White-browed Sparrow Weaver

W&N Watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

A Bird A bird came down the walk, He did not know I saw; He bit an angleworm in halves And ate the fellow, raw. And then he drank a dew From a convenient grass, And then hopped sidewise to the wall To let a beetle pass. - by Emily Dickinson 

These White-browed Sparrow Weavers used to be regular visitors to my old garden in Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa. I see their environmental status is listed as LC "Least Concern", which I'm so glad about, they are real little characters.

They have a general, harsh 'chik'chik' call when they're flocking, as well as a loud, liquid 'cheeoop-preeoo-chop' whistle, which I really miss... The White-browed Sparrow-Weaver is found in greatest numbers in north-central southern Africa. While this species most densely populates at dry regions with woodland or wooded grassland in northern South Africa, its range includes Botswana, the North-west Province and Western Gauteng, northern and central Namibia, and western Zimbabwe. It is seen very often in South Luangwa National Park, Zambia and southern Malawi. Populations may be found as far north as Ethiopia.

I'm particularly sorry that I probably won't be seeing them here in KZN, although I have noticed a smaller, less colourful little sparrow, which could probably be passed off as a distant cousin! 

H. hortensis

Flowers have a mysterious and subtle influence upon the feelings, not unlike some strains of music. They relax the tenseness of the mind. They dissolve its vigour. - Henry Ward Beecher 

   

Hydrangeas - a small watercolour sketch on Bockingford 300gsm  

Hydrangea H. hortensis, the common garden species, is a native of China or Japan. Here in South Africa they are also known as "Christmas Roses" as they normally flower in December. For us in South Africa, Summer means a bright, sunshiny Christmas and it also means Hydrangeas! They start flowering during late November, through December until January. Instead of Holly and Ivy decorating tables and mantles, it is the Hydrangea that takes pride of place! 

Some years ago a friend gave me a huge bunch of Hydrangeas and, after sketching them, they were hung in my potting shed to dry. Provided you hang them in a fairly damp-free area, they maintain their full, bright colours for a really long time.

Bushveld tranquility

Artline200 Fine-point Black ink pen and W&N watercolour in my Moleskine 200gsm Nature Journal

Since moving to the North Coast of KZN from Gauteng, I have these flash-backs of bushveld life. I try not to live in the past, but let's face it, spending 70 years of your life in a bushveld area is not to be sneezed at. I really do miss fields of waving savannah, Highveld trees and all the animals and insects that make their home there. 

The sketch above is a memory of long summer days spent fishing with my father when I was a kid and just generally revelling in a summer in the Bushveld.

The Limpopo river, the second largest river in Africa, flows in a great arc, first zig-zagging north and then north-east, then turning east and finally south-east. Then it serves as a border for about 640 kilometers (398 mi), separating South Africa to the south-east from Botswana to the north-west and Zimbabwe to the north. There are several rapids as the river falls off Southern Africa’s inland escarpment. In fact where the Marico River and the Crocodile River join the name changes to Limpopo River. The waters of the Limpopo flow sluggishly, with considerable silt content. Rainfall is seasonal and unreliable: in dry years, the upper parts of the river flow for 40 days or less.
- Info Wikipedia