The Boys and Me at False Bay Ecology Park

2014-06-08 | puppy1952

Temperatures have been hovering between 8 and 16 here in chilly Cape Town this week. Today though we had sunshine and it was a tad warmer. Earl had a fishing date with a friend and after doing a number of chores in town I really felt the need to get my teenage grandsons out of the house and into Nature.

Isn’t it amazing that you can go to the same place many times but each time it’s different. The light was good for photography and I gave Jay (16) my ex-camera, a Canon Powershot SX30IS and Josh and I used my Powershot SX50HS.

Black-winged stilt by Jay

Purple Swamphen by Jay

Flamingos

Black-headed Heron with an snack by Jay

Black-head heron – Jay

Egyptian Goose – Josh

Egyptian Geese

Hadeda Ibis – Josh

Cape Teal

Little Grebe

Levaillant’s Cisticola

Jay

Josh in front

We always look out for the Spotted Eagle-owls in their usual spot and today Jay and Josh found them easily. They were in the open, woke up and stared at us, preened a bit and then went back to sleep. We managed to get a few reasonable photographs.

Sleepy Head

Ho Hum

What are you looking at

Wink Wink

The African Fish Eagle is occasionally seen at The False Bay Ecology Park and today we were lucky enough to catch sight of two. I alerted the boys to one was flying ahead of the car when they yelled – Gran – look – there’s one next to us with prey! It was not easy to focus the camera but I got a very poor shot of it with a mongoose in its talons! It scattered the birds on the mudflats including a number of Spur-winged geese then settled on a mound some distance away.

Poor Mongoose

Fish Eagle

Fish Eagle – Jay

He flew off over the next pond, settled in a tree and then flew off again. We went in hot pursuit of a better photograph.

The Boys hoping to spot the Fish Eagle

Finally it was time to leave. Last shot of a male Cape Shoveller.

The boys agreed the excursion had been most worthwhile!

Two Visits to False Bay Ecology Park

2014-06-01 | puppy1952

One of my favourite spots to visit in Cape Town is the False Bay Ecology Park. I have been there twice in the past seven days and have included photos from both visits in this blog.

This afternoon Earl and I were accompanied by two friends, Cheryl and Dot. The latter is a beginner and after we’d met up with some others girls at our monthly breakfast club, she asked if I would take her bird watching. Cheryl was also able to come along so I persuaded Hubby to drive us, picked them up at Cheryl’s home and we headed to our favourite spot.

The weather at this time year is chilly but also changeable so we were not too sure what we might see. Last Sunday there was very little but today was more productive although it was cold and windy.

Ever present are the beautiful Greater Flamingos

The pelicans were chilling on a distant bank.

My favourite ducks – they’re so photogenic

Cape shovellers taking to the water – all male except the one with the brown eye

A patient black-headed heron in the water

and out

A pretty little Black-winged Stilt

A Little Egret skulking in the reeds

A small flotilla of Littel Grebe (Dabchicks)

A small flotilla of Little Grebe (Dabchicks)

Here is a picture from last Sunday’s visit – a malachite kingfisher

An active, tiny bird – finally settled for a reasonable shot

A s silly moorhen impersonating a songbird!

A silly moorhen impersonating a songbird!

An African Pipit looking handsome

The purple swamphen (gallinule) is common at FBEP but tends to be elusive in the reeds. I am usually lucky and almost every time I visit I see at least one. Dot was very keen to get to see this lovely bird and I promised her we would. She missed the first one which was a bit far off and then decided to disappear before we could focus her attention to it. The second one was also hiding but Earl moved the car and we all got an excellent view of him showing off his very long and wide spread toes.

First glimpse of the colourful bird

Climbing up the reeds

Higher – Look at those toes!

Because of the very windy conditions many species of bird were congregated on Pond P2 which was slightly more sheltered. There were hundreds of yellow-billed duck, Cape shovellers, sacred ibis, stilts, avocets, Egytian Geese and Spur-winged geese amongst others.

Spur-winged goose with Sacred Ibis

While we were watching the frantic activity of the birds Dot called our attention to a small bird of prey flying at great speed and scattering a flock of common starling. It was a flash of rufous dashing just above the reeds – too fast for us to track. But then we saw it perched in a tree. Waving reeds make it difficult to focus unless you have a really fancy camera so Earl’s resulting pics were not particularly clear. Here is the best one from a bad bunch of a rufous-chested sparrowhawk.

An uncommon sighting at the best of times and the first time we’ve seen one here. A wonderful way to end our visit!

Weekend Breakaway – Good Hope Farm Robertson

2014-05-19 | puppy1952

We decided on the spur of the moment to take off for the weekend. We love Robertson for the bass fishing and bird watching opportunities. Over the years we have stayed at a few places but Retreat Cottage is one of our favourites. This time we decided to go to a place we haven’t been to for a number of years – Good Hope Olive and Wine Farm. We first stayed at their Mountain Cottages which had a ‘loo with a view’. We got to know the owner, Shirlee but she has since sold and we wanted to stay at the Fishing Cottages which are somewhat more rustic but attractive as they are right on the Bass Dam.

I phoned to book at lunch time and by 3 o’clock we were packed on the road with very little packed in the way of self-catering! So after checking in we headed to the town of Robertson for dinner. The Bourbon Restaurant came highly recommended and we were not disappointed. It had a varied menu. Earl settled for Lamb Shank and I had a sort of Pitta filled with delicious middle eastern vegetables served with tzatziki.

After dinner coffee

Our accommodation was rustic but comfortable. The stone floors meant did nothing for warmth but we had a heater and wonderful electric blankets. Between the two semi-detatched huts there was indoor/outdoor kitchen – wonderfully equipped and perfect for our needs. The Dam Cottages would be perfect for a group of friends who wanted to share some time together.

A beautiful mountain setting

The view of the dam was fabulous. We were the only guests on the farm this being very low season. In summer and on long weekends it is hard to get accommodation in the Robertson area.

Situated next to the bass dam

The Dam

A hammock could be fun

Enjoying morning coffee on the bench with a view

Master Chef Earl cooking breakfast

Good Hope Farm is a working farm and one wakes to sound turkeys gobbling and cocks crowing. There are pigs and sheep and horses too.

Cheeky Pig

horses

Christmas Dinner?

Good Looking Sheep

Earl threw in a line or two but the aim was to do a bit of bird watching. There were a few birds like coots, herons, Egyptian Geese and darters on the dam. On Sunday morning we were amused to see a heron give way to the superior claim to the float to a darter.

Heron on a float in the middle of the dam

The darter approaches

The heron flies off and the darter takes the perch

Darter

The area is good for all the Karoo specials. I was hoping to find the Karoo Robin and I was in luck. The pale chanting goshawk is also common in the area. Here are some birds that we had fun finding.

Cape Sparrow

Bokmakierie

African Pipit

Familiar chat

Familiar Chat

Black Headed Heron

Black-shouldered Kite

Karoo Robin

Pale Chanting Goshawk

Rock Kestrel

Stone Chat

Hereunder some photographs of the beautiful scenery – the mountains stood out clearly and we were stunned by the stunning autumn colours of the vines and trees. The Elgin area displayed some beautiful trees in their rustic apparel.

Midweek Visit to Strandfontein Ecology Park

2014-05-03 | puppy1952

With schools having an extra break due to all the Public Holidays Earl and I were able take a midweek visit to one of Cape Town’s best kept secrets – now politely named False Bay Ecology Park. The 34 settling ponds cover 306ha and attract myriads of water birds, the flamingoes being the main drawcard. On Wednesday they were on almost every pond.

Flamingoes and gulls

A disturbance set them to flight

Adult and Immature Flamingo feeding

Strandfontein Beach next to Baden Powell Road in the background

False Bay alongside Baden Powell Road in the background

There are a number of duck species here too. The yellow-billed duck is my favourite. They are so photogenic.

Yellow billed ducks with Egyptian Goose

Yellow-billed duck swimming

Cape Teal in reflective mood

Glorious Day for a Swim

Red-billed Teal

Female Cape Shoveller

Spur-winged Goose

We were pleased to see quite a few Little Egrets about too.

Little Egret Fishing

The Cattle Egrets are common everywhere and even when not in breeding plumage they are rather beautiful.

Non-breeding Cattle Egret

The Purple Swamphen is a magnificent bird with its iridescent colours of purple, blue and green. They obviously like the sunshine and we saw quite a few of them on Wednesday.

Peeping out to say hello

Those long widely spaced toes help when walking on reeds

Aren’t I gorgeous

Sometimes swimming is required.

Common Moorhen taking a swim too

A selection of birds - Sacred Ibis, Kelp Gulls, Black Oyster Catchers

A selection of birds – Sacred Ibis, Kelp Gulls, Blacksmith Lapwings and Black Oystercatchers

We had never seen malachite kingfishers here before so it was a thrill to get one this day. We watched it fish but didn’t manage to get very good photographs – this is the best of a bad bunch.

Malachite Kingfisher

We spent three wonderful hours in this bird paradise and didn’t see another car. What a great afternoon!

The Myriads of Birds at False Bay Ecology Park

2013-11-25 | puppy1952

It was a beautiful day in Cape Town on Sunday. Earl and I after doing a few necessary chores at home decided to take a trip to visit the birds at False Bay Ecology Park. It’s amazing how it is different every time we go.

The ponds are teeming with birdlife

A typical Scene

The flamingos were dispersed on every pond

Harlaub’s Gulls sunned themselves

You have to look closely to find the terns among the gulls - this is a Swift Tern

You have to look carefully to find the terns among the gulls – this is a Swift Tern

Male Maccoa Duck

Black Winged Stilt

A Party of African Black Oyster Catchers

Moorhen with baby

Cape Teal

Levaillant’s Cisticola

African Pipit

Avocets

Cattle Egret in full breeding colours

Hadeda

Greenshank

Back in the Classroom – Excursion to Rondevlei

2013-10-25 | puppy1952

My girls are very much into Nature and Wild Life. I can’t imagine why. Could it possibly have something to do with a bird-mad teacher frequently asking them to be still and listen – Isn’t that the Klaas’s cuckoo calling? Or when on our way to the Walk-it circuit she gets them to stop and look – the chaffinch is They all know the distinctive – “Marietjie” sound of the cuckoo now and they are the ones to tell me what birds are foraging in the school garden. We don’t do birds specifically as a topic in Grade One – but water and its importance is something we do learn and of course water birds come into that!. So an excursion to Rondevlei was on our Agenda this wee

After researching “Rondevlei” on the Ipads my little Nature Freaks were keen to find all the creatures they’d seen in the images but high on their wish list was – Hippo! Rondevlei has a population of about eight but they are seldom seen during the day – However, a skull of a dead one caused great excitement and our brother class were particularly thrilled to hear about their strong teeth and fighting ability!

Some might big teeth in there

After listening to all the exciting things you could find in the sanctuary from mongoose to Egyptian goose the children were divided into three groups. I went along with 20 of my girls and we started in the museum. Here they learned all about the creatures that lived in the area and then they were sent on a “treasure hunt” to find ‘something soft’ , a leaf that smelled nice, something that began with s, etc. etc. There was hippo poo everywhere and the boys weren’t shire to pop a handful in their packets while the girls were totally grossed out!

On our route to find our treasures we stopped to learn important eco facts, climbed a tower to get a panoramic view of the vlei, and popped into the hides to see the water birds.

Walking on the path and learning lots of things

View from the tower

Winterbottom Hide

Pelicans and Cormorants

Oh my a stunning Yellow Bishop

Karoo Prinia

We found something beginning with S – but didn’t put in the packet!

A grey heron tryng to catch a fish

Yellow-billed duck

The darter preened and preened

Picnicking at Rondevlei

After our exploring the hides we returned to have a snack in the picnic site – a highlight for some of the children! Then we went back indoors for a fabulous puppet show about how a baby spoonbill found his mother by checking to see if his bill and feet looked the same as hers!

Some amusing things from the mouths of babes!

Why do you think the spoonbill is so named? Because his ‘nose’ is shaped like a spoon.

What is a river horse? A horse that swims in a river! Actually it’s a hippo!

Finally it was time to go home. How amazing lucky are we to have a place like Rondevlei right on our doorstep – just half an hour’s drive from school. The children returned with new knowledge of how water is purified by the reeds, now creatures depend on a healthy ecosystem and what our duty is to protect all wildlife. It was a stunning excursion enjoyed by both children and teachers. Let’s hope we are raising a generation of eco friendly children who will look after the planet when we are gone!

‘Tis the Season for Babies

2013-10-20 | puppy1952

Isn’t is amazing how babies bring out the warm, fuzzy feeling in us all. Those oohs, aahs and cuuuuutes just pop out of our mouths when we see a brand new little person. I have been following the progress of my nephew’s baby on FaceBook but got to meet him in person on Saturday. Of course I fell instantly in love. First to hold him was Earl, who examined his hands to see whether they were ready to hold a fishing rod. “You’d better be as good as your dad,” he warned the unsuspecting youngster. Matthew looked at him intently and proved his strength by squeezing hard as he held his fingers!I

Of course I want to go fishing!

Isn’t he adorable

Proud parents

My sister with her grandson

Showing him the view from Granny and Grandpa’s lounge

It’s a great view!

Matthew wasn’t the only baby I went gaga over this weekend. In my madness, I decided to brave the howling south-easterly wind and go on the Cape Bird Club’s outing to the Philippi Wetlands! After all the winter rains, the surrounding farms had water-logged fields that attracted myriads of birds. Both lesser and greater flamingo were seen but the highlight for me were the baby birds. On one pond we found three species with young and just as we are fascinated by the offspring of our own species so we are with those of birds and beasts too!!

Mommy coot with ‘cootlings’

A large Yellow-billed duck family

Cape Shoveller Chicks following Mommy

I did not take any other photographs – just getting the chicks was good enough for me on such a windy day. It made the weekend complete.

Catching up with the Kokstad Clan – Tala Private Game Reserve

2013-09-28 | puppy1952

Today dawned sunny and warm. Allan had a golf game planned and Lauren, Shannon, Simon, Grandpa and Granny decided to take a 2 hour trip to Tala Private Game Reserve. Although the weather was completely different on the other side of the mountain – drizzly and cool – it was a good decision. I have not been to a game reserve since July last year and was beginning to suffer withdrawal symptoms.

We packed a snack pack and grabbed a quick breakfast of cereal or toast and coffee and set off at 8:30. Our first encounter was still on the Karg Post road – unusual for this area, our National Bird – The Blue Crane

Blue Crane on the local farmlands

Grandpa does not like mist but unfortunately we had a few patches on our journey and this coupled with potholes and stray cattle can be daunting. It slowed our journey a bit but we still yelled for him to stop when we spotted Ground Hornbill on the side of the busy highway! He couldn’t because of traffic on his tail but a km later he found a place to turn around and headed back for a poor photo opportunity. There was a mom, dad and baby but I just managed one, half-decent picture.

The bird that thrilled us all

Not even in the park and the adrenalin was pumping. Of course now we had to turn around again and finally found a farm road to turn into. The double-cab skidded and slipped uncharacteristically so Earl checked the tires but all was well. It was probably due to fresh wetness on the road after no rain for a while.

Tala Private Game Reserve is a 3000 hectare wildlife sanctuary hidden in the hills of a quiet farming area not far from Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It has a habitat of acacia trees, grassland and some wetland which attracts a variety of birdlife and is home to many mammal species too. What I love about it is that in spite of it being a private game reserve you can self-drive. Entrance to the park is R60 for the vehicle and then R50 per person. They have a wonderful restaurant and the food is excellent. They do not accept cash at all. You must be prepared to pay with a credit card. Excellent idea I think!

Tala Entrance

Our first stop was the dam just through the entrance. There were hundreds of Egyptian Geese as well as many other water birds which kept us enthralled for a while.

Egyptian Geese

Yellow-billed duck

Lots of Egyptians about

This one is having a stretch

The pond was full of hippos too.

A Pod of Hippo

The weather was not the greatest for photography or birdwatching but we still managed to find more than expected. The wetland areas of course produced lovely opportunities to observe waterbirds.

Spoonbill

Hamerkop – near a small roadside pond

Black Crake in pond just vacated by Hamerkop

Black-necked heron all puffed up

There were a few birds of prey, mostly yellow-billed kites flying overhead but it was great to find this little black shouldered kite posing obligingly.

Black Shouldered Kite

We saw all of the above within the first half hour of arriving in the park. Having only indulged in a very light breakfast we were peckish and decided to have an early lunch before continuing our safari. As we arrived at the restaurant we saw this wet bird in a tree – and realised it was a yellow-throated longclaw – a lovely sighting for us as we don’t see them often.

Poor photograph of the Yellow-throated Longclaw

The restaurant is really lovely. We were early so were served promptly and the menu offered a full lunch menu, sandwiches and a good choice for children. Simon and Shannon had chicken nuggets and chips. Earl enjoyed slivers of beef on Ciabatta, Lauren Chicken and Feta and I had chicken and bacon with a cranberry sauce on Ciabatta. These sandwiches were around R45 to R55 each. Served with French Fries they were more than a meal!

The restaurant is nestled in a lush tropical garden

A huge fire created a warm atmosphere on a chilly day

Traditional Meals are on offer and the ambience is definitely African

A good South African Braai is also on the menu

After lunch we headed out again determined to find giraffe and Rhino! It was an adventurous trip as we chose some roads that made us grateful we were in a 4×4. The kids shrieked half in excitement half in fear when we descended a particularly steep, stony and slippery hill. We also managed to lose the map somewhere in the car and had to depend on instinct to get us back on track. Of course Grandpa pretended that we might have to spend the night in the dark searching for a way out which got the kids going again! While on our meanderings to find the way out of the maze of roads we found kudu, nyala, eland, reedbuck and zebra. We dipped on the rhino but did get to giraffe but right across the valley and too far for a photograph. The antelope were also hiding in the bush making photography rather difficult.

Wildebeest were easy to see

Blesbok were around every corner

You find them everywhere but Impala are really beautiful

These stripy chaps were happy to see us.

Mom and Dad Ostrich were hiding chicks who evaded a photograph

Mom and Dad Ostrich took up residence outside one of the lodges. They were hiding chicks but we couldn’t get their portrait.

We were lucky to find a whole family of Eland

For a day trip, we were well pleased with what we found. But Earl and I stayed at Tala in October 2005 and I have copied my diary entry of that trip below for the interest of those who might consider a similar trip in the future. Remember prices mentioned are from 8 years ago.

October 2005

At Tala Private Game Lodge we stayed at Paperbark Lodge and our room had panoramic views of the grass plains surrounding us. The lodge is not fenced from the park and the animals are free to come right up close. The Lodge manageress warned us to be careful if we walked around after dark as hippos come to graze on the lawns and rhino choose to sleep the night in close proximity to humans! Usually in game parks we search long and hard to find these magnificent creatures but here we could have stepped out and touched 5 that were right outside our window!

Game in the park is plentiful but there are no cats or fierce predators. There were herds of blesbok, impala, kudu, nyala and eland as well as zebra, giraffe and rhino. Lauren brought the kids on Sunday morning and we had an exciting game drive with them. When they arrived Shannon said, “I need to see the animals!.” Well her “need” was well satisfied. Hippos were swimming in the dam, we saw a cormorant struggle with an enormous bass before swallowing it whole and turtles were out sunning themselves on a log. Shannon said she wanted to see a hamerkop and sure enough one obligingly showed itself next to the turtles before flying off into the reeds.

There were lots of zebra about but Shannon wanted to see the long-necked giraffe. We encouraged her to call them – come on Gerry, Where are you Josephine and believe it or not it worked! Five minutes after we started the game we came across a small herd of 8 or 9 browsing on the succulent leaves of some tall trees.

At lunch time we went to the main restaurant for a buffet meal. We only ordered the starters – a variety of soups, salads, smoked salmon, mussels, oysters, pâtés, breads and rolls – but could have as much as we liked. Together with one bottle of wine it cost R400 for 3 adults!

After lunch the kids left to meet Allan and go back to Kokstad and we had a short nap before going on a game walk with the ranger. This was a special experience. The well trained young ranger had a zoology degree and his special interest was birds. He started birding when he was 10 years old. Chris came to Tala from Mala Mala in Mpumelanga six months ago and said he was not yet totally familiar with all the KZN birds. He could have fooled us! He identified many just by their calls. It is always interesting to go on guided walks because the rangers give you little titbits of information about many of the things you see. Chris was no exception and as Earl and I were the only two on the walk we got his undivided attention.

Birds we saw on the weekend were:

Diedrick’s cuckoo

Jacobin Cuckoo

Spoonbill

White-breasted cormorant

Hamerkop

Egyptian Goose

Grey Heron

Darter

Hadeda

Glossy Ibis

Yellow-billed Kite

Fantailed Cisticola

Nedicky

Spotted Prinia

Pied Wagtail

Cape Wagtail

Yellow-throated Longclaw

Red-naped lark

Fiscal Flycatcher

Plum Collared Starling

White-bellied Sunbird

Cape White-eye

Grey-headed Sparrow

Red-shouldered Widow

We did not have supper in the dining room after our extravagant lunch. Instead the lodge chef prepared us a “snack plate” and served it to us in our room. Some snack! It included mushroom and spinach filled filo pockets, sausage rolls, sticky chicken wings, vegetable bread, game biltong and cheese and biscuits!

The Cape Bird Club Beginners’ Course Outing to False Bay Ecology Park

2013-09-01 | puppy1952

A Birding Paradise

There’s a place that was once a sewage farm,

But now the ponds are settled and calm,

And filled with wild and wonderful birds;

A perfect place for Avian Nerds

As you travel along the many dirt roads,

Look out for crabs and occasional toads.

Perhaps you’ll find a mongoose or buck

There will certainly be a yellow-billed duck.

The pelicans swim the swallows they fly

And maybe you’ll hear the fish eagle cry.

There are stilts and avocets, teal and coots.

A purple swamp-hen chews on roots.

And as well as all these waterfowl

You may even spot the eagle-owl.

The long claw with its orange throat

Sings out with a meowing note.

In rain, in shine, no matter what

You’re bound to see a helovalot.

Come join us at the Ecology Park

We’ll show you more than just a lark.

Today members of The Cape Bird Club took the delegates from Heather’s Beginners’Course on an outing to The False Bay Ecology Park where they put their newly acquired birding skills to the test. The rain had stopped and the skies were clear – we saw a beautiful rainbow – but the roads were somewhat muddy. Nothing could dampen the enthusiasm of the beginners though and the ‘guides’ were just too thrilled to show off this amazing place. We loaded the cars with each one having a window seat and each car set off to separately find the 27 target birds plus anything else that might show up. When we stopped to compare notes the vibe of excitement was tangible as the beginners shared what they had seen. Personally I never get tired of seeing the flamingos doing their amazing ballet in the shallows or impersonating ducks in deeper water. It was hugely rewarding to share my passion with others.

False Bay Ecology Park is next door to Zeekoeivlei – Strandfontein Beach in the Background

Red-knobbed Coot swim among the flamingos

Close up

Red-knobbed Coot by Earl

Purple Swamphen

Red-billed teal and Cape Shoveller with head hidden on the right by Earl

Cape Teal by Earl

Pelican with white-breasted cormorants

Preening

Jay’s Picture

Swimming

Black-crowned Night Heron

Pied Avocets

A Sleepy Spotted Eagle-owl

Taken with eyes open at another time – wouldn’t open his eyes for us today.

African Black Oyster-catchers – same place but better than the pics I took today

Moorhen taken at another time

Little Grebe – we saw lots – but this picture taken at another time

Cattle Egret in Breeding Plumage – taken by Earl

Black-necked grebe – on of the many we saw today.

Mongoose taken by Jay

Common Waxbill taken by Jay

Cape Longclaw taken by Jay

Easter in Struisbaai – Nature on my doorstep

2013-03-29 | puppy1952

Travelling on the day before the Easter Weekend is madness and as I was unable to leave school early we decided to Ïtthis morning instead. We have our youngest daughter, Laurie with us. The rest of the family have other plans. The Struisbaai weather does not look promising but all I really want is a relaxed and chilled break to recharge my batteries for next term.

The trip up was a pleasure – not a scrap of traffic. We spotted the usual roadside birds – mainly jackal buzzards and blue crane and arrived at about 11:30 a.m.

I was relaxing with a slice of banana bread and cup of coffee when Earl who had been out somewhere came charging in. Bring the camera quickly – I lept up, grabbed it and raced to the car no knowing what the heck I was about to see. “It’s walking down the road impersonating a dog!” he said. “What?” I asked and got no anser. – and then I saw it – in our neighbour’s garden under a tree – a Sharpe’s Grysbok! They’re hard enough to find in the wild – but here in a fishing village? There are a few vacant plots in the vicinity and people often tell us they see bokkies – but usually at dusk. This one acted like he owned the place and didn’t even ‘skrik’ when I got out of the car to take photographs.

What are you staring at – this is my territory!

I’ve had enough now – the grub was good though

My vacant lot has tasty food too

Goodbye – I’ll visit again soon

We are trying to get our new lawn to grow so lots of watering is required. Of course this also attracts the birds. We enjoyed watching a couple of red-eyed doves and a fiscal fly-catcher at their ablutions.

Nothing like a nice juicy worm while you’re taking a shower

This is so refreshing

Nice view from up here

Showering is fine but lying in a bath is so much more relaxing

Back in Struisbaai – A weekend with friends

2013-02-02 | puppy1952

Last weekend found us back in Struisbaai mainly so that Earl could fix the irrigation system. Our friends Peter and Heather joined us.

As I had sport duty and a training course to attend at school we only managed to leave at quarter to four and arrived just before 7 p.m. Heather and Peter were already enjoying sundowners on the stoep:-) Earl did a superb braai – chicken wings, steak and chops accompanied by Mediterranean veggies and rye bread. After catching up with our friends we only got to bed after 11 o’clock.

Gus and his little girl Karla drove up early on Saturday morning and were out at sea with Earl by 7 o’clock.

The rest of household emerged from their cocoons at 9 ish had a cup of coffee and then headed for the beach where we enjoyed a delicious swim in a calm sea at Spring Low Tide – and there was hardly another soul around! Th

The fishermen had a wonderfully successful morning and returned with a superb catch of yellowtail. Karla (7) said, “I didn’t catch any – they weren’t in my class!” But she did catch some small ones on other species and released them for another day. We went to watch them come in at the harbour.

Struisbaai Harbour Beach

Kiora coming in

After enjoying a lunch of yellowtail sashimi, Gus and Karla headed back to Cape Town. Earl had a nap and Peter, Heather and I went to do a spot of bird watching. I wanted to find a Denham’s Bustard for them. We drove down the dirt road that takes us to Arniston and then turned toward Die Mond Nature Reserve.

We saw lots of birds. After the winter rains a lot of water was still lying in the farmlands and many waterbirds were enjoying it while it lasted – lots of greater flamingos, a variety of ducks and teals, stilts, spurwing geese, spoonbills, ibises and herons. The distance didn’t make photography worthwhile. Closer to the road we found an African pipit who obligingly posed

African Pipit

A Steppe Buzzard kept flying from fence post to fence post but I finally got a good shot of him.

Steppe Buzzard

I had promised my guests Denham Bustards – but they were being conspicuous by their absence. We came to the turn off to Die Mond and still nothing. I could sense the disappointment. “I saw them down this road in this field in the holidays,” I declared; but still they didn’t appear. The sun was sinking and it was time to turn around. We stopped to look at other birds but still no Denham’s. Some half joking half grumpy comments were made and I just had to find those birds. There was a speck some distance off – moving quickly – I stopped – lifted my binoculars and Bingo – Two gorgeous Denham’s striding across the veld. My guests were thrilled. They were far off but easy to see with binoculars. We even managed some ‘record shot” photography. We observed the birds for some time hoping they would come towards the car but they had other plans so reluctantly we returned home.

The Elusive Denham’s Bustards

It was almost 7 o’clock and still hot. Heather and I had to go for a swim. The men declined the offer! We were the only two people in the sea on a perfect evening.

Struisbaai Beach

Peter and Heather had to leave to at 9 to attend a function back in Cape Town. Before they left we had a last swim in the sea. After breakfast Earl completed the irrigation installation and I caught up with school work. We left at 3 o’clock. Having a weekend a way always makes you feel like you’ve been gone for a week. It was divine.

A good weekend after a busy week

2012-11-18 | puppy1952

The past week at school was a busy one. The intermediate phase wrote their assessment papers and all the staff, including the foundation phase gathered in the hall to assist with the marking. There was a great spirit of camaraderie,laughter at the exam howlers and of course we got lunch. I have never before taught at a school that fed the staff so regularly – I was told that they did this because you couldn’t complain if your mouth was full:-) When all the marking was done and dusted between 4 and 5 each afternoon – the foundation phase still had their regular marking to do and of course we didn’t complain!

On Friday, there were no assessments, and it was lovely to have a one o’clock closing time with no marking. I stayed at school to finish off my week’s marking and then treated myself to a visit to the hairdresser, as I could not longer hide the grey, and my true age was beginning to show. It was bliss – Johann must have gone to an excellent hairdressing school where they learn how to say the right things to their clients. I don’t care how extravagant his prices are – I will pay as long as keeps telling me how gorgeous I am. He lies with such sincerity and his head massage is the best in the world.

It’s a long time since I was a student at the best college ever founded – sadly it closed down in 1975 – but it’s graduates still live on and there is a GTC Old Girls’ Guild in many cities and towns all over the world. The Cape Town branch meets each November to commemorate our founder, Mother Cecil. We invite a priest who knew Grahamstown Training College or whose wife is an Old Girl and have the same Founder’s Service as we did each year when were students. We sing the two college hymns and play a recording of a college choir from 50 years ago sing the Te Deum. And the nostalgia is amazing. Afterwards we have a scrumptious tea and catch up with old friends. This we did this past Saturday afternoon and once again I am so grateful that I had the privilege of attending this amazing college with an incredible tradition which instilled in me the passion for teaching that I have to this day.

I have many passions but gardening is not one of them. However, in suburbia you do from time to time have to pay attention to that part of your home. I am lucky in that I have a good friend who loves to be in the garden and in return for fish and computer lessons helps me to sort mine out from time to time. This morning we had a date at 9:00 a.m. and I decided that the time had come for my two teen-aged grandsons to get interested in the joys of garden work. Josh was already up and a bit shocked when I asked him to come and help. Jay’s muscular body had to be coaxed out of bed and into manual labour. In the end they both complied with good grace and were an enormous help as there was lots of digging, pulling and chopping to be done. After a couple of hours the transformation was rewarding in itself. Margy and I then took them off to the nursery to buy a few new plants and we allowed them to choose one each which they loved and would not be persuaded to change their minds about. We then indulged in scones, jam and cream, coffees for Margy and me and fizzy drinks for the lads.

Back home they joyfully planted the new flowers and shrubs and were proud of the results. They promised that in future they would help more regularly with the gardening. Oh and Grandpa? He made a brief appearance – said ‘what the heck are you doing?’ – saw that everything was under control and left us to it!