Country Diary - Pay it Forward

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!

Ink, wash and collage in my Moleskine 200gsm "Country Diary"

When we open ourselves to the natural world, we escape the fast-paced bustle of our daily lives. That experience, not only reduces our stress, it also grounds us, reaffirming our connection to the Earth and all its creatures.

We need the tonic of wildness… We can never have enough of nature… We need to witness our own limits transgressed, and some life pasturing freely where we never wander.
- Henry David Thoreau

This is the third in the series Country Diary, which consists of paintings, sketches and collages depicting nature, rural and farm life.

Rhinos unscathed

The only way to save a rhinoceros is to save the environment in which it lives, because there's a mutual dependency between it and millions of other species of both animals and plants.

- David Attenborough

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!

Parker pen and black ink sketch and colourwash in my Moleskine A4 Folio Nature Journal

When taking my grand-children to airport, we are blessed to be driving through the country-side in stead of traffic, and these two Rhino were grazing right by the fence, so I stopped and did a quick sketch. They didn't seem bothered by me at all, I was just on the other side of a rather rickety looking game fence, which I'm sure they could demolish with a step or two, should they so wish! And I was thrilled to see that they still have their horns, so many are being removed to thwart poachers in a conservation effort of these magnificent animals.

Sometimes we're lucky enough to see the Lions close-by the fence, but I've never left my car to try and sketch them!

The park’s setting amongst the hills is stunning. The range of plains game is impressive and includes species like Eland and Gemsbuck that are not often seen in the Gauteng province. The park is not ‘natural’ in the sense that predators aren’t 100% free to roam and hunt. Lions, cheetahs, and wild dogs are segregated and fed; but their sizeable, savannah-like enclosures are far closer to a safari experience than visiting a zoo.

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Birches & Maples

Alone with myself
The trees bend to caress me
The shade hugs my heart.
~Candy Polgar

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!

W&N watercolour in small hand-made sketch-book with hand-crafted satin-finish Linen paper

Birch trees and Maples, two of my favourites, which I rarely plant, firstly because they are not indigenous to South Africa and secondly, both the Birches and Maples require enormous amounts of water. Another reason for not planting a Birch, is that, on a healthy birch, the roots will spread to a distance of at least twice the tree's height. This means that the roots of a mature tree may cover an area about one third the size of a football field. I found the roots very invasive, easily penetrating sewerage and water pipes, often causing great damage to our septic tanks, as it is a great source of moisture.

I read on the internet, "To properly water a birch, place a soaker hose upside down around the perimeter of the canopy or drip line of the tree and let the water run very slowly for several hours. The water should be applied slowly enough to filter into the soil and not run off. Once the soil is moist do a depth of 60 to 100 centimeters enough water has been provided. A birch tree should be watered in this way every two or three weeks, and more frequently during hot dry windy weather."

That's definitely not going to happen around here, water is much too precious to spend so much on just one tree. My friend, in whose garden these trees are, has an elaborate automatic sprinkling system, every gardener's dream, but they have Municipal water and are not reliant on a borehole like we are out in the country.

The Red Bishop 2

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!

W&N watercolours on Visual 200gsm

My Red Bishops have just come into their breeding colours and some of the juveniles are a decidedly mottled lot! There's a lot of fighting and chattering going on, trying to establish dominance and vying for the best spots in the garden (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa).

This little chap obligingly sat for a session while I did a quick outline sketch and then hurriedly added some colour before he flitted off again on some serious business or another.

What a cunning mixture of sentiment, pity, tenderness, irony surrounds adolescence, what knowing watchfulness! Young birds on their first flight are hardly so hovered around!
- Georges Bernanos

Coffee with a conscience

A daily practice of sketching and painting gives you a chance to exercise the big three P's - practice, practice, practice!

W&N watercolours on Visual 200gsm

The next time you're ordering your favourite morning cuppaccino, spare a thought for the planet. Here's why.

Most of us are aware of climate change, but don’t always understand its far-reaching effects. Woolworths set out to change this when it undertook an expedition to Kilimanjaro in January.

"Climate change is one of the four pillars of our Good Business Journey," explains Woolworths Good Business Journey manager, Justin Smith. "Global warming results in increasing average air and ocean temperatures, and melting snow and ice. In Africa, Kilimanjaro’s melting ice cap is one of the most visible indicators of global warming."

The aim of the expedition, which was led and filmed by respected guide Sean Wisedale, was to raise awareness of climate change and its effect on coffee farmers in Tanzania – the farmers who grow the organic coffee Woolworths sells in its cafés.

Smith explains: "Kilimanjaro's melting ice cap is directly threatening Tanzania's coffee farmers, who are reliant on the glacier melt for water. These organic farmers grow their coffee under the shady forest canopies on the slopes of the mountain, which means that once the ice disappears, there will be less water for their crops."

Climatologist and 50:50 presenter Simon Gear joined the expedition, along with South African Champion Barista, Ishan Natalie, and a team of passionate coffee and environmental enthusiasts. When the team reached the summit, they used water from the melting glacier to make a symbolic iced coffee drink.

The drink – minus the glacier water – was launched in Woolworths Cafés on 18 January 2011. It costs R16.
Taken from "Woolworths TasteMag"

A mystery wrapped in brown,
A fragile enigma,
Enveloping the senses,
With the earthy steam
Of a bean.
The mind wrapped in warmth,
The essence of dark roast,
Heating from within,
The senses thrill,
With every lingering
Sniff of the aroma
In the mug
- by Drew K.