Not Yet Departed

Swallows

Haiku 53

Not yet departed

Borne aloft on southern winds

Spirited away

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Once again I saw many European Swallows flying over my garden. They were milling round overhead, massing together rather than catching insects on the wing.

I dashed inside for my trusty Canon, but when I got back outside they were no longer flocking.

I caught one last glimpse of them over the rooftops, as they headed off – South?

Yep. They were definitely headed South, so I don’t think they’re ready to go back up North just yet!

Also, it was strange to see them flying in a skein formation like this. They’re not geese after all!

 

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Sparkies for Africa!

Squirrels 1

I often see a squirrel on my lawn, or climbing on the fence or a tree.

But this time I spotted three squirrels all at once, which is very rare. A scurry of Sparkies!

Squirrel 2

Though they all seemed to be youngsters, one of them was particularly young; so cute with his skinny little body.

Squirrel 3

They were very busy digging for food in my garden and generally scurrying around.

Squirrel 4

They look awkward walking on all fours on the ground, being much more at home climbing straight up a tree.

And after all that hard work time for a little drink; in the bird bath!

Squirrel 5

They have also drunk out of the dog water bowls on the stoep, but I haven’t managed to catch a photo yet.

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Of course, with all this extra activity going in in the garden I have to remember to double check for little grey bodies before I let Little Monkey out. Sometimes I forget.

Squirrel 6

LM spots them instantly and is off like a shot. One time it looked a little too close for comfort and I bellowed at her to stop! She skidded to a halt and her back legs collapsed. I like to think she was already stopping because I told her to and not because her legs gave way, but I guess I’ll never know. (Her back legs have been doing this for over a year now. No cause can be found; she is very healthy, just getting old.)

Still, I never thought that LM would become nearly as well behaved as my previous dog Lady, as you can see from this post of three and a half years ago; The Further Adventures of Sparky the Squirrel: Part Two.

 

post script: Many of these photos were taken through a window, so please excuse the blurry, milky appearance, or with my Galaxy phone, not great on distance shots.

 

Sticky

Stick Insect

 

Haiku 52

Hiding in plain sight

Clinging on with one leg gone

The Stick Around Guy

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I found this tiny stick insect on the side wall. He’s about two inches long. It’s been yonks since I last saw one. We used to have gigantic ones a good six inches long. Funnily enough that one also had only five legs.

His disguise of being a stick didn’t quite work on the white-washed wall! But it was good to see the little guy and know that they are still surviving, somewhere.

 

To See the World in a Drop of Rain

Raindrop 1

 

To see the World in a drop of rain

Mysteries of the Universe

Swirl within your milky depths

Difficult to comprehend

The gift of life you bring

.

More precious than liquid gold

Your welcome kiss in short supply

Bathes each petal and blade of grass

Throwing a lifeline to survival

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Water is Life

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Raindrop 2

Transformed by a little rain in my garden last week, some of my plants hang on to life by the slimmest of threads.

 

Autumn’s First Gold

Vine Leaf Autumn Gold

 

Haiku 51

Catching golden sun

Tucked in lavender for fun

Has Autumn begun?

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I found a few golden vine leaves caught in my dried up lavender. The morning sun was just starting to illuminate them with its warming rays.

Autumn in the Cape is a beautiful, albeit short, season.

Temperatures start to drop now. I may have to dust off a jersey!

 

Preparing for Winter

Little Monkey and Hair!

Little Monkey is shedding again; getting her new winter coat.

Judging by the amount of hair coming off her at the moment, I guess it’s going to be a cold winter.

Are you thinking snow blizzards and Beasts from the West (our weather comes from the south west) like the UK has had recently?

Unlikely. Here in Cape Town it rarely goes below nine degrees – centigrade!

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post script: Yes I know many of you will have shaggier dogs that moult way more, but this is still a noteworthy amount of hair from one brushing of a short-haired dog with no undercoat in a hot country!

Also, I love that she has her little front teeth! She is my only rescue dog to have good teeth like this. All the others had worn their teeth down to the bone by chewing; perhaps on wire cages, chains or stones. Those dogs would also have had poor diets most of their life and therefore worse teeth to start with. 

Little Monkey is lucky. Even if she did come from a rescue centre, she has never been on the streets fending for herself.

 

Sundown

Sundown

 

Sundown

Don’t stare at the sun

We’re told as a kid

Unless through a lens

As clearly I did

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With my trusty Canon in hand I am never afraid to try awkward or difficult shots, safe in the knowledge that my camera will take care of the specifics and produce a decent photo, while protecting my eyes.

Here the sun is beginning to go down towards the mountains, with vineyards in front, as I took my friend home after her birthday celebration of cake and champagne.

Even though I took the shot directly into the sun, my little camera still managed a decent picture – and I wasn’t blinded.

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Don’t worry; I took my champagne “To go”, by pouring most of it into an empty water bottle I had taken with me for that very purpose. I may have a teeny reputation on my blog for drinking vodka or champagne, but I never do so and drive.