Well, at least at our house, Christmas is partially for the birds. I have been showering our feathered friends here with yuletide greetings: a variety of fruit including apricot, pear, orange, banana, peaches and apples for the fruit eaters; and homemade nectar or sunflower seeds for others. Wouldn’t these birds look just gorgeous in snow? … More Christmas is For the Birds
You’re either country folk, or you’re city folk, and it’s a deep-seated longing when you’re out of your element. Kurt and I are country folk, and we never get used to the close-quarter assignments of urban (or even suburban) living. So we were really grateful, this past holiday weekend, to be invited to the family … More Weekend at a South African Farm
I almost missed him. Arriving more than an hour before the procession was to begin, I drove around looking for parking several blocks from the procession route, but all was cordoned off by security and police. One police officer saw my camera and tried directing me to a bus for media, but since I didn’t … More There and Gone: Procession of Mandela Before Lying in State
Yesterday our friends asked us if we would like to go with them to visit Mandela’s house in Houghton, a suburb of Johannesburg. I wanted to share a few photos of that trip with you, as well as a video, but I’m not able to get the video uploaded yet today, but hopefully my internet … More Mandela’s Houghton House: Day of Prayer
I haven’t had an Advent calendar in a long time, so when I remembered this Advent house, left for us by the previous tenant, I knew I wanted to do something fun with it for Kurt. [SPOILER ALERT: Kurt – do not look at the photo. It will give away future items in the advent … More The Advent House
This morning after dropping Kurt off to catch his carpool, an alert on my phone reminded me that I had forgotten to switch it to Do-Not-Disturb for my peaceful early-morning routine. Curiosity got the better of me, and I peeked at the notification in WhatsApp, to find only an image, from Tendai, one of my … More The Not-So-Cunning Linguist, and African Song
At sunrise everything is luminous but not clear. – Norman Maclean Love, Marla
A story in pictures today, of a Southern Red-billed Hornbill eating a skink in Kruger National Park: Who’s hungry? Love, Marla
I thought you would enjoy a little folklore today, so I saved this photo, taken of the top of the aerial cable as it was being engulfed in clouds, because I thought it looked a deliciously creepy. (Those of you on mobile phones may not be able to get a large enough photo for the … More The Demon of Table Mountain
The best piece of advice we received before going to Cape Town was to leave our schedule flexible enough to grab the first beautiful day to climb Table Mountain. There are many days when visibility is limited due to cloud cover, and access is closed due to high wind. As you saw from last week’s … More Clouded Mountain
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