A newcomer to my garden- White-browed Scrub Robin

While relaxing in my lounge with a 1000-piece puzzle a few months ago, I heard a bird-call I’ve never heard before. Grabbing my phone, I slowly stepped outside to see if I could catch a glimpse — no luck. So my next move was to search for the bird-call on the Roberts Birds app on my iPad, and after a short search, I found him — a White-browed Scrub Robin! (Cercotrichas leucophrys).

)Still on my patio, I played the bird-call as loud as my iPad would allow and lo-and-behold, he suddenly appeared on the fence, trying to find the interloper who was, probably, trying to infiltrate his territory!

White-browed Scrub Robin flashing his tail, warning any possible interloper that he’s ready for him.

And true to all Robins, he pranced and posed and flipped his tail in that typical Robin fashion, allowing me to get a few pics. We played this game of him listening intently to my bird-call and excitedly answering in return untill he decided that this threat was obviously not worth his attention.

Since then, every time I play his call, he actually comes and investigates. But for the past two months or so I haven’t heard or seen him at all. Maybe he’s raising a family somewhere. I will keep on being on the lookout for him …

Indigenous to Southern Africa, it is common across the the eastern half of South Africa through to Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Botswana and northern Namibia.

Gestreepte wipstert [Afrikaans]

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Spittle Bugs (or Frog Hoppers)

 

Raintree Spittle Bugs (Ptyelus flavescens) on a Coral tree. 

Spittle bugs (or Frog hoppers) on a Coral Tree (Erythrina lysistemon), indigenous to South Africa. 

As I was photograohing them, the sky was blue, and I wondered why it was raining? I actually just happened to pick a spot just beneath a family of raintree spittlebugs! 

These white foam blobs are produced by the immatures, or nymphs, of spittlebugs, small insects related to aphids and other true bugs, in the order Hemiptera. Young nymphs blow bubbles with their excretions, and so they live and feed in a glorious soggy huddle. The dripping foam keeps them moist and cool and keeps predators and parasites away.

Empty skins and some adult Spittle Bugs. 

They suck the sap of a tree through a drinking straw, called a ‘rostrum’ or ‘stylus’. Plant sap is not all that  nutritious, so the bugs have to work through a lot of it to get sufficient proteins. But this Coral Tree doesn’t seem at all the worse for the wear and as I got close to some of the bugs, they would shoot of as if out of a catapult, so I presume they disperse fairly quickly when disturbed so won’t cause too much harm to the host tree.

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A new discovery -- Leather-leaf Fern

 

During winter I discovered this beautiful fern just popping up between some pavers in a shady corner in my garden. It was so pretty and green so I decided to make a special little corner around it, incorporating a bird bath for my feathered friends.

It wasn't belong before they discovered this new feature, and soon they were flocking in and vying for the best bathing spots.

The Pennywort-looking weed actually adds some charm to this area. It also just started sprouting by itself in this shady spot, the only bit of shade in my mainly-sun succulent garden.

Rumorha adiantiformis loves a spot away from direct sunlight in a partly to fully shaded spot. Water regularly so that the soil remains moist but it must be well-drained. 

Afrikaans name : Seweweeksvaring (I have no idea why!)

Ferns reproduce from spores, not seeds. If you see small brown dots on the undersides of the leaves, they're probably sori, which are groups of sporangia that serve as spore cases. These spots may cover the entire underside of the leaf, but they aren't harmful to your plant. 

 With all the rain we've had over the last few weeks, it's grown so much that I had to remove a paver to give it some space to expand. And I've discovered two more ferns sprouting just opposite this one, will keep an eye on them and maybe find a spot for transplanting them.

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Because I could watch you

 

Nasty weather in Ballito on the Dolphin Coast (Kwa-Zulu Natal, South Africa) (reports of hail storms inland), cold for this time of the year, and two Laughing Doves (Spilopelia senegalensis) seeking shelter on my patio. 🖤

They are the most common little dove found in South Africa and are a resident breeder in Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and Western Australia.

Males and females look the same, but they can be distinguished from one another by the male’s courtship bobbing up and down when pursuimg a female. Mating pairs are monogamous and often mate for life.

because

i could watch you

for a single minute

i found 

a thousand things

that i love

about you

— unknown

This is where I live (4)

This is where it all happens -- my workstation. 

 

It ebbs and flows

 It ebbs and flows

and comes and goes ...

It’s a year since I lost my fur baby to cancer and it still ebbs and flows and comes and goes. 

RIP Jacko.

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Pic credit: Sam Toft

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This is where I live (3)

 

View from my bedroom window -- Sunset over the sugarcane.

This is where I live (2)

 

Early-morning mist -- view from my patio.

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This is where I live (1)

 This is where I live. No, not right under the Palm tree, just close-by.

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After the chaos, blue skies

After the storm — Ballito, Dolphin Coast, KwaZulu Natal

Once in a while

I am struck

all over again...

by just how blue

the sky appears…

on wind-played

autumn mornings,

blue enough

to bruise a heart.

—Sanober Khan

A few days before I took this picture, KwaZulu Natal (South Africa) was devastated by the worst floods in 60 years. Days of heavy rain (we had more than 240mm of rain in 24 hours)  across the province led to deadly floods, destroying several thousand homes and killing hundreds. So waking up to this incredibly blue sky yesterday morning after a week of stormy weather was absolutely glorious!

::

This is home

 

My gardening shoes - Home

Normally I just do my gardening in my flip-flops, (it’s not as if I’m doing major landscaping! I’ll show you the size of my garden and you will understand) but last week I decided to put on my hardly-ever-used gardening shoes as I was going to be carrying some VERY heavy paving slabs, wouldn’t want to drop those on my toes! From previous experience I’ve learnt not to just put my feet into ANY shoes without checking what’s inside, and as I turned them over, out fell Mister (or Mrs) Frog.

No sweat, she hurriedly scurried into the garden and as far as I was concerned, that was that.

Snugly inside the shoe

The next morning at about 4.30am, I was having my first cup of coffee, a frog hopped onto the patio and started heading for the corner where I kept my gardening shoes. I watched in fascination as she clambered up one shoe and disappeared inside. I couldn’t resist taking a peek and there she was, nicely nestled right in the toe section.

Mrs Frog on her way back to the shoe, i.e. Home

So for the past week I’ve managed to catch her leaving home at dusk to go food shopping (we have a garden light on at night, perfect for hunting frogs, bats and geckos) and for a few mornings now, I’ve watched her return, settling snugly into the shoe.

Doesn’t Nature just constantly amaze?! I never knew that frogs would return “home” every morning, just goes to show, you’re never too old to learn!

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Early-morning dew

Early-morning dew beautifully highlights this spiderweb amongst all the green foliage. For me, about 5am (in summer!) is the best time to do gardening to escape the midday heat. I also find the most amazing things on my early-morning walks.