Allez la revolution

A very good friend of mine and I email frequently. Her last email to me said I am planning a dinner party, playing in a tournament and plotting a revolution. I was impressed - and all in the space of a week. I asked her which was the most challenging, and tongue in cheek, we both agreed it was probably the dinner party! 

What is heartening in life is that people around us have this "can do" attitude and sometimes the goals might be such that a week is cutting it fine but the reality is that it is the seeds that start the action that spread from one to another and then become a movement and this is what we hope in political activism the world over, whether decrying the climate change policies in the US, the Neo nazi movements in Europe, the refugee crises and the way our beloved homeland and its people are managing their future. Time to think differently, more creatively about overcoming the problems that have beset this little island for so long. I am hoping the seeds of revolution will take hold, spread widely and yield abundant food for thought. 

Making a new unknown friend

I was sitting on the deck, breathing in the scented air. The cockatoos had come and eaten their sunflower seeds and most of them had taken off. One stayed behind. We feed the birds and give them water but we don't approach them. Today was different. This cockatoo approached me. I was sitting at the table and it alighted on the back of the chair next to me, then it made its way over as close to me as it could get. I started talking to it and I put my hand out. It turned to look at it and gently and carefully I started stroking its feathers on its back. We sat there in this state of togetherness for quite a while. I was so happy this had happened, I had made a new friend but truth be told I have no idea how to tell one cockatoo from another. A friend said the females have red circles around their eyes. This one was a girl if that is indeed a feature. I look upon it as befriending a whole species. Now that is a whole lot of new friends, all at once, which FB would be happy about. 

Cool Stanthorpe

Do you want to feel cold for a change - this is the place to go. Stanthorpe is high, cool, famous for its fruit and wines, its cheeses and pies. What we loved were the granite boulders, the National Parks, the forests of eucalyptus and the most amazing viewpoints of the whole of the surrounding area which had not one sight of human habitation. Now that truly is remarkable. 

We stayed in a B+B overlooking a vineyard and wandered around the vines, some already harvested others waiting to be picked.

We stopped at an orchard farm and were in awe at the colour and the size of the apples. We pinched two windfalls off the ground and ate them at a viewpoint and agreed they were probably one of the most delicious crunchy apples we had ever eaten. Could it be because they were "taken?" 

We explored the city of Stanthorpe and indulged in some taster paddles of craft beer. We enjoyed meeting and talking to our B+B hosts about life in the colder climes and the various landmarks in the area. There was so much more to see and do.

We roamed the roads and loved the country side - the grasses which gave the fields a red hue and the row of rusty tractors, like soldiers in a line of duty, now fallen by the wayside.

 

This Easter - and the joy it brings

My purple tibouchina is just fading. It has given way to the glossy leaves of my mandarin tree bearing green fruit  as well as the wonderfully white smelling blossom. I sit on the deck and breathe it all in.There is no sweeter scent. This Easter is special for our family as our first son, George has found his life mate and asked her to marry him. We are delighted to announce she said YES and we can look forward to a wedding sometime in the future. Time to acknowledge with considerable joy that not only are they forging their own way in the world, (and with us as parents the poor kids had no choice) but they are also building on futures with partners who have love and joy and laughter to share with them. We welcome a bright and beautiful daughter into our rather male -heavy family and I personally relish the balance this will bring. I am told she is not a great football fan which means I have an ally I can sneak away with and do something else when football is on.

Of course Arsenal matches are sacred! 

Debbie

Sunday and the day started out cloudy but breezy. Perfect for a morning in the garden collecting the fallen branches, sweeping up the leaves, weeding and watching with joy the almost overnight growth of our passion fruit flowers after all the rain. Then it was time to take the neighbour's dog for a walk and along the way, at the bridge, literally around the corner from the house, Debbie, in full force, knocking metal railings over and bending the metal guard everyone. Do you realise what force this shows and how wary we must be of it ? So few words today but a couple of pictures as a record of this local Debbie effect. 

South Africa's rainbow fauna and flora.

Our time in South Africa was made the more spectacular not only by the wild and rugged coastlines but also by the birds and flowers we saw - we simply came across them driving or walking and it is partly because the Cape Floral Kingdom is so special and is home to so many diverse plants which attract spectacular birds of all sizes. From the diminutive but irridescent honey eater here.

To the most delicately patterned guinea fowl with all its babies

To a turtle just crossing the road - we took it to safety on the other side

To the beautiful blue cranes prancing along in many fields - we saw 25 of this rather rare and beautiful crane and the clumsier but perhaps more flamboyant ostrich.

And finally to the proteas which the birds love and the xerophytic flowers which are so attune to the dry mediterranean climate of the cape.

Rainbows in the Ocean.

This was probably my favourite walk - over the beach in Arniston and towards a cave which is a famous landmark in the area. We found the most amazing mother of pearl shells which shimmered in the light, sea anemones, starfish and rocks of such colours and hues, with contrasting rock faces running through them, I could not get enough of photographing them and looking into the pools to see what more the ocean had to offer me.

That is all you need - to look around and take in all that nature has in store, in the water, under rocks, popping out of the sand, in the dark light of caves and in the blinding sun of day.