When you wander into the back garden.
If the cap fits…
Anyway, moving on before I get myself into trouble…
Oh deer
Right. Back from Agulhas a bit early so that I can fit in a friendly game of football this evening. And it was a good journey back, with only several near death experiences. Honestly, driving in South Africa really is something very special. And making it safely to your destination is even more remarkable.
We’ve left behind the peace and quiet of the Southern Tip for the ongoing building work next door, with the constant drone of the jackhammer welcoming us back. Again. It is already very wearing.
But before we left, we did see this girl out of the front window. Watching us, watching her:
This is a Cape Grysbok (Raphicerus melanotis) resplendent in full winter coat. I’m guessing female, because there are no visible horns, but there is quite a lot of eye-shadow.
It’s been a great few days away, with some good exercise and some amazing wildlife, from whales through to geckoes, this bokkie, more than one mongoose, and loads of birds including fish eagle, spoonbills, ostrich, a defaecating cormorant, and that petrel.
I can already hardly wait until next time.
Another photographic triumph
Back out to the lagoon in search of a repeat performance from yesterday’s whales.
Sadly, they didn’t show up today. However, we did spot a Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus), which was a first for me. Small wins.
This guy isn’t a Southern Giant Petrel (Macronectes giganteus). He’s a White-Breasted Cormorant (Phalacrocorax lucidus). Fairly common on the coast here.
But it takes a special sort of talent to catch him like this:
Perfect timing. Just lovely.
I thank you.
No egrets
Quick walk on the beach this afternoon, which yielded some shots of humpback whales playing off the back of the point here in Cape Agulhas. Wow.
Maybe more of that tomorrow: I’ll certainly be out there looking again. But in the meantime, here’s a pic from the way back to the cottage:
And I’m fine with sharing this instead of a whale shot.
I egret nothing.
Local art
Yay. We’re heading down to Agulhas this week for the first time in a while. Looking forward to a bit of a break and some sea air. More from there when it happens. But also, I was reminded this morning of a local shop there which caters to the more… mmm… Afrikaans end of the tourist market.
What do I mean by that? I mean lots of Bible verses, lots of crosses, lots of every sort of item made from MDF and with an Afrikaans saying on them.
It’s like Live, Laugh, Love on steroids.
As jy weet, jy weet.
Amongst that is a selection of art, possibly done by the owner of the shop, we think? Now, I’m really not one to poke fun at other people’s creativity, so I’m going to just give three quick T&Cs for the rest of this blog post.
Firstly, you might not agree with my opinions on this. It’s not microbiology, after all. And indeed, this might be art that you like. And that’s fine.
Secondly, you put your stuff out there, you open it up for people to look at, judge and critique. Which I am doing.
And thirdly, it’s very difficult to not look at some of the stuff on offer and not giggle a bit. Because, well…
OK. I’m just going to limit it to two photos. Let’s be fair. Here’s the first:
That one is going for R850 and it’s entitled “You Gave Me Back My Joy”.
Presumably, this title is directed to the plastic surgery team. And guessing that we’re looking at the lady in question post surgical intervention, one can only imagine that it must have been a really bad accident and a tough job if this final outcome brings her joy. I’m guessing that the initial impact came from her right, and comprehensively stoved that side of her head in (as they say up in Newcastle).
Still, it’s great that she’s happy again, despite having to have a skin-coloured strut holding that side of the back of her head on for the rest of her life.
But of course, reconstructive surgery isn’t the only way of bringing joy.
Should you find yourself looking like a crossdressing Mick Jagger whilst in a strange, grey wasteland, then leapfrogging a young child whose head seems to be amongst some really, really tiny chickens, is clearly good for gettin’ you satisfaction.
And, in the unlikely event that you don’t have a surgical team or a young child nearby, you could always twiddle your nipple with your left hand, while giving a Nazi salute with your right… er… claw.
This last one is niche. Very niche. But it’s been depicted so perfectly clearly here that I really can’t imagine that the artist was trying to show us anything else. And presumably, someone will wander into the shop, spot this painting and think:
“It’s so me. I simply HAVE to have it.”
(But in Afrikaans.)
These images were taken a few months ago. But I’m very tempted to (carefully, now I’ve written this), pop back in and see if these have been sold (but if so, to whom?!?), and also see what other delights have been created in the intervening period.
Please watch out for my report over the coming days.