It’s beginning to look…

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… a lot a bit like Christmas.

Of course, it never really feels like Christmas here, because it’s usually somewhere around 30oC – this year is actually forecast to be 28oC – which negates the snowy scenes, cosy fireplaces and roasting chestnuts therein.

But the local builders have packed up for the season, taking with them their noise, their litter and their “petty” crime, and it does feel like things are settling slowly into the festive holidays.

After last weekend’s time away, I’ve been catching up with the jobs that need doing, including installing the patented WindBreak6000™ next to the braai, which has already made a massive difference as the South Easter continues to pomp. It’s got wheels and everything. (The WindBreak6000™, not the South Easter, obviously.)

Still some tidying up and a few odd jobs to get sorted, but let’s leave that until after the footy and a nice braai, shall we?

Olive

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Seen once before here but still a pretty elusive visitor to the back garden: an Olive Woodpecker (Dendropicos griseocephalus).

Never easy to shoot (just look at that post I linked to above), because they are so agile and so ready to slip around a tree trunk or branch just as you are getting them into focus.
Not to mention the leafy suburban garden getting between the lens and it.

But he soon got into the mood and even gave me a very brief smile before we headed our separate ways.

One of my jobs for this holiday is to compile a list of birds I have seen in – and birds I have seen from – our garden. There will be a couple of surprising* entries in the latter (African Fish Eagle, Great White Pelican) as well as the usual Cape Town run-of-the-mill feathery stuff.

* OK, less surprising now, I guess.

The weekend that was

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I’ve finally recovered enough to share a few images and a few words about a great weekend away near Montagu. Yeah yeah, the place says Robertson, and it’s probably closer to Robertson as the crow flies, but cars and people can’t fly (yet), and so Montagu is the town of choice for a Google Maps location.

And we were right up in the mountains, miles from anywhere. The track up to the place was challenging in parts, but acted as a great barrier betweeen us and the outside world for 3 days.

Last time I was here, there was snow everywhere, and the time before that, it felt like there should be snow everywhere. But aside from a couple of summer showers, this weekend was blissfully hot and lazy.
Hours on end dozing by the pool.

It’s worth noting that when I’m away, I let the other people take photos of the other people. My thing is getting the landscapes and the wildlife, and I much prefer that to making anyone uncomfortable by shooting them – posed or otherwise.

And the place itself is just beautiful. Views for days. Fynbos as far as the eye can see.

And who needs humans in the shot when you’ve got a tortoise?

Sadly not much in the way of unusual birds: Familiar Chat, Fork-Tailed Drongo, the occasional Jackal Buzzard passing by (some good Booted Eagle and Pale Chanting Goshawk action on the way home though), but some stunning Dragon- and Damsel-flies.

And a reed-bed pond for purifying the farm dam style swimming pool had some very pretty waterlilies:

All in all, a perfect few days away with friends. Fun, laughter, games, sleep, braais, drinks, a couple of hikes, a run, some ‘togging, and some delicious relaxation.

10/10 would recommend.

Jaded

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It was an amazing weekend away, but it’s also that time of year and I am looking forward to an early night after several days of indulgence. Last night was a lot of fun too, but I am feeling partied out.

I have looked at some of the pics from the last few days and yes, we had a great time. But wow: I’m used to doing that one night a week, not 6 in a row. Those days have long gone.

And so, here’s a quick taster of a bit of the dramatic beauty of the place we spent the weekend…

…ahead of a proper post tomorrow.

By which time I will be mended. Right?