Tag Archives: farm

Oribi Mom

Oribi Mom: Febu-Weary Heat and the March of the Ants

“It was war for a while but the farmhouse has mostly been reclaimed.”

The hard-working ant’s diligence ultimately pays off.

 

March 2, 2022

Summer has been an interesting one, but what could we have expected in our currently upside-down world. I know that Proverbs tells us to take note of the hard-working ants and be more like them in our approach to life’s pursuits. But today I was not a happy or passive observer of those little intruders. I think every ant on the farm decided that this was an excellent day to move into the farmhouse.

The lounge, the kitchen, the guest bathroom and anywhere else they could hide their eggs became overrun. It looked like the walls and floors were moving. Millions and millions of red and black ants, marching into every crevice they could access.

It’s a War: Ants vs. Human Farm Dwellers

It was war for a while but the farmhouse has mostly been reclaimed. The spiders are still very much at home, even the sneaky rain spider that has somehow found the only gap under the cupboard. One of the bigger arachnids in the passage ceiling caught a bee today; very impressive.

The swallows in the laundry are also currently raising their second batch for the season, so it will be time to say goodbye soon.

How did it get to February? Febu-weary is what the scorching heat has felt like on a few days but it won’t be long until autumn blows that away.

We are expecting a third addition to our brood. Will it be a second lockdown baby? I would never have imagined that to be a possibility if you had asked me two years ago, when things were different. It’s just as exciting now, though. Like the ants, we will soon be preparing a place for the little one and life marches on.

Febu-Weary For Sure But It’s Just a Season

There was only one word to describe those ants: relentless. Absolutely determined, they were not deterred by vacuums, brooms, or anything else; only singular focus on the purpose at hand. Perhaps, there is a valuable lesson in that after all.

May we be so determined, so enthusiastic to carry out our purpose in life. If it’s raising a family, may we remember to let our lights shine just as brightly as we show our brood how to illuminate theirs in a dark, confusing world.

 

It might also be helpful to remember the ants, no matter our pursuits or the season we find ourselves navigating.

Published here.

Oribi Mom

Oribi Mom: There Is a Time For Everything Under the Sun

“Now, those ears and noses and toes and curls are growing, and my sons are eating me out of house and home.”

PHOTO BY SANDY MILLAR/UNSPLASH

November 2, 2021

Never had four baby bunnies inadvertently born into a dark corner of your lounge on a Friday morning? Then, you probably haven’t witnessed how quickly little pink bodies transform into the sweetest fluffy rabbits. I think it’s the tiny ears that really get me. Almost as cute as the little noses on my sons when they were new to this world.

Now, those ears and noses and toes and curls are growing. And my sons are eating me out of house and home.

Boys and Bunnies Grow Fast

Boys and bunnies are incessantly exploring every new and wonderful thing they come across in life and here I stand, wondering how it all happened so quickly.

As life marches on, I am struck by how often I feel a sense of urgency. I get into a tailspin, trying to do everything at top speed in the ‘free’ moments of each day so that my home, garden, and family are taken care of between work and obligations. What’s the hurry?

Older, wiser people voice the idea of enjoying this time and appreciating the small moments, so why does it always feel like such a rush? Do I really need to fit in the dishes before bathtime so that my toddler’s milk bottle is clean and ready for the long night of frequent wake-ups?

Will I feel better if I have a cup of coffee on the porch instead of hanging washing, stacking dishes, cleaning up toys, preparing pyjamas, turning down bed covers, and finding fresh towels? I don’t know.

There’s a Time for Everything Even If There Isn’t Time for Everything

There are only a certain number of hours in the day, and I’m a thirty-something working-from-home mother of two. Sometimes, being “organised” is very satisfying as my time runs out.

It’s that Ecclesiastes 3 echo again, a time for everything, a season for every activity under the sun. Maybe, this is my season right now.

A rushed, happy, full-of-love season that’s meant for growth. I’m growing plants, pets, and children. I’m growing in my knowledge of snakes, birds, vegetable gardens, and trees. The country is growing used to pandemic lockdowns (it’s been eighteen months!).

There is a season for everything. But that also means that change could be around the corner. For now, I will watch my boys grow and zoom around cleaning, tidying, cooking, washing, feeding, and witnessing this special time in life. And maybe I’ll try to slow down a little to give these new bunnies an extra cuddle while their ears are so adorable.

I hope your season brings you as much joy; be patient if it doesn’t, nothing lasts forever.

Published here.

Oribi Mom

Oribi Mom: Let’s Talk About Invasion

The birds strip my poor little palm trees, and the moles keep pushing up my groundcovers and trees before they can get going. It’s wild.

At least there’s a beautiful coral tree here in my Oribi Gorge garden. Photo By: Heather Lind.
February 21, 2021 
Let’s talk about invasion. Maybe not the Star Wars (or Occupy Cape Town mansions) type, though.
I mean lantana, for example, the invasive weed that’s ruining every piece of tilled land where something isn’t planted right away. The butterflies love its pink, orange, and yellow buds, and the birds drop the seeds everywhere (which is how it spreads like wildfire).
As a budding gardener who’s just getting into the nitty-gritties, this weed is only one contender for my wrath in Oribi Gorge. Blackjacks and sweethearts (those semi-circle burrs) come in a hot second. The bunnies are trying to help me clear those, but it’s an uphill battle most summers.

It Isn’t Just a Weed Invasion

Between the monkeys, chickens, rabbits, and Southern Boubous, my seedlings and succulents often lose their will to live or multiply. The birds strip my poor little palm trees, and the moles keep pushing up my groundcovers and trees before they can get going. It’s wild this invasion.
What to do when hours and hours of back-breaking work and careful cultivation has come to naught? It’s a relevant question in a global pandemic, not just for those who took up gardening during South Africa’s perpetual lockdowns. As a sleep-deprived working mom of two, my personal choice is often a mini-breakdown with tears.
The exhausted cry of the mom accompanies out-loud roaring at indignant Vervet monkeys as these relentless opportunists scamper back over the fence after decimating my vegetable garden or blooms. My toddler now imitates this pathetic roaring at will. It’s quite awkward when it is directed at passing tractors or an unsuspecting visitor at our coffee table.

It Isn’t Forever Because Seasons Pass

All that sweat, and real blood from stupid lantana thorns, and what is left in the soil? A lonely stalk that looks nothing like a cabbage, butternut, marigold, or echeveria. It’s infuriating. It’s also illuminating.
A certain beloved Gogo down the road has taught me an invaluable lesson about the things under my care: everything needs pruning. When you care for the land, it responds in kind. You need to chop, hack, and discard the dead and dying plants.
Cut the beautiful hedge down to knee-height, and see what happens in the growing season next year. Don’t be stingy about the damage, either. The more you prune, the more beautiful the development. The more you cut down the wayward tendrils, the stronger the bushy blooms are in the sunshine.
Jesus pruned the vine, too. Now, I understand why.
When last did you prune your own expectations, commitments, and bad habits? Lockdown has given many of us these mini-breakdown moments and we’re not yet out of the woods. Go on, test your roots and clear away the excess that has invaded time, money, relationships, and life choices. You may just find life more beautiful.
Also, you may need to get a dog to keep the monkey invasion at bay.
Published here.
Oribi Mom

Oribi Mom: Must Love Snakes (Yuck!)

I have two small children, and two fluffy white bunnies hopping about the garden. And snakes.

February 4, 2021

 Western Natal green snake. Photo: Heather Lind.

The other day I walked into the nursery to change a nappy and there was another green snake slithering over the baby’s sock drawer.

I had a good look, heart pumping, and phone out to capture a fuzzy photograph for posterity (and Facebook).

Then I closed the door quickly so that it didn’t find its way around the rest of the house.

When we came back with a bucket and tongs, it had disappeared.

The western Natal green snake, exploring the things in the baby’s room.

It was just a Western Natal Green snake, probably the one that lives in the spiky tree right off the porch. What if it wasn’t, though? Snakes are daily features in Oribi Gorge.

A scorching day brings gorgeous cobalt skies and blows away the rolling mist, but it also beckons to the creatures that keep this ecosystem thriving.

We have all sorts on the doorstep, venomous and harmless, which is why my children wear gumboots in the yard.

The deadliest are the black mambas, boomslang, vine snakes, puff adders, and Mozambique spitting cobras, but there’s a long list for herpers to tick off.

Natal black snakes are common but rarely seen, and night adders seem to find my house the most attractive place on earth – I have been bitten once, and my poor builder twice!

There are also perilous green mambas, though not endemic to Oribi Gorge.

I’ve no idea why someone would put us in that danger, but these ones are dropped here from all your coastal ‘rescues’ to upset the balance of nature (and give this Oribi Mom slithery nightmares).

We live at peace with the vast number of harmless or mildly venomous snakes that keep our rat and frog population in check.

There are feisty and fearless Heralds, lightning-fast grass snakes, and the super green climbers, like the dainty spotted bush snakes with their orange eyes and pretty black spots.

I wasn’t even going to mention the python population as those are ‘safe,’ right? (not in Francistown, Botswana, apparently). I’d rather have the egg-eater that visited our chicken coop – no teeth or venom!

A Wild and Beautiful Life With Snakes on the Farm

I have two small children, and two fluffy white bunnies hopping about the garden.

Many people are horrified by our close encounters, like the huge baboon spider in the bathroom, harmless but hairy.

For two days, it kept watch over the toilet paper, which lay unused until he moved off.

Scorpions abound, but most are harmless to humans, though the sting is like fire.

This is Africa, but not always that wildness we associate with Jock of the Bushveld characters. It’s also home.

Perhaps, this is how we are meant to live – a bit of healthy awareness never hurt anyone who walked closely with the living things of the earth.

So far, it’s working for us, even when lines are crossed by cheeky green snakes in my baby’s room.

Published here.
South Africa, Travelinds, Travelinds Destinations

Dullstroom

October 2016

Would you like to come with us to Dullstroom this weekend?

Where? Sure. Is that really a place?

Dullstroom, it turns out, is in fact a small town in Mpumalanga, South Africa – a three hour drive from Johannesburg.  As such, the Joburgers head out there regularly to enjoy the open spaces of this backwater retreat in the Mpulmalanga highlands.

The small town attracts sanctuary-seekers from all over the country, trekking to the beautiful rocky hills dotted with dams full of fat rainbow trout.  Fly-fishing, coffee, hiking, photography, crafting, artisans, small businesses – Dullstroom packs a lot into one weekend, if that’s your thing.

Our weekend consisted mostly of admiring the gentle rains over the wide open spaces, splashing off the koppies and making ripples in the sky-mirror dams.   Enjoying the fresh air and the beauty of nature, unhindered by traffic or crowds, serenaded by the frogs and woken up with the first golden rays of the morning sun at Zuikerboschhoek.20161008_174719

If it is possible to indeed feel completely rested and relaxed after just a weekend, then Dullstroom is the place to make it happen.

Check it out!

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“Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead.”

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Welcome, friends!

Check out the Lind family’s musings, travel adventures and general craziness, and you might just marvel that we’re all still alive. This also happens to be the official home of the popular Travelinds blog. We’ve touched down for a while, although there’s always new adventures to come.  Stay tuned!

Thank you for popping in — it’s great to have you here.

Love,

The Linds

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Moving onward and upward, always.

The linds are home and watching the sunrise