JUST ME :: and a stack of blank pages

:: Living creatively ::

About me

This is the real secret of life — to be completely engaged with what you are doing in the here and now. And instead of calling it work, realise it is play. The only thing that is ultimately real about your journey is the step that you are taking at this moment. That’s all there ever is. I’m here to tell you that the path to peace is right there, when you want to get away. When you are present, you can allow the mind to be as it is without getting entangled in it. If you miss the present moment, you miss your appointment with life. That is very serious!

Saturday, October 4, 2014

Muddy tracks

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm
 
Muddy tracks weave o'er hills & valleys enticing continuous exploration of my much-loved Tarlton ...

.

Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Amethyst Sunbird female


W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm
Black Sunbird feeding on the Kniphofia (Red Hot Poker) flowers in my garden (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa).

The Amethyst Sunbird, also called the Black Sunbird (Chalcomitra amethystine) mainly occurs in Africa south of the equator. Its natural habitat is dry savannah but it is extremely fond of gardens.
It goes out of its way to visit a large clump of nectar-bearing plants. Here in my garden, it feeds on nectar from the Aloe, Kniphofia, Halleria lucida (Tree fuchsia) and a nectar mix in one of my bird feeders. It’s diet is supplemented with insects and often hawks flying insects from the trees or bushes, also gleaning them from leaves and branches. Nectar is obtained either from flowers or from garden feeders, which it uses readily (note that in feeding experiments it was found to prefer sucrose rather than sugar).

This Sunbird is not threatened, in fact its range has increased recently due to the spread of wooded gardens.

Swartsuikerbekkie [Afrikaans]

.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Keep discovering life

 
W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

I yearn to keep ‪walking‬, keep ‪drawing‬ and keep discovering life along the way.

.

Friday, September 26, 2014

A Windpomp and a gate

 
W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

A familiar sight in South Africa – a windmill drawing the life blood from the earth.

Water availability has shaped life and society in many ways, with aridity shaping the landscape and soils and determining where we live, grow our crops, raise animals and build our cities. Without these wind pumps, farming, and life in general, would not be possible in the more arid parts of our country.

.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Waiting for the rain

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

The fields are quiet, the lands are empty – oh, for the sound of rain!

Summer has hit with a vengeance - Spring was short-lived and after freezing temperatures, we went straight into 30℃ heat.

.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Arum fields


W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

A happy meander through the fields and flowers of a sunny Spring morning ...

.

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Winter is golden

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

Winter is always depicted in cold colours of blue and grey, but here in South Africa, cold as it is, the sun is shining on a bright brown, yellow and green landscape. The only time we have blues and greys is in summer when it is raining!

.

Wednesday, July 23, 2014

The Guineas are back


For the first time in many years (except for a brief visit in December 2013), I've had Guinea Fowl visiting my garden again. They even stopped to have a quick snack of corn which I put out for Solly's chickens.

::

Saturday, July 19, 2014

Africa burns

It's winter, which means it's once again time for our annual veld fires (wild fires). A couple of weeks ago we had one rushing through our property, but luckily the grass had already been cut in preparation of the event and the damage was minimal. But with strong winds, it is scary the speed at which these fires can travel.

The fire rushing through our property

:: 



Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Three cheers


Winter is still persisting but three cheers for rising temperatures this morning. A spring in my step and a smile on my face!

.