Tag Archives: vine

Oribi Mom

Oribi Mom: Rose Bush Is Free of Triumphant Vine

“The vine branches are the same colour and thickness as the rose branches, minus the spiny thorns that go right into tender fingers or arms.”

PHOTO BY PIXABAY

March 2, 2024 

That vine has come up again. The one with big leaves that grow right over my rambling rose. It twists and clings, dropping new roots as it goes. If I leave it any longer, it’s going to get those seed pods again, which is the reason it came up again this year, I’m sure.

Today, when I looked out of the kitchen window for the umpteenth time to admire my little pink roses, I couldn’t even see the bush! The vine looked triumphant. So, I left the housework, the children, the paid work, and the tea and marched outside to collect my boots, slasher and gloves. I’d had enough of that old vine.

Don the Gloves and Go For It

The gloves are an essential feature for me in this thorny, hand-slicing garden of mine. There are all sorts of stinging things, too. One day I felt something tickle my leg and swiped a bit. As I looked down there was just blood. I thought I’d squashed the fly, but it was my own blood that the nasty fly was apparently having for lunch [insert horrified emoji here]. The scar stuck around for two weeks.

The boots look ridiculous, but they’re for the night adders. Rather, I like to think of them for the night adders and not think about all the other, much worse, slithery things my feet might step on while I’m knee-deep in grass or blackjacks.

Watch Out For the Spikes and Fangs

Careful of what you grab onto. Vine snakes look like branches, and so do female boomslangs. Actually, a lot of snakes look just like branches, or leaves, or the pesky weeds that grow long tendrils over everything and push my poor plants flat down on the ground. I’m constantly pulling those out. They get little white flowers with a purple centre that are actually quite pretty, but don’t let them fool you; they take over in a matter of weeks.

With my trusty boots and gloves on, I dealt with the vine. My rose is free, though it didn’t thank me. The vine branches are the same colour and thickness as the rose branches, minus the spiny thorns that go right into tender fingers or arms. Talk about biting the hand that feeds you. At least I can see the pink blooms again.

Summer is almost over already, and the green beauty will soon disappear for a few months. Next season, hopefully, I’ll be a little more proactive about that vine earlier in the season so that I don’t have to spend an hour in the rain getting eaten by horseflies. Or maybe I’ll just have tea on the porch instead.

Published here.

Oribi Mom

Oribi Mom: Still Lots To Look At During the Winter in Oribi Gorge

“Each season brings something to appreciate in Oribi Gorge.”

PHOTO BY PIXABAYJuly 29, 2023

A bat flew out of a bush today, right by my head. I thought it was a bird because it was about the size of a firefinch, but it had those distinctive zigzag wings and was flying around in circles for a while. It reminded me that it was nearly time to go inside. I’d been hacking the garden.

There’s this insane vine that just decided to grow on top of my rambling rose and then, because I left it for so long, it just basically took over every single thing it could grow over, including the long grass.

Well, I’m no longer pregnant and my baby is giving me more free minutes in the afternoon, so I’ve hacked it. But it’s even grown pods, so I’ll have to hack its progeny next year, too. I shouldn’t have left it so long.

Winter in Oribi Gorge Is Still So Beautiful

Winter is a beautiful time here, with aloes in full flower and lots of clearing on the go. We chop hedges and clear out half-dead weeds. It is not so scary in winter because the snakes are much less active.

I still look closely into every pile of leaves or bush I put my hand into, though. Puffies won’t move until I’m right next to them. Large mambas curl up tight. And boomslang females look just like the leafless branches you’re cutting back or pulling off the tree.

I was spraying one of the dirty windows the other day when I happened to look up a little higher to see a very large spider dangling just above my face. Some sort of orb spider, I think. Very pretty. And terrifying when it’s almost as big as your face and within a ruler’s length from your nose.

Thankfully, it was scrambling up toward the roof on its silky thread at that point. I don’t mind orb spiders eating the insects trying to get in my window. It’s much safer than the hundreds of brown button spiders you have to watch for on pot plants, the lemon tree, and under wooden tables and chairs.

Warm Winters Are a Bonus on the South Coast, Aren’t They?

Winter thins these things out to make room. But I’m still glad I’m living in one of the warmest places in South Africa. The cold is not for me.

The bats are also confused it seems. This one came out at 16:30 because the sun had dropped below our hills already. At least that means the eagle owls are sometimes on our garage roof by about 18:30 these days.

Each season brings something to appreciate in Oribi Gorge.

Published here.

Oribi Mom

Oribi Mom: Make Smarter Choices

“This year, we can choose how we want to live, work and play.”

PHOTO BY PIXABAY

January 31, 2023

It seems like we all need a reminder this new year about the choices we have in life. For a while now, many of us have felt trapped by the after effects of pandemic regulations and all those cancelled events.

We still see those six-feet apart queue stickers on the floor at the shops. We still automatically glare at people who dare to sneeze in public. But we don’t have to be stuck with the way things are.

Why don’t we strive to make smarter choices? This year, we can choose how we want to live, work and play.

Choose To Live Differently Post-Pandemic

School is back in session and everything is open again. We can go back to church and parties. We can go back to the office fulltime if we’ve missed it or carve out new routines if we’re tired of the old ones.

We no longer have to live under the pressure of a masked world. No more pointing fingers at nostrils that can’t seem to stay hidden behind stretched fabric or reused disposable masks.

We might also want to rethink choices like where we buy or rent a home. For example, we can be smart by not buying a home near a little stream in Pietermaritzburg that has a relentless resident buff-spotted flufftail. If we can avoid this stupid decision, we can save ourselves decades of having to listen to that siren-like sound that goes all night, every night, forever. It’s even worse when it competes with frogs, dogs and car alarms.

These rare birds might be a drawcard for nature lovers. But occasionally visiting the stream is a far smarter decision than letting a little bird chip away at your sanity night after sleepless night.

Choose To Live Smarter Going Forward

We should also make smarter choices about our time this year. For instance, planting a granadilla vine that grows up every column on the porch might seem like a great natural decorating strategy. However, it turns out these vines are super messy and difficult to control.

You could spend hours hacking away, untangling, and eventually having to cut it all down without a single granadilla produced. A smarter choice would be to save time by letting it grow in a place it can go crazy without needing pruning or blocking out the sunshine (now I know!).

Whether it’s a vine or a social calendar, smart choices could save us a lot as we reorganize our priorities around busier schedules this year. Our smallest choices still count towards building our lives. The flufftail apparently enjoys droning booo-booo-booo into the darkness. We can enjoy ourselves, too.

In any case, we can choose to be better. Any step forward is progress, no matter the length of the stride.

Published here.