The humble Black-jack

 

Afrikaans - Khakibos 

Camera : Canon EOS 550D 

Essential oil is extracted from the Khaki bush - Tagetes minuta (also known as Tagetes glandulifera) of the Compositae family and is used as the base oil for many perfumes. I absolutely LOVE Khaki bush myself and often grab hold of a clump while walking in the veld, pulling the leaves through my hand, leaving a strong, oily smell which I just adore! 

Also known as Black-jacks here in South Africa, the black, spiky seeds are really irritating, clinging to your socks and pants and very time-consuming to get rid of. This 'weed' springs up profusely once the ground has been disturbed, as after ploughing, and it is not uncommon to see acres and acres on farm lands. 

The leaves and flowers are a good insect repellent and are often seen hanging from native huts to deter swarms of flies and mosquitoes. In a 5% dilution, tagetes oil has been used to kill maggots in open wounds, while the roots and seeds have been found to help rid the body of poisons. The therapeutic properties of Tagetes oil are anti-infectious, anti-microbial, antibiotic, anti-spasmodic, anti-parasitic, antiseptic, insecticide and sedative. 

After the Boer war in South Africa, Australian troops brought plants to their native land where it grew profusely. It is an ingredient of many foot treatment preparations - the oil is extracted from the leaves, stalks and flowers, picked when the seeds are just starting to form. 

Khaki bush oil is not to be confused with Marigold Tagetes oil, Tagetes Grandulifera, which is produced by steam distillation from the leaves and flowers of the Marigold. 

With many pests becoming resistant to commercially produced insecticides and pesticides, many of us have turned back to Mother Nature for a solution. Well, I at least have - I often pick clumps of Khaki bush, hanging them from the rafters in my bedroom and I also crush the leaves, soaking them in boiling water and then spraying my Bonsai for that pesky fly that lays brown eggs on the leaves, slowly killing the leaves off one by one.

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Straw hats, chickens and watering cans

How does one do it? How does one weave a hat of straw and create a finished product that serves as art upon our head? It seems magical. Or, perhaps it is the magic and the grace which carries the hat that is the thing which makes that hat seem so special.  

- Bohomamma

  

Summer's end and I'm still in straw hat and brown pants, my usual summer garb. Winter is no reason to stop gardening and even though the days are cold, the sun can be just as deadly as in summer. I'm by no means a hat-lover, but straw hats, watering cans and garden gloves just seem to go hand-in-hand when you enter nature's domain.

  

But there definitely won't be any gardening done today! The Cape weather has thrown a tantrum and here in Gauteng the temps have dropped drastically to 12°C! Luckily I had put in thick, fresh straw in the chicken coup earlier in the week so at least they are warm at night. But I worry about all the garden birds...

 

Fresh straw in the chicken coop 

I think I should invest in one of these for the hen house...!

  

(Chicken coup heater - Picture from Pinterest) 

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Seeing Pink

 

We all know what pink means, right? To dress a baby boy in pink would be nearly as bad as filling his bottle with Scotch. No construction worker will be caught dead using a pink hammer, unless he was colour-blind or possessed a well-developed sense of humour. Pink means “girl” in a way so direct that no other colour comes close. 

So does that mean that Pink flowers are girls.....? 

This Cosmos in my garden is still putting up a brave show even though we have been really hit with cold weather now. 

Camera : Kodak EasyShare C195

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The sound of birds

The sound of birds stops the noise in my mind. 

 ~ Carly Simon

 

Birds... those lovely little creatures that just brighten up any day, no matter how cold. Without any complaints they just go about their business, finding food for the family, basking in the sun on a bare branch, singing soft melodies that gladden the heart. 

Having the birds in my garden visiting my various bird feeders makes me feel so special. Makes me feel alive with purpose. Brings a smile to my face and makes me feel grateful to be part of Mother Nature who surrounds us and takes care of all her siblings, me and you included. 

Nobody else knows your reason for being. You do. Your bliss guides you to it. When you follow your bliss, when you follow your path to joy, your conversation is of joy, your feelings are of joy — you're right on the path of that which you intended when you came forth into this physical body. 

--- Abraham-Hicks 

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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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Chameleon (Chamaeleonidae)

"We are like chameleons, we take our hue and the colour of our moral character, from those who are around us."
- John Lock



W&N watercolour on Amedeo 200gsm


Chameleons are fascinating and amazing creatures, always popular with anyone who sees them. They belong to the lizard family and the word 'Chameleon' means 'Earth Lion'. 

I just love Chameleons and there was a time when I used to have them in my garden regularly - no more. I haven't seen a Chameleon for... years. Yes, years... I know they might have difficulty getting into the property because of the high walls, but I at least used to see them on my walks. The over-population in rural areas is really having an effect on these wonderful little creatures... 

The main distribution of Chameleons is Africa and Madagascar, and half of the world's chameleon population lives on the island of Madagascar. They are famous for their ability to change colour. This serves as a form of communication, a response to temperature, light, and mood, as well as a defense against predators. Their eyes can rotate and swivel independently, enabling them to see almost a complete 360-degrees or observe two things simultaneously. Their tongues can be as long as their bodies. Chameleons can balance on a branch by gripping it with their claws and wrapping their tail around the branch to hold on. Chameleons can even sleep upside down! 

There are thought to be more than 160 different species of chameleon that range from just an inch to more than a couple of feet in size. The tiny pygmy leaf chameleon, found in the jungles of Madagascar, is the smallest species of chameleon with some males measuring less than 3 cm long with the largest growing to almost 70cm long.

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Red-headed Finches (Amadina erythrocephala)

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This past summer I was SO blessed with having many beautiful birds nesting in my garden, especially at my pond. Near the water the Red-headed finches gathered en masse, twittering and chattering while they fought over the best nesting spots. The Bronze Mannikens and Red Bishops tweeted and buzzed in unison as they too tried to get a foothold on this prime real estate. 

The two bushes in contention are my Wild Olive (Olea europaea) and the Butterfly bushes, Buddleja salviifolia, common name sage bush, which is endemic to much of Southern Africa, where it grows on rocky hillsides, along forest margins and watercourses. The Butterfly bushes are terribly messy, but well worth the effort for the birds and butterflies it attracts. 

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Soaking up the Winter sun

Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul. 

- Luther Burbank

Cosmos are like sunshine to the ground! 

Two Pink Cosmos flowers still soaking up the winter sun in my garden, they have long surpassed their usual time of flowering. A bird must have carried in a seed, for I only have this one Cosmos plant, but it's rewarded me with some beautiful flowers! 

Camera : Canon EOS 550D 

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Pebbles and sand

I just love collecting all sorts from nature - pebbles, leaves, grass, crystals, twigs, driftwood, wasps' nests, feathers, porcupine quills, birds' nests, seed pods and even dung! It's a habit I picked up as a child and still practice avidly. It feeds my soul, soothes my senses and pleases my eye. 

A collection of pebbles and crystals in a wooden African bowl next to my bed

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Below is a lovely life lesson I picked up on the internet... 

'A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When class began, wordlessly he picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks right to the top, rocks about 2" diameter. 

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. 

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks. The students laughed. 

He asked his students again if the jar was full. They agreed that yes, it was. The professor then picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. 

"Now," said the professor, "I want you to recognize that this is your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children - anything that is so important to you that if it were lost, you would be nearly destroyed. 

The pebbles are the other things in life that matter, but on a smaller scale. The pebbles represent things like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff. 

If you put the sand or the pebbles into the jar first, there is no room for the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your energy and time on the small stuff, material things, you will never have room for the things that are truly most important. 

Pay attention to the things that are critical in your life. 

Play with your children. 

Take your partner out dancing. 

There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal. 

Take care of the rocks first - the things that really matter. 

Set your priorities. The rest is just pebbles and sand.' 

— un-attributed 

Seedpods and dung from an Antelope 

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Porcupine quills collected on a friend's farm 

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Guinea fowl feather in my garden 

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The OC Robin

I have this Obsessive Compulsive Cape Robin that has decided that my kitchen is the best place in the world!. He also wanders through the house as if he's been doing it his whole life. And no, he's not a pet! 

A couple of months ago I sat and watched as the Cape Robin, a total new-comer to my garden, was testing out one of the bird baths. He sat on the edge, dipping his beak and shaking his head, testing the temperature and getting a good splattering at the same time. This carried on for about 3 or 4 minutes before he summoned up the courage to hop in and actually bath. 

Then he flew up onto a nearby rock, preening and cleaning his feathers from head to toe before flying up into the trees and disappearing from sight. Little did I know that he's a totally peculiar character - he actually seems to prefer the indoors to the out-doors. 

Entering through the front door which is always open, he'll spend hours wandering from room to room, sometimes walking, sometimes flying. His favourite spot, however, is standing in front of my stainless steel dustbin in the kitchen, flying up at his reflection, as one sees birds doing to motor car mirrors, coming back frequently from his other trips through the house to once again challenge himself in the shiny dustbin. 

I have wondered if he could possibly have been someone's pet at one stage, he's so totally at ease in the house. I also believe that he is lonely and that the obsessive flying up at his image is possibly because he thinks it might be a potential mate. 

He has learnt what my whistle means when I fill the bird feeders and I can now actually whistle from anywhere inside the house and he will actually come in and have a look if anything is on offer. I especially put minced meat on one feeding table for him, and am now considering leaving a snack for him in the kitchen! 

I feel absolutely blessed that he has chosen my home to be peculiar in, but I do SO wish for another Robin to join him here in my garden....

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Photographs taken in my garden in Tarlton, South Africa 

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