Holiday escapism, even virtual holidays down memory lane, oftentimes involve wilfully ignoring inconvenient truths. So back home in the now, the hard realities in the news preoccupy me once again as Covid-19 infection rates escalate across significant parts of South Africa.
Continue reading “Shifting the focus when back in the now”
Mkhuze Game Reserve in northern KwaZulu-Natal has many reasons to draw visitors, but watching the animals visiting the reserve’s KuMasinga Hide watering point is always one of its highlights.
Continue reading “At the waterhole: Mkhuze Game Reserve’s KuMasinga Hide”
When away camping in the bush, each campsite becomes a transient home from home. Why we feel more at home at some campsites than at others is hard to say.
Continue reading “Home from home: Favourite campsites at the Central Kalahari Game Reserve”
The Richtersveld is a reminder of vastness out there while the pandemic constrains us. Our (cancelled) three-week trip to three nature parks would have started in mid-May, so instead of actually going away, while under continuing lockdown I reminisce about a previous trip out into nature. Continue reading “Richtersveld redux: Reviving remoteness and the great out there”
Food has become more of a global and personal focus in the context of the global Covid-19 pandemic. Some food supply chains are threatened, and for a variety of reasons thousands more people are now food insecure. Continue reading “Wheat, war, bread and biscotti”
No, I didn’t find fungus growing in bird’s nests, but a fungus that resembles bird’s nests. Very tiny nests to be sure, and within each nest-shaped cup nestles a cluster of egg-like capsules. Continue reading “Backyard curiosities 2: Bird’s Nest Fungi”
I have been foraging for distractions from anxiety while under lockdown. I have come across some oddities and marvels in our own backyard to share on naturebackin. Continue reading “Backyard curiosities 1: Bubble-blowing flies”
Here we are locked down at home, with our pets being a major source of distraction as we try to alleviate anxiety and find ways of not becoming addicted to reading the news and obsessing about Covid-19 and our collective futures. Continue reading “Stuff to do during lockdown: Tips from our cats”
Hope can be a powerful force that sustains us through dark days and times of hardship. Many of us lean towards trusting in the possibilities for a better future as uncertainty, anxiety, fear, suffering, grief and hardship envelop the globe in these times of the Covid-19 pandemic. Continue reading “On the wings of hope”
