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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The last Cosmos of the Season

The show of Cosmos next to the roads in our area hasn't been that great this year and now, as the flowers start to wane, the insects are making the most of the last pollen and the Autumn sunshine. Soon all that will be left is the yellowing leaves and dry stalks. 

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But I've been lucky - the birds carried a Cosmos seed into my garden and I've got this one, very tall plant that, even though it fell over because it is so tall, has blessed me with a couple of beautiful flowers. 

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April gifts

Birds are a miracle because they prove to us there is a finer, simpler state of being which we may strive to attain.  

~ Doug Coupland 

 W&N watercolour

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It's April already and it feels like just the other day that we heralded in this new year of 2012. I can already feel the change in the season and I watch as my Swallows get ready to leave again. They have successfully reared two lovely babies again this season and I've watched them grow into two beautiful teenagers, often sitting on the wall surrounding my bathroom, chattering and twittering away and not even budging when I go out to fill the bird feeder. This trusting behaviour they certainly learnt from their parents, who have no fear of me at all. 

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