🐾 Maybe the reason I love animals so much, is because the only time they have broken my heart is when theirs has stopped beating.

Monday 25 January 2016

Mother Nature's blessings and her fury

After months of drought, the Sabie River in full flood in the Kruger National Park, South Africa

After some weeks of suffering a terrible heat wave leading to loss of life, coupled with serious drought in parts of our country (South Africa), Mother Nature blessed us with lots of rain but also some of her worst-ever fury, dumping days of rain and hail bigger than golf balls, causing extensive flooding and damage to properties in Krugersdorp in the second week of January.

KeyWest Shopping Mall roof collapses under the weight of the hail

The roof of our local shopping mall in Krugersdorp, KeyWest, collapsed from the weight of the hail, causing makor damage to most of the shops in the mall, with flooding and ceilings falling in, resulting in the closure of the mall until repairs could be done.

Damage to The Hub retail shop


It's been raining almost every day ever since and this morning I woke up to dark skies and with the rising sun beautifully highlighting the foliage on the trees with a light drizzle to boot. My garden is smiling in leaps and bounds!

Yesterday's rain


Solly's chooks were by no means intimidated by the black skies or the rain and kept on having their early 6am breakfast (this drive-way is in dire need of renovation! It's on my list ...!)

Extreme weather is occurring all over the globe at the moment, and it's easy to consider an apocalypse could be on the horizon. While we hope this is far from true, it's impossible to ignore the droughts, fires, storms and heat waves we've experienced lately, with Pretoria (Gauteng, South Africa), experiencing temperatures in the 40℃'s, the hottest it's ever been since 1865. And here at home, our temps hit 39℃, something I've never experienced in my 40 years of living in Tarlton.

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Friday 1 January 2016

May today there be peace within - New Year 2016

New Year's Day at my wildlife pond

May you trust your highest power that you are exactly where you are meant to be.

May you not forget the infinite possibilities that are born of faith.

May you use those gifts that you have received, and pass on the love that has been given to you.

May you be content knowing you are a child of the Universe.

Let this presence settle into your bones, and allow your soul the freedom to sing, dance, praise and love.

It is there for each and every one of us.

On this day and for the rest of our lives.

Goodbye to a wonderful 2015 and Happy New Year!

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Thursday 31 December 2015

Goodbye 2015

A light wind swept over the corn, and all nature laughed in the sunshine. 
-Anne Bronte

"Golden wheat" - painted with Nescafé instant coffee, strong and black - ©Maree Clarkson

As the year draws to a close, I want to take a moment to thank you for allowing me to be an important part of your daily life. I've immensely enjoyed reading all of your blogs (even though I don't comment much!) and learnt so much and I'm always thrilled when you leave a comment and we can have a bit of discussion.

This year has had it's ups and downs in my garden (I've lost two big trees and a few frost-tender plants) and Mother Nature has taken and given in abundance, both in fauna and flora. I've seen many a brood of baby birds being raised but I've also experienced the loss of the baby Robins and a few of my beloved chooks. But overal-ly it's been a good year and I hope we will all still be together for many more years to come!

And remember, life is short. Laugh regularly and connect with nature - it helps you find peace in your busy life while making the world a better place!

Thursday 24 December 2015

Season's Greetings from my home to yours 2015


My sincerest wishes for hope, happiness and peace during this Holiday Season. May you spend wonderful, happy hours with friends, family and loved ones!

Saturday 19 December 2015

It's Agapanthus time!

Every summer I look forward to the few Agapanthus (A. praecox) that I have, flowering. I say “few”, because I struggle to grow these beauties in my garden (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa) – too much shade. I have found that they prefer full sun and not too much water.

The evergreen species is indigenous to the winter rainfall Western Cape and all-year rainfall Eastern Cape and shed a few of their old outer leaves every year and replace them with new leaves from the apex of the growing shoot. The deciduous species come from the summer rainfall Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Free State, Lesotho, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Mozambique, and grow rapidly in spring with the onset of the rains, and then lose their leaves completely and lie dormant during winter.


Agapanthus species are easily able to hybridize with each other, particularly when grown in close proximity and as a result, a bewildering array of garden hybrids have arisen.


Insects just absolutely love Agapanthus and the Agapanthus is undoubtedly one of our indigenous botanical treasures. It has been exported to all corners of the earth, but occurs naturally only in Southern Africa, where it grows in the wild in all our provinces except the Northern Cape, as well as in Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique.


I doubt that there is a South African gardener alive that has not come across an Agapanthus somewhere! They line our roads, and are in most gardens and parks, from the tall globular-headed ones to the ever-shrinking dwarf cultivars now available at garden centres. This one above is the smaller praecox minimus species I have in my bathroom court-yard garden.

Here's to another bloomin' blue summer!

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Monday 14 December 2015

Friday 20 November 2015

They crept into my heart


I must say that, after the Fiscal Shrike (Lanius collaris) killed my Cape Robin-chat's babies to feed her brood of four, I was totally pissed off with her and swore no more interaction with that mean little bird. 

Mean little bird!

But as the days passed and I saw how the parents were struggling to keep up with four hungry little mouths, I broke down and started offering little pieces of minced meat on the feeding table again. The parents were SO thankful and immediately took little pieces, endlessly flying between the four hungry youngsters, who shrieked and flapped their wings in anticipation.


Since they hatched in late September (about 4 weeks ago), they have grown in leaps and bounds and it wasn't long before they would be waiting at the feeding table for me, knowing what's coming. For a while they still preferred Mommy to pick up the pieces and feed them, which she obligingly did but about a week and a half ago I observed her behaviour changing as she with-held the food from them, swallowing it herself and then turning on the shrieking little one, chasing it into the next tree. Mommy was saying, "It's time to leave home, children!"



For a day or two they still tried coaxing Mommy into feeding them, flapping and screeching, to no avail, and soon they were eagerly hopping onto the feeding table as soon as I appeared, hardly giving me a chance to put anything down! I would sometimes have three of them sitting there, helping themselves as fast as I could supply.





I now have them taking little bits of mince straight from my fingers, albeit a quick grab, and retreating to the nearest branch to enjoy it. What a wonderful experience that is! and all the while staring me straight in the eye with absolute trust in their little eyes.



During the day, as soon as I appear in the garden, all four would fly towards me, sitting close-by, intently watching my every move just in case a snack is forth-coming. I only feed them twice a day, early in the morning and again late-afternoon. If I'm in the garden and I don't see them anywhere, I just have to whistle and they're there like a flash.

These little birds are totally fearless, secure in the knowledge of their "raptor" status. When the Thrush or Robin see an insect on the ground and go to retrieve it, they will immediately land at the same spot, and as young as they are, immediately send the Thrush and Robin scurrying away in a hurry.


Little Raptor in the making!


Looking for all the world like a small hawk!


"I'm going to be fierce, can you see?"

These little darlings have crept deep into my heart and will really miss them when they leave (if they leave!), but already this morning only three came to feed. The eldest one has always been a bit more independent, always coming to get food after the fact of the matter and I think it might already have left for greener pastures.  C'est la vie little one!

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