3 fabulous (and free) trails
Being close to nature – especially walking through it – is the number one way that I sustain myself. It clears my busy head, fills me with energy and lifts my mood. Whether it’s the physical exertion or closeness to
Tag: Wild things
Go native
Down here in South Africa, especially along the coast, we seem to have a perpetual fixation with palm trees. I know, I know … we’re trying to evoke a sense of being on a tropical island. Or something. But it’s
A fish and fowl affair
Maybe it is happening at last: two days ago, I watched a thick smudge of frenzied activity slide past in the sea. The gannets – must be thousands of them – were crazy, and the sea was foaming. It had
The seagull and the cormorant
This may well be as esoteric as you’ll get to see me, but the idea is just too intriguing – and comforting after the death of Max – to ignore. Fiona comments that some Native American tribes believe that when
Distractions and diversions
It is meant to be a quick drive to the shop to buy milk and bread. It turns into an excursion. The trouble is that I spot a pod of dolphins flowing lazily in the blue, blue waves, and I
Mid-winter pleasures
It’s the winter solstice today here in the South. In theory, it’s the middle of winter. But it’s far from a typical winter day: in this summer-rainfall area, most of the morning has been wet and overcast. I pull on
The wannabe lion and the toyi-toying cows
The mommy bushbuck is visiting for a snack. She rests in the shade of the milkwood tree, her head peering over the teak table, while her baby watches from close by. I should be shooing them away – they’ll be
The colour orange
One of the things I love about living in my part of this part of the world is that there is always something to make you happy in the garden, even as we creep towards mid-winter (officially, that’s just three
Birdie business
We are drinking tea, Kathy and I, at her lounge window. Right outside the window, a sunbird is busily weaving her nest. She is using bits of stringy vegetation (apparently, they also use some spider webs) and shreds of fabric
Everyday magic
Girl fairy helper is blowing out the candles on her birthday cake – she is four – when she spots him. “Buck,” she says. Buck (antelope), indeed. At first, I think he is a bushbuck, but it turns out that