He built this nest in anticipation of attracting a mate. Continue reading “Anticipating attracting a mate”
Some Christmas decorations, still popular today, are adopted from old winter solstice traditions. Continue reading “Festive decorations in the garden”
The sun always on their horizon, a new horizon every day! The gerbera daisies in our garden are showing me the way. Continue reading “Simplicity”
Even in sunny South Africa, European winter traditions are evident at Christmas time. There are Christmas cards that feature red-breasted European robins and there was a time when shop windows sported cotton-wool snow and plastic holly, even though December is at the height of the southern hemisphere summer! Continue reading “Christmas cards and robins”
My favourite place for relaxing is the veranda, an intermediate zone not really inside and not really outside. I like to go out onto the veranda to watch the world go by, the birds go by, the sun go by, or maybe to enjoy a book, a cup of tea, a sundowner, a conversation, or simply just to sit. The veranda can be a meditative place. Continue reading “On the veranda”
Hurrah for the holidays and time to read books! I have been browsing my collection of old books, and thought I’d “let nature back in” via illustrations from three British early-20th-century children’s books depicting children living in small villages in the English countryside. Continue reading “Close to nature: The English countryside in three children’s books from the early 20th century”
The summer garden is made special by gorgeous flowers that attract birds and insects, and most noticeably, the industrious honeybee. Continue reading “It’s not this time of the year without … flowers and honeybees”
After photographing droplets of rain on various plants in the garden, it was only later that I realized that I’d caught refracted images of flowers in some of the droplets. Magical or lucky – is there a difference? Continue reading “Magical refractions”
I first time I saw this snake was when it fell out of a grapevine over our back deck. I was sweeping the deck and it fell on the deck right beside me, much to my surprise, its surprise and the surprise of our two dogs. Continue reading “The snake that tamed me”
