de mond

Up properly early – lobbed some bacon in some baps for the car – and off to De Mond Nature Reserve up along the coast. Away so early that the sun wasn’t up and the owls were still hunting from the poles along the Suiderstrand road.

Deliciously cool and with some lovely light, I was actually a bit disappointed with some of the photos I got. Seemed like they should have been better, but I wasn’t on my A-game today. Still, loads to see on our 6km walk, including three new birds for me. I’m no prolific birder, but I’ve seen a lot in the Western Cape, so three new species in a single morning is pretty good going.

And then, after yesterday’s Secretary Birds, a Denham’s Bustard (var Stanleyi) (obviously, down here!!) on the way home. Nice, albeit at a bit of a distance.

The early start permitted a phat afternoon nap, which was duly accepted, and while the playoff semi-final first leg didn’t go too well, the fire is lit, the braai is on the go and with loadshedding at 8, we’re hunkering down for an evening of atmosphere, brandy and battery-powered LED lighting.

It’s been a (generally) good day.

…was the somewhat ominous comment I put on this photo from November 2008. But there were no actual serious injuries that day.

That’s little 0.6 being swung by my Mum and me at De Mond nature reserve down in Cape Agulhas. It was a blisteringly hot day, which is why 5-month-old K-pu was sensibly sheltering under a tree somewhere back at the car park.

For the record, Alex is now 11½ and his sister has just turned 9. Shoulder injuries and medical bills would be much more likely these days.

When someone close leaves your life, they’re never really “gone”. Memories, jogged by photographs or visits or sounds or dates – or whatever – are always there.

I could easily be walking along that sandy track next to my Mum right now: she’s counting up to 3, for Alex’s next short flight. We’re watching the terns take flight through the heat haze. We’re listening to the crickets in the grass. We should really have brought some more water along. It is – as I mentioned before – really hot. The still air is thick. Alex wants another swing.
And then back to the weirdest, dodgiest self-catering place in all of Arniston (possibly even in all of South Africa).

And this is just one moment, on one afternoon, on one day. There’s literally a lifetime of other memories, each just waiting to be accessed.
She’d want us to remember it all, from the mundane to the unusual. And I do. Most every day.

Tag: de mond

A great day marred by football

Dislocated shoulder time