There are two dictionary definitions of cheerfulness: first, the quality or state of being noticeably happy and optimistic; and second, the quality of causing happiness. Continue reading “Holiday cheerfulness: The sunshine colours of yellow”
This photo shows a mother goat with her new-born baby, having just given birth in the street outside the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk in the small Eastern Cape town of Tarkastad. Continue reading “Weekly Photo Find: The presence of nature in small towns”
I noticed a decoratively marked black-and-white pollinator, studiously visiting flowers on our lavender bushes last week. I had not seen one of these unusually marked insects before, but guessed that it might be a solitary bee. Continue reading “Being there: The diversity of solitary bees”
Considering there are over 3000 species of dragonflies in the world, it’s not surprising that a few find their way to our garden pond. Continue reading “There be dragonflies”
A Grey Duiker picks its way through fallen leaves as it forages at the margins of a patch of mistbelt forest in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. Continue reading “Weekly Photo Find: Forest Foraging”
I seldom see ladybirds nowadays, so I was pleased when I noticed this pair of ladybirds when I was doing some planting in the veggie patch. They were rapidly twirling and whirling as they made the way up and down the stalks. Oh good, I thought, they might munch some of the aphids, but I just hope they are not ladybirds of the invasive alien kind. Continue reading “Ladybirds: Not a bird but a beetle”
A section of a spider’s web, photographed in mistbelt forest in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. Continue reading “Weekly Photo Find: Web design”
Usually the Tree Agamas in our garden appear to be peaceful, even in the breeding season. But this week I witnessed a prolonged duelling match that turned quite violent at times between two competing males. Continue reading “The battle of the rival Tree Agamas”
Perhaps because Bladder Grasshoppers are active at night, they are heard rather than seen. The call of the male Bladder Grasshopper, something between a bleat, a shriek and a croak, is alarmingly loud. Continue reading “The grasshopper that shrieks in the night”
