Herbs in pots - Oregano

Bladk ink and watercolour sketch in watercolour sketch pad.

Having herbs in terracotta pots on your kitchen windowsill is an excellent way of always having fresh herbs handy for your cooking.

This aromatic, ancient culinary herb (Origanum vulgare), also referred to as “wild marjoram,” originates from the hilly, Greek countryside, and is now grown all over the world. Its pungent, spicy, slightly bitter flavour pairs well with almost any vegetable preparation.

Bluegum fantasy

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm in small sketch-book

Blue gum eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus to the botanists), have been a part of the South African landscape since the Gold Rush, long enough that legends have sprung up about how they first made it to the country. The usual story is that 19th Century gold miners encouraged planting of the trees as a quick-growing source of quality lumber, then were disappointed to find out that South African-grown eucs produce wood unsuitable for much besides rough fenceposts and firewood.

The stories have some factual basis: there was a speculative eucalyptus-planting rush in the first years of the 20th Century, with people planning uses from fine furniture to rot-resistant railroad ties. And the home-grown trees, which grew far more quickly than their Australian counterparts, did not turn out to make lousy timber! The logs were extensively used in our mining industry and to this day they are still popular as fence posts and roof timber.

Herbs in pots - Lemon thyme

Ink and watercolour sketch in watercolour sketch pad.

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Having herbs in terracotta pots on your kitchen windowsill is an excellent way of always having fresh herbs handy for your cooking.

In cooking, lemon thyme (Thymus citriodorus) delivers the best of both worlds. It has a soft herbal thyme flavour along with a subtle essence of lemon, all without any of the bitterness we sometimes get from regular thyme. It pairs well in everything from salads and vegetable dishes, to meat, and fish.

Lemon thyme is also used for the following :

• relieving muscle spasms
• has anti-aging properties
• immune system
• easing digestion
• easing a tight chest
• constant coughing
• relieving asthma
• promotes relaxation
• laryngitis
• gastritis

African buffalo

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

African buffalo or Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer)

African buffaloes are strong and imposing animals of the African savanna, but today few populations exist outside the confines of national parks. These formidable grazers are the only wild cattle species, and bonds between females are strong. If one individual is under attack from a predator, the herd will rush to the victim’s defence, and a herd is easily capable of driving away an entire pride of lions.

A happy ending

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

Trees are sanctuaries. Whoever knows how to speak to them, whoever knows how to listen to them, can learn the truth. They do not preach learning and precepts, they preach, undeterred by particulars, the ancient law of life.

“Love the trees until their leaves fall off, then encourage them to try again next year.”

 

 

The Dragonfly and the Daisy

 Black ink sketch on Bockingford

After spending several years under water in fresh water, the Naiad (Dragonfly larvae, about 2cm in length) emerges, crawling up a plant stalk, usually at night, as a fully grown Dragonfly (order Odonata). They may be on the wing for just a few days or weeks and are fast, agile fliers, sometimes migrating across oceans, and are often found near water. I’ve watched them emerging from my wildlife pond many a time and am always amazed at the beauty that comes from such a voracious (and ugly!) little predator, capable of catching small fish twice their size.

A farm fence

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm

I'm absolutely besotted with farm fences and gates and just cannot drive past without stopping to take a photograph or a quick sketch. There's something about a fence that says, "This is the boundary, please don't pass" and an open gate is always an invitation to drive through and see what's on the other side!

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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

Make a change - sketch in old books

Red Bishop (Euplectes orix) using W&N watercolour, no sketching beforehand, just got a quick glimpse of him on the fence post

Sometimes the urge to paint is too much to still go in search of paper, so painting and sketching in old books (in stead of throwing them away) has always made sense to me.

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Soaring fire

Just a quick hello and to let you know I'll  be back (soon!) Moving house from one end of the world to the other (OK, from one Province to another, but it seems like the other side of the world to me!) is very disruptive and a year later I'm only just starting to find my feet. Not all just because of the move, other factors have also played a part, but suffice it to say that my muse seems to be popping around more and more often these days and my paint brushes are getting more alluring by the day.

And here's a little piece of wisdom for today...

A quick little practice to get a feel for the paints again... Soaring Fire That Sweeps And Sings - a scene often seen on our smallholding in Gauteng

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Herbs in pots - Coriander

Ink and watercolour sketch in watercolour sketch pad.

Having herbs in terracotta pots on your kitchen windowsill is an excellent way of always having fresh herbs handy for your cooking.

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) is an extremely popular herb that is used extensively and liberally in Indian, Thai, South African and Middle Eastern cuisine.

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• Use in all types of curries, pickles, chutneys and sauces.
• Sprinkle over fresh salads.
• Use to flavour soups, carrot and coriander is quite popular.
• Use to flavour home-made bread, waffles and scones.
• Coriander is used as an ingredient for some cakes and biscuits including gingerbread.
• Use to add flavour to creamed cheese or mayonnaise.
• Use to garnish meat, fish or vegetable dishes.
• Use in meatballs, meat or vegetable burgers and other home-made dishes.
• Add to stocks and gravies.
• Use in marinades, particularly for meat and fish.
• Coriander goes very well with mushrooms.
• Use to spice up stir-fries and bland vegetables such as spinach.

Herbs in pots - Parsley

Ink and watercolour sketch in watercolour sketch pad.

Having herbs in terracotta pots on your kitchen windowsill is an excellent way of always having fresh herbs handy for your cooking.
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It’s easy to write parsley off. Parsley (Petroselinum crispum) is just the requisite garnish that decorates plates at fancy restaurants. Right? Wrong! Parsley is a popular culinary and medicinal herb recognized as one of the functional food for its unique antioxidants, and disease preventing properties.

Sunshine in the rain

W&N watercolour on Arches 300gsm

On cold and rainy days I sometimes feel I just HAVE to brighten up the day with something smiling! Not that I don’t smile during rainy weather, I love it! and sunflowers are the perfect flower to brighten any dark day.

"Flowers have an expression of countenance as much as men and animals. Some seem to smile; some have a sad expression; some are pensive and diffident; others again are plain, honest and upright, like the broad-faced sunflower and the hollyhock."
- Henry Ward Beecher