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.

::

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.

::

::

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.

::

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!

::

October Gifts

– Hot, sunny weather

 – afternoon thunderstorms 

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

::

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?

::

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 

:: 

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. 

::