, oh yes, I have to prepare more nest boxes for my chickens, I have eight hens squabbling over four next boxes! 

 Hope you have a great week ahead of you! 

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African Leopard {Panthera pardus}

Black Pilot FineLiner ink sketch and W&N watercolour on Amedeo 200gsm   

An African Leopard sunning himself on some rocks. Powerful, graceful and arguably one of the most beautiful of all the large cats, the elusive leopard is a master of stealth and survival. I myself have only seen a Leopard twice in my life, once in the Kruger National Park and once on a private game reserve and in both instances he would have gone unnoticed if not pointed out by the guide.   

In the Cape Province south of the Orange River (South Africa), they have been largely eradicated by stock farmers except in rugged mountainous areas. The Cape Leopard that lives in the Cape mountain range is much smaller than its big cousins in the Limpopo region. Their diet is probably the contributing factor, consisting mostly of dassies and much smaller prey. 

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The leopard lingered in the sun 

Almost at close of day, 

With all its hours almost done 

And fast to ebb away... 

The leopard let his memories 

Remind him now and then, 

Because he knew each day must cease 

When moonlight shone again.   

This day had seen new life, new death, 

That's how time passes by... 

We understand while we draw breath 

Until our final sigh... 

The leopard knew his time was near, 

Just like the sun above, 

Yet leopards are not prone to fear, 

That's why they still share love...   

His cubs were waiting down below, 

As he watched like a king... 

To see time like a river flow 

To outlive everything... 

Some day his cubs would watch in turn, 

As their cubs played a while... 

With each new day something to learn... 

Some joy to raise a smile... 

(The poem is based on the magnificent painting by Stephen Gayford called 'Leopard Sunset'.) 

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Cactus flower close-up (Echinopsis)

'Tis my faith that every flower enjoys the air it breathes! ~William Wordsworth, "Lines Written in Early Spring," Lyrical Ballads, 1798 

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My Cacti put up the most spectacular show of flowers last Winter and I'm hoping to get some beautiful shots again this year. They are an absolute delight to the insects, with sweet nectar accumulating at the base of the flower, luring ants, bees, flies, and even a few wasps. 

 Camera : FujiFinepix 2800Zoom - Macro enabled 

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I'll wait for your return...

Picture from Warwick Tarboton 

 For the past week or so my Greater Striped Swallows have been getting increasingly more restless until, finally, this morning they were gone - mother, father and two babies. Nobody to greet me on the bathroom wall, no twittering and chattering coming from the TV satellite dish, no more watching them throwing their little heads back and uttering their little gurgling song... I DO wish them a safe journey to their summer destination and I will expectantly be waiting for their return in September.... 

The Greater Striped Swallow (Hirundo cucullata syn. Cecropis cucullata) is a large swallow. It breeds in Southern Africa, arriving from its central African non-breeding grounds around July-August in the Limpopo Province, Western and Eastern Cape. It reaches Swaziland, Botswana, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal during September-October, eventually leaving the region around April-May. 

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