A handful of Southerly wind

"And God took a handful of southerly wind, blew His breath over it and created the horse." 

 - Bedouin Legend

  Pencil, Black waterproof Pilot Calligraphy Lettering Pen sketch, candle wax and W&N 'Sepia' watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

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The historic mining village of Kaapsehoop is situated about 25 kilometers from the town of Nelspruit in the South African province of Mpumalanga. It is within this paradise-like setting that the legendary wild horses of Kaapsehoop roam freely. Kaapschehoop has the only wild herds in South Africa, whilst the other nearest known wild horse occurrence is in Namibia.

The Muse

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

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Like a disappearing fish 

or a bird in full flight - 

the muse, 

in an element of her own is jealous of freedom.

She circles close, insistent, 

just below the surface - 

but, when you reach out to catch hold 

without a backward glance she’s gone!

Only on rare occasions 

if you woo her assiduously; - 

right kind of pen, paper she approves of - 

a chair which allows one to forget 

the intrusive flesh.

If the light is right 

and the time 

then, slender as a mosquito 

and as easily brushed aside 

she’ll flirt nearer to inject 

the catalyst sting

Which may find pathway to the tip

of the waiting pen. 

- Margaret Gough 

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Follow the clouds

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

It's always tempting to go a little further and follow the clouds to see what's just over the hill...

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The worst is over...

Ink sketch and W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

Winter is gone… but still the weather teases, keeping the rain just around the corner.

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Muddy tracks

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

 

Muddy tracks weave o'er hills & valleys enticing continuous exploration of my much-loved Tarlton ...

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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]

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Keep discovering life

 

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

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

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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.

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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.

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The colour of Winter

The colour of springtime is in the flowers, the colour of winter is in the imagination. 

~Terri Guillemets 

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

A winter scene in South Africa.

Clear blue skies and trees scorched by veld fires is a familiar sight here in South Africa in winter. With just a few more weeks of cold, the August winds have already blown in Spring, bringing everything to life again.

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Arum fields

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

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

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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!

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Thoughts

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

Thoughts drifting through my mind as I wend my way up the path towards the gate…

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Early Winter-morning sketch

W&N watercolour sketch on Bockingford 300gsm

5am. So... I'll finish when my fingers are less frozen...

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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.

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