My Kiepersol (Cabbage tree - Cussonia paniculata) is dead. Yea, dead.
The first signs were leaves drying out and then all the leaves dropping to the ground every day - and large gouges in the trunk of the tree. Like some animal has been eating the bark. But there are no large animals in my garden. So that was not the problem.
Then, a couple of weeks later, I discovered that I had a Ground Squirrel living in my garden.
(I did not manage to get a photo of him, this one is from Google)
Ground squirrels are primarily herbivorous, and
their diet changes with the season. After emerging from hibernation,
they feed almost exclusively on green grasses and herbaceous plants. When annual plants begin to dry and produce seed, squirrels switch to seeds, grains, nuts and roots, and begin to store food. They are a bit bigger than a large rat with a fluffy tail and are regarded as troublesome rodent pests for many home gardeners. Although ground squirrels look similar to tree squirrels and can climb
trees, when frightened they generally will retreat to their burrow, and I did find his burrow under all the ferns surrounding my Kiepersol. So I concluded that he was the culprit causing the early demise of my lovely Cabbage Tree...
My Kiepersol in better days...
A beautiful, large Kiepersol which I photographed at the Randfontein Private Hospital (Gauteng, South Africa) in 2017.
I am the wings of a butterfly, I am the storm clouds high above, I am the glitter of the blue sky, I am the ballad of a dove
I am the silver of a moon-beam, I am the roar of the sea, I am the laughter of a child's dream, I am the falcon wild and free
I am all colours of the rainbow, I am the sun at daybreak, I am Autumn's art show, I am the sparkle upon a lake
I am the whisper of a warm breeze I am the flower newly grown, I am the chatter of the swarm bees, I am the seed freshly sown
I am the silence of an empty plain,
I am the snow on the mountain peak, I am the roam of a country lane, I am the burning tear cross your cheek
... there you will find me...
I am the beat that fills your heart.
I know most of you expats contemplating a move to South Africa are
worried about crime. But you know what you should REALLY be worried
about? The Hadeda!
Yes, that’s right, a bird. And not just any bird. The Hadeda (curiously
a member of the Ibis family) will be the reason you will wake up at
five a.m. on your first South African morning, convinced that someone’s
killing your neighbor. Or maybe more like your neighbor’s pig. Holy S#!t! It is a screech to wake up the dead.
A Hadeda’s plumage has a beautiful iridescent sheen
And you will think: Seriously? You’ve got to be kidding me! I cannot live in this country. Or, rather, I cannot SLEEP in this country! For weeks you’ll be scheming about ways to shut these guys up, but
trust me, it’s not possible. We have a cat that catches everything that
flies, but she doesn’t touch Hadedas. I suppose she is not as dumb as we
thought when she jumped into the fireplace and got her whiskers singed.
Because even a little Hadeda probably weighs more than her, and because
that beak is really long and pointy.
You wonder why they have to be so loud. None of the other
Ibis-related birds are so loud. In fact, none of the other Ibis-related
birds make any sound at all. Leave it to our family to pick the one
place to live that has the only non-mute ibises in the whole world.
Some say they are afraid of heights and screech out of fear. A bird,
afraid of heights? That’s got to be a first. But it’s true, they only
screech when they’re flying, often in groups all screeching together,
and mostly in the mornings and evenings. In between, they are the most
peaceful creatures, stalking around your lawn looking pretty and making
themselves useful.
What, useful, you will ask? And it’s true. What they love most for dinner and are very adept at extracting from your lawn are Parktown Prawns. Yes, those
things. Or their larvae. Or pupae. Frankly, I don’t care. Whichever
form they digest them in, every Parktown Prawn less on my property is a
good thing.
