January 2017

Hard to believe the first month of 2017 is already over! What a good start it has been to the year, actioning some of our many dreams and schemes. We soaked up many of these gorgeous summer evenings in the garden, surrounded by various pets... and our numbers kept growing as we welcomed 2 clutches of chicks, one of 5, one of 4. We started building our raised veggie beds and were able to fill these with the many discarded weaver nests found in the garden as mulch. We enjoyed evening walks and were able to swim in the dam after the glorious rains for the first time! Our biggest project was the move of nearly 30 rose bushes (not ideal timing, yes) and clearing of a huge flower bed to make way for more raised beds. We are hoping to plant more veggies closer to the house for easier access, and hoping the baboons and porcupine won't come right to our back door! We will start planting in our new beds next week. Check out the before and after photos. We were treated to visits from a Kynsna Turaco family several times, they seem to have taken up residence in the trees in the garden, a family of scrub hare who pop out every evening and even a Geoffrey's Horseshoe Bat made his appearance while we enjoyed warm summer evenings around the braai. What a summer it has been! Waking up to the tickle of the Suns rays, early morning walks and cool showers, freshly picked bramble berry breakfasts, long lazy reads and picnics by the dam, chicken pecks and horsefly bites, fish eagle calls and cattle bellows, homemade ice tea, falling asleep beneath the twinkle of the stars to the laugh of an owl and the bark of bushbuck... What a beautiful Summer!