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 
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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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Early morning walk

In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks. 

- John Muir 

 

An early-morning walk on our smallholding is something I enjoy immensely and even though the landscape sometimes seems very ordinary, hidden amongst the grasses is the most beautiful delights, from lovely tiny, almost unnoticeable little flowers like the one above, scarcely 5mm in diameter, to insects, Dandelions, Sunflowers, stones, twigs and even the odd ground bird's nest.

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I had a keychain once, with  long rubbery tendrils, which looked just like this wild flower I found hiding amongst the grass. At first glance it was just another weed, but through the camera lens set on Macro, it's true beauty was revealed.

This little Dandelion flower amazes as it goes through its metamorphosis from bud to floret to seedhead, dispersing in the wind like tiny little parachutes.

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A newly-born sunflower struggling its way through the tall grass, soon to become Queen of the field, standing taller than the rest, showing all those around her which way the sun will be rising tomorrow morning.

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A perfectly camouflaged praying mantis waits patiently for some unsuspecting insect to come past. She almost escaped my eye she is so perfectly at one with the blue gum leaves.

A cluster of Ladybirds on an old piece of wood made me wonder whey they would be sitting there...?

A small yellow surprise basking in the sun...

And, of course, no outing is complete without the odd spider! Not a very good photograph, but I wasn't going to interfere in there to see what else might emerge!

Hope your early-morning walks also delivery some lovely delights and surprises!

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October Gifts

– Hot, sunny weather

 – afternoon thunderstorms 

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

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A restful day

Sir John Lubbock :
Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass on a summer day listening to the murmur of water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is hardly a waste of time. 

Up early this morning, about 5am - after yesterday's wintry weather, a forecast of 24℃ promised a beautiful day ahead. I decided to take a walk along the perimeter of the fence around our smallholding and it revealed a few lovely surprises. I came upon this section of our fence that seemed to be highly prized by the termites! Not only had they almost decimated my lawn this winter, it seems nothing is beyond their reach. So obviously these poles will have to be replaced, there were about seven of them, and we will also have to paint all the wooden ones with Creosote. In case you're not familiar with Creosite, it is the portion of chemical products obtained by the distillation of a tar that remains heavier than water, notably useful for its anti-septic and preservative properties. It is black in colour with an extremely strong tar smell and is great for keeping any wood safe from insects.

I also came across some lovely wild flowers. This beauty looks SO much like a potato flower I was almost tempted to dig it up!

Circling around the back of the house, I passed Solly (our mechanic and general factotum) at the borehole pump, filling up the water tanks. We stood for a while, chatting, and he told me has going to tend his vegetable patch today, as well is fix his chicken coop as the neighbours' dogs had already killed four of his chickens.

 

I said goodbye and as I approached the blue gum bush, I spotted a little patch of grass and some Dandelions - these little flowers (I call them flowers, not weeds) always seem to catch my attention, so I stopped and took a couple of photos.

Returning around the other side of the house, I just had to stop and take a photo of my Avocado tree. Believe it or not, but this tree was started with an Avo pip in a glass of water, transplanted several times into different size pots and eventually, when it was too big for any pot, I planted it here next to one of our water tanks. A Privet sprung up next to it, but I've left it as it somewhat protects the Avo from frost during the winter. It has never borne any fruit and is about 8m high now. The Avo tree is on the right.

Mid-morning we took a drive out to Magaliesburg Country Hotel for their stunning breakfast buffet they serve on Sundays and spent a relaxing morning with hubby reading the Sunday papers and me reading my favourite blogs on my Samsung Galaxy tablet, sharing news as we sat sipping our coffees.

On our drive home, we stopped at one of the many little dams dotting the route and I fed the Coots, who always love the bread I take along with me (this time pinched from the toast basket at breakfast!)

Upon our return, there was an Egyptian Goose sitting on the wall next to the gate, letting her discontent be known as as the car stopped, but amazingly, she never flew off and I managed a quick shot before pulling the car into the driveway.

 How did you spend your Sunday?

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Rattail Cactus - Disocactus flagelliformis

Every spring my Rattail Cactus has the most prolific, beautiful blooms. I bring it inside every winter, as it does not tolerate any frost and as soon as the temperatures warm up, I take it back to it's place on the patio where it only gets partial sun a few hours of the day and within a week or two, the flowers appear. 

Rat's Tail Cacti are very easy to grow, being suitable for a greenhouse and container, indoors or out. These plants need a minimum temperature of 6ºC (43ºF). They should be grown in bright, indirect light, in a fairly rich potting mix with good drainage. The best compost consists of four parts sandy loam, and one part of equal quantities of sand and crushed brick. They should be repotted every other year because their soil tends to sour. 

Mine is at the stage now where it desperately needs repotting, but I keep on putting it off, because trying to get in between those spiny tails to dig it out of the pot is a major operation! Those little spines seem to penetrate the hardiest of gloves!

This doesn't mean, however, that they'll need larger pots, just fresh soil. Once the plants are established, keep the compost moist from September to April (here in South Africa); less water is required from March to August, just enough to keep the stems from dying back. In the winter, old or discoloured stems may be cut out at the base to encourage new growth. Water abundantly in summer. 

The bright pink flowers, 1.5 inches long, 2.5 inches wide (4 by 6 cm), are produced along the stems in spring and summer and are sometimes followed by small red fruits. In the wild, they are pollinated by birds, but in cultivation, they generally need to be hand pollinated. 

A pen and ink sketch of my Rattail Cactus 

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Kiepersol tree

Trees are beautiful in their peace, they are wise in their silence. They will stand after we are dust. They teach us, and we tend them. 

 - Galeain ip Altiem MacDunelmor 

My Kiepersol (Cussonia paniculata subsp. sinuata) in April 2012, just starting to show signs of winter 

Even though most websites say the Kiepersol (Cabbage Tree) is an evergreen tree, that has not been the case with mine here in Tarlton (Gauteng, South Africa). Above is my Kiepersol in April, just before the winter, and below is my Kiepersol last week (Sept 2012) - it was completely bare, looking almost dead, but now sprouting new leaves and heads. 

Over the years it has changed from a single head to four or five, each consecutive winter frost taking its toll. Below you can see a new head forming on an old branch. 

New head and leaves 

Here it is also forming two new heads on an existing branch - so this one will have three heads. 

I planted my 50cm little Kiepersol in 2006 and within a year it had doubled in size. Two years later, in 2009, it had doubled in size again, growing to an impressive 3m within three years. 

My Kiepersol in December 2007 

My Kiepersol in 2009 

My Kiepersol in Feb. 2010 

At the beginning of 2010 it still had only one head and was almost 4m tall, beautifully thick and lush. 

My Kiepersol in summer - November 2011 

During the winter of 2011 it was severely frosted down and in spring sported three new heads, to my utter dismay! My beautiful Kiepersol now seemed destined to take on a completely new look! 

My Kiepersol at the end of Sept. 2012 - almost thought I'd lost it but now sporting brand new spring leaves. 

To date I've had a lovely trouble-free relationship with my Kiepersol. The only problem I've ever had was two years ago when ALL the leaves were sticky - extremely sticky! I gave the whole tree a thorough once-over, thinking it might be a kind of fly laying its eggs on the leaves, but apart from the stickiness there was absolutely no sign whatsover of any insects, no discoloration, no holes, nothing that I could see. And a Google search has also not revealed anything useful. 

Mountain Cabbage tree - Cussonia paniculata subsp. paniculata 

There are two subspecies of Cussonia paniculata. The smaller Mountain Cabbage tree C. paniculata subsp. paniculata has leaflets without lobes and has a limited distribution in Eastern Cape (see pic above) and rarely exceeds a height of 3m. C. paniculata subsp. sinuata forms a larger tree with deeply lobed leaves and is more widespread. This is the form more commonly found in cultivation and the one I have in my garden. They can grow up to 15-20 ft. (4.7-6 m). 

Cussonias belong to a large family Araliaceae, which include Ginseng, Ivy, and several indoor plants. It is also closely related to the parsley family (Apiacae) which includes several popular vegetables and herbs such as carrots, fennel and parsley. 

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Chook (and Doris)

W&N watercolour on DalerRowney 220gsm (135lb) Smooth heavy-weight sketching paper 

This is Chook, my other rooster (besides Artemis) and he’s a Silky x Bantam, and almost twice Artemis’s size. But he runs like the wind if Artemis should even just look in his direction! Out of my 8 hens, he’s got three that dare to defy Artemis and hang out with him – Doris, Babs and Ginger. They’re actually very brave, because besides incurring Artemis’s wrath, Chook is rather large and almost squashes them while “having his way with them”!

CHOOK AND DORIS PLANNING AN ESCAPE :

Chook: You know what the problem is? The fences aren’t just round the farm. They’re up here, in your head. There’s a better place out there, somewhere beyond that hill, and it has wide open places, and lots of trees… and grass. Can you imagine that? Cool, green grass. 

Doris: Who feeds us? 

Chook: We feed ourselves. 

Doris: Where’s the farm? 

Chook: There IS no farm! 

Doris: Then, where does the farmer live? 

Chook: There is no farmer, Doris. 

Doris: Is he on holiday? 

Chook: He isn’t anywhere! Don’t you get it? There’s no morning head count, no farmers, no dogs and coops and keys, and no Artemis and fences!

Doris: In all my life I’ve never heard such a fantastic… load of tripe!

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Dressed for Summer

To me a lush carpet of pine needles or spongy grass is more welcome than the most luxurious Persian rug.

~ Helen Keller 

I felt all bright and breezy today, so Hedgie's Nature Journal is dressed in brand new summer finery (I hope you like it!). Unfortunately Blogger doesn't provide much of a choice and I'm thinking of somehow customising it myself or getting a Custom Domain which might offer more creative themes. And so is Nature. Bright and breezy I mean, and sporting new summer finery. As the Northern Hemisphere heads into their Autumn, all my trees are sporting new buds and blossoms, new seedlings are popping out and even the Hydrangeas have woken up!

My Chooks are enjoying the sunshine and the new-found greenery. Being free-range, grazing the lawn and eating insects makes out a big part of their diet and while the grass was all brown and dried up, my garden suffered greatly as they ate anything green in sight! The funny thing about my chickens is that they won't eat any greens I prepare for them - I've tried everything, followed recipes from some wonderful chicken blogs, but no go. I've tried hiding it in other food, disguising it and coaxing them to take it from my hand, but they're determined to stick to the lawn. 

I've lined up some chores for this summer and one of them is up-grade my hen house and chicken run. I saw a chicken coup make-over on the internet, complete with little lace curtains in front of the windows and nest boxes. Now isn't that grand!

Another chore on my list (I'm a great list-maker, but at least I DO get through it, most of the time!) will be to landscape the area inside the chicken run. The run and hen house were constructed in a great hurry when I accepted a hen and ten babies as a gift early one morning, with nowhere to house them. An area next to the garage was fenced off and Solly and I started with the make-shift house. 

 A few poles in the ground, a couple of sheets of galvanised sheeting found in my 'scrap heap' and the basic structure was complete.

 
Then came the interior - all that was needed at this stage was some straw for ground-cover and a nesting area where Mommy could feel safe with her babies.

The chicks have all grown up into 8 beautiful hens and two lovely roosters, so now it's time for this 'temporary' arrangement to become a beautiful 'new' addition to my garden. 

Lavender

 

I will be incorporating plants that will be able to withstand their onslaught on anything green and also some shrubs and small trees for some shade. Of course I'll be using Lavender (I like the English Lavender) and Sage as well as Geraniums, which they don't eat.

Sage (Salvia officinalis)

They do have free access to the garden, but on the odd occasion that they have to be kept in, I would like it to be in beautiful and comfortable surroundings.

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