January 6, 2014

After a few very hot and humid days we had 4 mm of rain in the early hours of this morning

Not much but everything looked so fresh and clean as I settled on the veranda with a cup of coffee.

The little Brown hooded Kingfishers were being quite vocal on the far side of the tennis courts

Judging by the colour difference this is probably a male and a female

 I love the pattern and texture of the diamond mesh tennis court fencing when viewed at this angle.
It looks like a giant basket

It has started to raining softly again and I am enjoying the fresh earthy smells 

 The Waterberries next to the tennis court are looking delicious!

January 5, 2015

The strangest insects have stopped by... it has to be the heat!
The sun has been extremely hot and as you can see by the photos, extremely bright

I have no idea what type of insect this is.

Perhaps a relative of the insect that rested on the rain gauge a few days ago :)

January 4, 2015

My veranda office is proving to be quite a hit - I see things that I would normally miss!

There is much activity in the long grass next to an old reservoir on the field

I zoomed in and was rather amazed to watch the feeding tactics of these little Mannikins

They would fly up, grab on to a grass stem about halfway up and step up further and further
until it bends over!

 side step, side step, side step ...and then down we go...

Ah - seed at hand - and then the friends join in for the feast !! Ingenious!

After witnessing this I can't help but question once again: how can people refer to someone who is not too bright as 'birdbrained'??

January 3 2015

A visitor to my veranda office

We have had very warm weather and because I do not have air conditioning I have set up a daytime office in the coolest spot around my house - the veranda!

 Laptop, files, cup of coffee and of course my camera,

So well worth it too - this amazing creature stopped briefly to rest on the rain gauge for a while

*I need a new rain gauge*

Quite an eye full :)

January 1, 2015

What better way to start a New Year than with a photo of new life

This succulent plant forms little baby plants on the tip of its long leaves. 

This plant is restricted to a pot as it would probably get very invasive when planted in the garden

The flower bud that I posted about on 16 November 2014 has finally opened! It has produced an elongated bunch of tiny buds that open to expose a rich pink little flower with dainty yellow stamens. 

The first little flower in all its glory while the stamens have started protruding from the others