Somewhere to play.

The week of many ...

Events to note this week:

Full moon will be on the 17th @ 11.28 local time.
This may be important to all Loonies, Vampires(?), Werewolves, and moon-gazers.
Please make allowances by referring to the international time table as is required at your personal location.

Or ignore this note, keep on reading, realize this is going nowhere and seek better reading matter, or proceed at your own peril.

Solstice will be at 1911H on the 21st December.
The others will call it Equinoxes.
There-after winter will start - one may not notice it immediately.
It has been brought to my attention - some may have spring soon - for now, they are having winter.

This is also the month of public holidays, school holidays, general holiday madness, and other types of holidays.
Looking at it positively: one could manage to do nothing all month long, if one would not mind joining a few associations, change religion frequently, abuse a Visa card and fly to a few countries, or stay in South Africa.

Here are so many events here, and this year was exceptionally different.

One of my personal favorite actors took the final bow.
Peter O' Toole exited on the 14th December 2013
For the movie buffs, Lawrence of Arabia, should be on the top list.
If one has not seen it yet, and war movies are acceptable, do see it.
The rest of his career was worth watching as well.

Monday, the 16th December, is a public holiday unique to this country.

Blood River, Private army of ANC, Day of Reconciliation

Thursday/Friday saw us leaving for the farm, stuff to do, peoples to see, and about time for a visit again.

It was the start of the internet misplacement and me getting more frustrated with the 'net.
Must say, I did learn a few new things about the 'net and used a few bad words in the process.
That is how the learning process works.

The highlight for me was the guinea fowl parade.
We were standing outside, enjoying the last rays of the day, when the guinea fowls started a racket behind the
cages.

As is normal for them, the trip to their sleeping place starts in the south, through the marsh area, up to and past the house, into the eucalyptus plantation.
This trip is never a quiet trip, the normal chatter between them is constant as the day has many stories to tell.
About worms, seeds, locusts, and other delights which the fowls find on their plate.

Today (Friday) they were not chatting and relaxed, browsing the bed site - no, not at all - there was this shrill alarm call; to warn all about the danger in the area.

I went to get the binoculars and got the leaders into my sight.
Anyone who has ever seen chickens find a threat, will know what this sight was like.

Necks outstretched, almost on tippy-toes, walking behind the foe, all in a line, there they went - and the foe?
The poor foe was my friend the 'feral' tabby cat, who was slinking as low as he could, trying to hide himself into the grass from these chattering fiends - who were proclaiming to all the world "Here goes death, beware!"

The party stopped at the tree-line, and I walked around the house and called to the cat, who very swiftly ran to me - his savior on the day - as those nasty guinea fowl was surely making his day miserable.

The guinea fowl was relieved to be rid of their nemesis, the tabby even more relieved, and I had a good show of life in the 'wild'.

We were on the farm for an emergency call around the end of November, the hail came down and messed with the roof.
It also stripped many trees down to their winter bareness - and depleted the bird life sadly.

I woke on Friday morning, and the first thing to greet me was the sound of silence.
There was no bird song - no sparrows to irritate me, no finches arguing about nest sites, not a garden bird of any type was around.

The hail was almost a month ago, and the trees are still mourning in their barren wear.

Tomorrow will be Chris'mas or is X-mas more acceptable ?



to be cont