Aurora Daily

Fisheries Museum

2011-09-13T10:50:00.000+02:00

In Velddrif an old and historically interesting building, near the fishing harbour, has been converted into a museum filled with fascinating bits and pieces, from the fossilised bill of a swordfish to the most up-to-date equipment, aimed to make the most of the rich seas off our West Coast. Sadly these are rapidly being depleted by illicit overfishing by Far Eastern countries.

Survivor

2011-09-12T10:07:00.000+02:00

Growing in a small crack in the edge of the tarred road, this albuca junctifolia has survived against all odds. The wild flowers of this area have to be tough in the face of climatic and human challenges.

While we're talking houses...

2011-09-10T06:00:00.001+02:00

Take a look at this one. It is in the Kruger National Park and each unit is simply a timber platform with a canvas-tented superstructure. It overlooks a river bed with a seasonal stream of water where animals come to drink or to wander up the river. And it's my idea of heaven.

Chimneys

2011-09-09T06:00:00.000+02:00

Also in Velddrif, this old house has seen the addition of a 'braai' (a barbecue hearth) that echoes the older structure.

Another old house

2011-09-08T06:00:00.000+02:00

Another older house in Velddrif, with the tell-tale columns that date from the earlier part of the 20th century, but still retaining the air of serenity that goes with a simple lifestyle.

Tradition

2011-09-07T06:00:00.000+02:00

This old cottage, beautifully converted by its owners, is typical of the early cottages along the Berg River. The big chimney breast held a cast-iron wood-burning stove, and the little window in it provided light for the cook. This end room would have been the living space and other rooms would have been bedrooms. It was a simple and compact lifestyle, that today seems to be coming back into its own. Except, of course, where ostentation rules!

Profile

2011-09-06T06:00:00.001+02:00

Palms and pines seem unlikely neighbours, in Piketberg, with low cloud beinging promise of misty rain.

Troll?

2011-09-05T06:00:00.001+02:00

A bridge leads to the front door of a house in Velddrif, and a label on the big bluegum tree warns 'beware of the troll.' I am enchanted - and I wonder whether this Scandinavian newcomer is challenging the place of our South African tokolosh!

Mist on the mountain

2011-09-04T06:00:00.000+02:00

In Piketberg, the mist rolls down the mountain into the town, until a little later it turns into a fine rain

Sundowners anyone?

2011-09-03T06:00:00.000+02:00

Our spectacular sunsets have something to do with the coastal conditions just 15 km West of my back stoep, and make "sundowners" almost compulsory,

Wot no snakes?

2011-09-02T06:00:00.000+02:00

One of the villagers doesn't allow anything in the garden eacept a few trees, because shrubbery and other plants can provide cover for snakes - but outside the garden wild flowers thumb their noses at the fearful and bloom profusely.

Most of the snakes in the area are harmless although the cobras and a few others can be deadly. Unfortunately there is so much fear of them that all are treated as enemies and killed on sight - with the direct result that the harmless mole snakes are decimated and their natural prey, the dune mole-rats, have multiplied tremendously and do great damage to gardens and crops.

Milestone

2011-09-01T06:00:00.000+02:00

One milestone has survived the years; it is in the village square, in times gone by an "outspan" for churchgoers, with a water trough for their thirstyanimals.

Garden of a non-gardener

2011-08-31T06:00:00.000+02:00

For those who are not particularly keen on gardening, it is a waiting game - for three months of the year the wild flowers are a visual feast.

Aurora street

2011-08-30T06:00:00.003+02:00

Rain - and not much of it - turns semi-desert into a huge garden. Here the contrast between garden and desert is particularly clear.

Breakfast!

2011-08-29T11:56:00.000+02:00

A bunch of Pelicans on the Berg River have come to associate people in general as a source of fish - the fishermen on the river have long been a source of titbits in the form of discarded bits of fish - so you only need to stand on the bank near a jetty to have the whole family come over to check out the fast food facility.

I've been away for a while - apologies - spending more time than I enjoy in and around medical faci;ities. But now it's flower time in Aurora, so watch this space!

Endangered!

2011-06-19T06:00:00.001+02:00

Here in South Africa we still have - in a few protected places - wonderful wildlife. In this shot, impala, which are abundant and sable antelope, which are not. These beautiful creatures are now endangered, largely by trophy hunters, and are now protected by law. As are rhinos, now under sever threat, mostly as a result of the Chinese men who believe that powdered rhino-horn is better than Viagra and will pay top dollar for it. (Actually, it has no such qualities but is of much the same composition as fingernails or hooves but it is amazing how gullible some people can be.)

Earlier this year, Raoul du Toit, pictured here (I hasten to add that for the first time on the Aurora Daily this is not my picture but part of a press release) was awarded the Goldman prize for conservation. He is a remarkable man who works in Zimbabwe under the most difficult conditions to conserve rhinos. If you want to know more go to www.goldmanprize.org/

Conflict

2011-06-18T06:00:00.002+02:00

In Aurora we have a problem - the dune mole-rats, that make gardening almost impossible and safety on the local airstrip a matter of constant and extreme vigilance. They are the size of fat rabbits and have huge appetites - and they store what they don't eat in underground chambers. I've actually watched a small sapling disappear into the ground as the creatures pulled it down...! Unfortunately the locals' fear of snakes has severely reduced the numbers of the non-poisonous mole snakes that are their natural predators, so we get the situation seen here - mole-heaps in abundance, and tunnels linking them, which can collapse without warning, underfoot.

Tributary

2011-06-17T06:00:00.001+02:00

A tributary of the Kaaimans river - a beautiful waterfall when there has been enough rain.

Another river

2011-06-16T06:00:00.000+02:00

At the Kaaiman's river, near George, friends own an old house that has been in their family for generations, accessible only by water, overlooking the river. It is a peaceful and beautiful place, and a visit there is a rare privilege.

Lunchtime!

2011-06-15T06:00:00.000+02:00

On the banks of the Berg river, the fishermen of Velddrif prepare 'bokkoms' - small fish that are salted and dried on racks along the river bank - and the pelicans and kelp gulls line up for a handout of the discarded pieces of fish

Sunrise

2011-06-14T06:00:00.000+02:00

Still half asleep - the golden light of the rising sun had me on deck as fast as I could make it. Three minutes later and the glow had disappeared - a reminder to seize those glorious, brief moments. Maybe Omar Khayyam had it right - "and lo, the hunter of the East hath caught the Sultan's turret in a noose of light..."

Bliss

2011-06-13T06:00:00.000+02:00

Just lying on your back watching the clouds through the rigging, in a gentle breeze - all this, and heaven too!

Boxer skipper?

2011-06-12T06:00:00.000+02:00

Who is actually in control? The betting's even. We love Saldanha Bay Yacht Club because it is a real family place, with a motto that says "We're not that yacht club!" And because it includes seafaring dogs.

Viewpoints

2011-06-11T06:00:00.000+02:00

I have yet to meet the skipper who. in a gentle breeze, doesn't use his bare feet on the wheel...

...or the crew that didn't get into trouble for leaving sheets in a tangle. But oh, how I love looking at these pics when I am far away from the sea and the boats and the wonderful people who sail them!

Race!

2011-06-10T06:00:00.001+02:00

The next event was a race from Cape Town to the Club Mykonos'
harbour, near Saldanha. (No, I didn't race, but my son did.) It was
a crowded event, I think there were more than 40 boats.

Launch

2011-06-09T06:00:00.000+02:00

Before I left Cape Town I watched the launch of a boat built which is a scaled down but totally accurate copy of the original 'America' of America Cup fame It is made mainly out of bamboo - including, incredibly, the hull. I'm told it is one of the sturdiest materials available.

Homecoming

2011-06-08T15:44:00.001+02:00

Yes I've been away from home a long time - a small operation and recuperation, celebrating my 81st birthday, and for the last couple of weeks entertaining a visitor from Germany, together with a very dear old friend from Pretoria. But what I didn't expect to find when I returned was a temperamental refrigerator that had decided to encase everything in ice, including an unwary pound of butter. This was the third time it had let me down so I had no option but to buy a new one. Now I have to work on a few more projects, to help me pay all the bills...

A durable toy

2010-12-20T20:57:00.001+02:00

.
Lily is a strange looking dog, rescued from the SPCA. Very affectionate now that she has had time to recover from years of ill treatment, she needs sturdy toys - the conventional doggy toys last about 10 minutes until she has shredded them - and this tyre is her favourite - she even takes it to bed with her.

Fuzzy cat

2010-12-19T20:51:00.000+02:00

I was after the reflections in the pool but Sing-Sing leapt up onto the wall (the pool is raised) and I rather fancied the combination...

Gabriel

2010-12-16T09:56:00.001+02:00

Four weeks old and already considering what he might get up to...? (He's my great-grandson - you'll occasionally see more of him, since he and I are already remarkable in a family not renowned for their longevity.)

Survivor

2010-12-15T09:48:00.002+02:00

We have amazing flowers in this part of the world - hardy, surviving the most adverse conditions, maturing and seeding fast (making the most of even small amounts of rain) and blooming in the most unlikely places. Here, in a sculptor's yard in pieces of ash and clinker from the forge, a plant flourishes against all odds.

A question of scale

2010-12-14T09:32:00.002+02:00

The yachts moored at the jetty are not small - between 30 and 60 feet on average - but they are relegated to the scale of midges by Big Daddy in the background.

Anchor aweigh..

2010-12-13T09:19:00.000+02:00

False Bay Yacht Club displays this anchor - maybe just to remind today's sailors that their convenient lighter-weight anchors might sometimes be just a little too light.

Dune?

2010-12-12T14:01:00.000+02:00

The red sand is like that in a few other places in Southern Africa, including some areas of the Kalahari, the most spectacular dunes being at Sossusvlei. This 'dune', at the area just outside Piketberg is not naturally formed but is part of an excavation by Pretoria Portland Cement who have a shallow mine here. Much of the spoil is now a base for the regrowth of fynbos but the red sand seems not to support plant growth of any kind. The sand colours here vary from chrome yellow through beige to this red tan to a lovely slate blue. I stop and enjoy them for a few minutes every time I travel this road.

oh, yes...!

2010-12-11T07:59:00.000+02:00

Boats on the hard at False Bay Yacht Club, in Simonstown. Being on the sea is one of my favourite places and is part of my earliest memory.I get to sail once in a while, still, on my son's classic old boat (same age as me) Elegance - bliss and the height of joy. And occasional terror!

Sundown

2010-12-10T16:08:00.000+02:00

Most days Aurora enjoys the view to the West, with the sun setting over the sea 15km away. Sundoen is one of the best reasons for living here!

The Maclear monument

2010-12-09T08:43:00.000+02:00

A more significant monument than it would at first seem....
In 1838 Maclear, then Astronomer Royal, carried out the first trigonometrical survey in South Africa, while he was checking on the shape of the Southern hemisphere, and marked this point (in the small circular gap in the paving) which then became the starting point for coastal surveys of the whole country, first West and then East - and later for all trig surveys in South Africa (the only country in the world to have a single, fully coordinated system.) There's a bottle buried there, with a document giving Maclear's account of this.
For me there's a serendipitous link... I retired to Aurora because we'd discovered and fallen in love with the beautiful little village. Our house happens to be just around the corner from this monument. Two years later, researching family history, I was astonished to find that my great-grandfather, whose home was far North of this at Hondeklipbaai, but who travelled widely, had been the local facilitator for Maclear. Did that buried bottle belong to my great-grandfather, I wonder? And did he enjoy its original contents...?

Paternoster

2010-12-06T12:56:00.001+02:00

For those unfamiliar with the area - Paternoster was an isolated and simple fishing village on a beautiful coastal area, not far from Aurora. Now very popular with holidaymakers, it has grown beyond all expectations. This interesting building is a community hall that somehow reminds me of buildings I saw in New Mexico.

(It is from my archives - I have been silent for a while, a few problems, and it's time I got back on line again.)

Empty chair

2010-11-12T20:11:00.002+02:00

It seems like a place to spend a long time just sitting and thinking - so why is it empty? The answer's easy - because the owner of the chair is a farmer. And spare time is unknown in farming circles...

Cool too...

2010-11-10T06:00:00.002+02:00

Another of Johan's works - and this one I would really like to have - is simply of water, but conveys so well the feeling of coolness and wetness. No wonder his works are much in demand.

Cool

2010-11-08T06:00:00.001+02:00

Particularly on a hot day, this thatched roof is temptingly cool. It's the sort of place I could retire to with a good book - and perhaps a glass of wine?

How about a handout...?

2010-11-07T06:00:00.001+02:00

This francolin on my garden path, is nicknamed Costello because he was always the 'henpecked' one of a pair that used to visit, looking for handouts, that became known as Abbott and Costello. Sadly, Abbott seems to have disappeared - he was quite fat and probably provided a good meal for some predator.

Nude

2010-11-06T06:00:00.002+02:00

One of Johan's paintings that we found particularly eye-catching.

Artist

2010-11-05T10:25:00.000+02:00

Local artists put on a combined 'art weekend' in and around Piketberg. One of the artists - Johan Louw - works at a huge scale, and had to shuffle paintings, to uncover some of his stunning work.

Formal/informal?

2010-11-04T06:00:00.001+02:00

Beyond the many acres of vineyard, are fields and fynbos. The vineyard is carefully and geometrically laid out (it is a mere 5 or 6 years old, as is the little lady with the ice lolly) and the ducks splash happily in a formal pond.

Serenade

2010-11-03T06:00:00.002+02:00

We lunched at Org de Rac and two beautiful young ladies regaled us with flute and violin. It was peaceful and pleasant and a great change from the tuneless rhythm at bust-the-eardrums volume that prevails at so many restaurants these days. Am I perhaps feeling the generation gap more acutely as I age?

Contrast

2010-11-02T10:02:00.002+02:00

At Org de Rac, a local vineyard , two very young ladies provide a telling contrast with the huge traditional front door, and beyond it a wide and open landscape. The organic wine made here is very drinkable!

Split level?

2010-11-01T06:00:00.001+02:00

A delightfully quirky but very practical stair, at Kersefontein

The end of the line...

2010-10-31T06:00:00.002+02:00

...in every sense.

Abandoned

2010-10-30T06:00:00.003+02:00

Only dune mole-rats - their molehills in the foreground - live here now. The rail line has been closed for many years, the fishing boat will never again float and the station building is only occasionally used , but not as a destination. One of the elderly visitors, with the Heritage group recalled that as a child he would travel here by rail from Cape Town and be met by his uncle, with a horse-drawn cart.

From the stoep

2010-10-29T06:00:00.004+02:00

I could sit and take in the view from the back stoep (of the house shoen in the last couple of posts) for hours and ignore the rest of the world. In an almost totally flat landscape, it comes as a surprise!

The reason why...?

2010-10-28T06:00:00.001+02:00

Perhaps all the broekie-lace inside was to accompany the indoor pool...

More broekie-lace

2010-10-27T06:00:00.003+02:00

Unfortunately the broekie-lace seems to have invaded the house and is being used on the inside, too - something the Victorians would never have contemplated.

Broekie lace

2010-10-26T08:20:00.001+02:00

Another old farmstead in this area. Victorian "broekie-lace" adorns this in abundance.

Sign of the times

2010-10-25T08:13:00.002+02:00

This old Aurora cottage is on the market - the owner has moved - and will probably be sold to a retired couple, since prices here are still affordable. But there are many "holiday homes" being sold because people are having to tighten belts in present times. Is this a world-wide phenomenon, I wonder?

Shade

2010-10-23T06:00:00.004+02:00

A much simpler old building, now converted to an elegantly appointed guest cottage. Some of the guests fly in for a peaceful weekend, for the farm has its own landing strip. Quite a leap in a scant century - coach horses to small aeroplanes....!

Serene stairway

2010-10-23T06:00:00.001+02:00

A traditional stair to the loft above stables.

Another kind of trophy

2010-10-22T06:00:00.001+02:00

These wild flowers of the Western Cape, skilfully preserved behind glass, line the dining room walls of a guest house at Kersefontein.

Four-poster

2010-10-21T08:26:00.001+02:00

Practical enough, I guess (for the times) but I once had the dubious privilege of sleeping in a featherbed and it was no fun at all.

Hunting

2010-10-20T06:00:00.001+02:00

Guns were essential, trophies less so, for often they were needed for defense or to provide sustenance. And ultimately, the female of the last pair of hippos in this area died and her lonely mate became aggressive, killed a farm worker and had to be shot.
Life a century back had its attractions, I think nostalgically, but also many uncomfortable realities.

Potted history

2010-10-19T06:00:00.001+02:00

The Melck family were the biggest breeders of horses in South Africa, in the days when these were used for transport as well as sport, and horse portraits are everywhere in their home, as are hunting trophies.
Interestingly, coach horses used in the Northern parts of the country were susceptible to tsetse-fly and horse-sickness, so the coaches were for a short while replaced with zebras - but these didn't have the stamina of horses, so "salted" horses were in great demand... Until rail travel (and later the model T Ford) changed the face of transport.

Candle-light

2010-10-18T07:54:00.002+02:00

Candle-light may be romantic - and effective! - but I'm glad I don't have to climb on the table to replace (or straighten) them. This chandelier is still in use for formal dinners at Kersefontein.

Imposing approach

2010-10-17T06:00:00.002+02:00

Kersefontein's homestead has the traditional 18th century grand approach, the beautifully crafted front door, sash windows and shutters - such a rapid transition via Edwardian into today's "modernism" - but I have to add that Kersefontein, like many others of its time, was practical and comfortable, and a lot "greener" than many that were built in the interim.

Front door

2010-10-16T06:00:00.001+02:00

So cool and welcoming on a hot day.

Inside,outside

2010-10-15T14:12:00.002+02:00

Looking into the garden through a wide old stable door. The old houses tend to be cool and dark, with vertically sliding sash windows - ideal for a hot and often windy climate - and the contrast between inside and out can be startling.

For whom the bell tolls...?

2010-10-14T09:41:00.000+02:00

A "slave bell" on Kersefontein - a farmstead dating back to 1744 and now beautifully maintained by the 8th generation of the family. South Africa has a limited number of old buildings, -it is a relatively new country, and this is one of the most significant historic buildings in our area. I'll be posting a lot more pictures of it in the next few days; our local Heritage Society paid it a visit and there is so much to share!

Surrealist mast

2010-10-12T06:00:00.001+02:00

Pink giraffe? Cyclists?? Strawberry on steroids???

It reminds me of the rhymes: -
Inever saw a purple cow
I never hope to see one
But I can tell you anyhow
I'd rather see than be one.
Followed a few years later by
I know I wrote The Purple Cow
I'm sorry now I wrote it
But I can tell you anyhow
I'll kill you if you quote it!

Beware of scarecrows

2010-10-11T06:00:00.000+02:00

The "scarecrow" drivers of the ancient tractors have rather ghastly ant-like heads - but what intrigued me most was that the Allis-Chalmers and the Fordson tractors that are now antiques were identical to those we used on our farm in the forties and fifties. Am I a fossil in the making, I wonder?

How to press grapes

2010-10-10T06:00:00.001+02:00

One of our (very much) older ways of starting the process of winemaking. It is on display at a local (near Stellenbosch) strawberry farm with a great collection of old farm machinery and a multitude of "scarecrows" - and the opportunity to pick your own strawberries in the fields. The razor-wire in which it is swathed is a sad sign of the times - theft of metal, to melt down for cash, is so bad that we can't leave any of it accessible and unprotected - not even the cast iron railings or brass tags in cemeteries. As well as the razor wire this one is, out of hours, protected by locked gates and a security system.

In an English country garden

2010-10-09T11:41:00.001+02:00

So attractive to me because something like this would simply not be seen in this dry climate.

The path through the woods...

2010-10-07T06:00:00.003+02:00

...starts here. There are chalk and moss and ferns underfoot, blackberries and mushrooms for the picking.

Toolshed

2010-10-06T06:00:00.003+02:00

In Hampshire, high on a hillside near Liss in a forest - locally known as "the Hanger" (a word apparently derived from a Norse word meaning "wooded hillside") - this toolshed has an unusual history. For a short time it, and several others like it on the hillside, was used as a retreat for returning servicemen. On the left of the picture, a steep path leads down through the

forest for several hundred metres, to an area that is reachable by car. Opposite the hut is a small clearing with magnificent views over the countryside to the East. It is a beautiful, serene place. Every time I walk here I am reminded of the Kipling poem "The way through the woods."

Blaze

2010-10-05T06:00:00.004+02:00

This wonderful bank of succulents has swallowed the fence on a neighbour's property. It is towards the end of winter, the hot days will soon be with us and the blossoms will disappear until next winter. It's a strange reversal of the rest of the country, where summer rainfall predominates.

Status change...

2010-10-04T18:00:00.003+02:00

I've been promoted - I'm a great-grandmother! Great-grandson Gabriel was born as I left the UK; shown here, he is 5 days old. Do I ever feel old!

Great-grandma

2010-10-03T13:17:00.002+02:00

Yes I am - my great-grandson arrived while I was in the UK. I still can't believe it!

Only in the Cape?

2010-10-02T13:01:00.000+02:00

I've been away and having trouble connecting to the web. Nice to be back! On the way home, in a queue of vehicles, I spot a tractor going South on the back of a truck, while 8 young ostriches on a trailer head North - probably to a farm somewhere near Aurora. Now I know I'm home...!

And while we're on the subject...

2010-08-21T12:52:00.000+02:00

... this is Peter's aeroplane, Alice, preparing for take-off on our local airstrip (no I'm not joking. It was provided for cropsprayers in the first place and is now used by microlights and a couple of proficient pilots.)

Underneath

2010-08-20T17:54:00.001+02:00

Senn from below, it's a fairly ungainly aircraft. It's hard to believe that the squared profile is effective - somehow one expects something more beautiful to look at. Rather like pelicans in flight rather than swallows!

Crossing a vineyard

2010-08-19T17:40:00.003+02:00

Somehow this shot sums up so many vital aspects of this area. Vineyards, planted in an age-old tradition; an impressive gateway, to advertise both status and sense of place; steel barriers to save unwary motorists from hidden dangers at the edge of the road; simple poles for essential telephone lines and complex structures for the power lines that feed the country; and overhead a winged craft free of all these constraints, responding to the feather-light touch of one who loves the freedom of the air.

Cropsprayer

2010-08-18T13:31:00.002+02:00

It was a still day, perfect for cropsprayers, and on the road between Cape Town and Aurora I saw no less than four of these operating in different areas. I have an ongoing love affair with anything that flies, and I admire the skill of the pilots of these little aircraft. I'll post some more shots of this one tomorrow.

Picnic, anyone?

2010-08-17T13:02:00.002+02:00

A typical picnic spot on the N7 highway, this one is near the bridge over the Berg River. Somehow the shade from the bluegums doesn't seem very useful - but a stop at a place like this can be most welcome for long-haul travellers.

Gridlines

2010-08-16T12:55:00.003+02:00

Braais (barbecues) are popular here and it helps to have an assortment of grids - but somehow I have never found a fish to fit the fish-shaped grid... Maybe that will eventually have ivy growing on it...

Golden sky

2010-08-11T21:31:00.002+02:00

The sunset that made the koppie glow. The cloud cover over the sea, about 15km away, makes most sunsets glorious.

Last light

2010-08-10T21:26:00.001+02:00

The koppie behind Aurora catches the last rays of the setting sun.

Basic

2010-08-10T15:49:00.001+02:00

You can't get much more basic than this slab of wood on two logs, yet it is one of the nicest places to sit on our stoep and watch the garden grow (and the snails and dune mole-rats demolish it.).

Door to an attic

2010-08-09T16:01:00.001+02:00

Aurora and its neighbouring village, Redelinghuys, have a fair share of old buildings built without finesse but with great practicality. This beaten-up old door probably hasn't seen any maintenance for the last 50 years, but still provides effective access to a huge attic space. Many of the old houses are being bought, and renovated, by those who want to retreat from city life at weekends to enjoy the peace and quietness of country living. Ironically, this gradually changes the character of the villages through the introduction of city ways.

Mending the nets

2010-08-08T15:47:00.001+02:00

The sun is hiding so the flowers are tucked away waiting for the clouds to pass; my intended photographs for today will have to wait - so here is one from a few months back. Can't help thinking that if I had a pile of mending as big as these cheerful ladies have, I would go into a decline...

A wonderful bird is the pelican...

2010-08-07T13:04:00.002+02:00

... his beak can hold more than his belican
He holds in his beak
Enough for a week
And people all wonder how the helican.

...or so my Victorian granmother told me, way back when I was young enough not to know whether to laugh or be shocked. We have a happy flock of pelicans on the Berg river near here and I particularly enjoy seeing them flying, like a bunch of cardboard cutouts on a washing line - but the pelicans in the picture are actually in Singapore's zoo.

Blaze

2010-08-06T09:03:00.002+02:00

Our sidewalks are full of flowers, a delight to the eye. It is the time of the year when we forget the discomfort of late summer, the 45-degree temperatures, the winds that at times come to us straight from the Karroo and the mole-rats that eat anything moist (particularly our veggies.) We just rejoice in the riot of colour, everything green and growing fast, as only plants adapted to their semi-desert conditions will do.

Field

2010-08-05T08:51:00.001+02:00

This is part of the field that hasn't been chewed up by the lambs, and is rewarding us with a blaze of colour.

Little lamb

2010-08-04T08:49:00.001+02:00

It's supper time for these lambs and they are checking me out to see whether I have anything like sustenance for them. Ten of these lambs, abandoned by their mothers, or one of twins that the mother can't feed, are being hand-reared, and are in the meanwhile keeping the fast-growing grass trimmed on the site that is presently their home.

Now they have spotted several promising-looking people with a basket full of bottles, and are lining up...

...SUPPER!

Low-flying aircraft

2010-08-03T21:33:00.000+02:00

Some people put up windvanes, others prefer these model aircraft made by an old man in the village - he uses scrap metal, tin cans and the like to make model trucks, planes, helicopters, farming implements - you name it! He sells these at our local Agricultural Show and Gymkhana, due this month; it is probably his main source of income.

Blue Crane

2010-08-01T19:12:00.001+02:00

South Africa's national bird - now an endangered species because of loss of habitat. There is a breeding pair near here, but although we usually see only the pair and their offspring, every year a huge flock of perhaps 40 birds foregathers here for a day or two, inexplicably. OK, I cheated with this shot, which was taken in Singapore's Bird Park, where I could get a lot closer than I do here.

Clivia

2010-07-30T20:52:00.000+02:00

The grass is for a couple of months green; the clivia has bloomed early. What a contrast from summer's semi-desert.

Cottage

2010-07-28T19:52:00.000+02:00

This 'cottage' is actually the office in a development named Langezandt, near the southermost point of Africa. It is styled on the traditional architecture of early cottages in the area, with thatched roofs and roughly plastered walls, and it feels warm and comfortable and -thankfully - unostentatious.

Palette

2010-07-28T19:27:00.002+02:00

These are a few of the flowers just starting to bloom along the sidewalks and empty lots and in between the veggies and the huge molehills left by dune mole-rats, in Aurora. Even more fascinating than the variety is the relationship between colours and insects - white, yellow and orange are associated with midges, purples and blues with an insect locally known as 'stinkluise' and with horseflies. I always wonder what happens to them between seasons.

Organ loft

2010-07-27T05:00:00.000+02:00

The church at Redelinghuys, a nearby village, has an unusual form and a crisply defined organ loft. Also a good pipe organ; a friend who was in the group visiting the church is a fine organist and we were treated to an impromptu recital.

Shade

2010-07-26T16:47:00.001+02:00

It's towards the end of winter and Aurora is green after the winter rainfall. This tree in a friend's garden promises welcome shelter from the summer sun and a haven for the birds that flock to her bird feeder.

Aloe

2010-07-25T19:16:00.002+02:00

This miniature aloe, grown from a slip taken 18 months back at Kaaimans River where a friend has a house, has rewarded me, and the sunbirds, with dozens of beautiful flowers.

Chasmanthus

2010-07-22T20:03:00.001+02:00

An unwieldy name for a tough and resilient plant that grows freely in Aurora - it is taking over parts of my garden but anything that thrives here is welcome - especially if its flowers are so bright and lovely.