https://bonsaimary.com/unusual-bonsai.html Continue reading Mastering Neagari Style Bonsai: Roots Unleashed

Originally posted on Something Over Tea:
An often underrated bird which occurs right across the country, except for some of the western areas, is the Southern Grey-headed Sparrow (Passer difusus). It tends to be ignored because it is a rather plain sparrow with a warm brown back and a soft grey head which helps it to blend into its surroundings very easily. Unlike the House… Continue reading ANOTHER LOOK AT THE SOUTHERN GREY-HEADED SPARROW

Originally posted on Something Over Tea:
Let me be clear from the start that when we go on holiday, our default accommodation is camping. We enjoy the freedom of camping along with the inherent possibilities of meeting fellow campers and being able to closely observe the bird-life especially. There are other possibilities though. While I have never stayed at the Champagne Castle Hotel in the… Continue reading HOLIDAY BUILDINGS

Originally posted on Something Over Tea:
As beautiful as they are, impala (Aepyceros melampus),  tend to be overlooked by tourists to large game parks, such as the Kruger National Park and others – mainly because they are on the constant lookout for ‘more exciting animals’. This is likely so because impala are the most common antelope of the bushveld regions of South Africa. One sees… Continue reading FOCUS ON IMPALA

Originally posted on Something Over Tea:
The air  is dry; leaves are curling up, turning yellow or brown, and some are carpeting the ground; pot plants have shrivelled in the summer-like temperatures that have scorched us over the past few days; water in the bird baths evaporate almost before my back is turned; wasps and butterflies regularly dip onto the surface of the swimming pool… Continue reading MY APRIL 2023 GARDEN

Originally posted on Something Over Tea:
‘Large antelope’ crops up in crossword clues every now and then and the answer is inevitably Eland. My first memorable encounters with these, the largest of the herbivores, was whilst hiking in the Natal Drakensberg. There eland (Taurotragus oryx) were often seen grazing on the grassy slopes of the escarpment or ‘Little ‘Berg’ in the areas around Giants Castle… Continue reading ELAND

Originally posted on Something Over Tea:
I am getting itchy feet and so have been trawling through my archives to bring you another selection of South African birds far away from my regular garden offerings. Kori Bustard African Pied Wagtail African Redeyed Bulbul Whitebacked Vulture Crimsonbreasted Shrike Redheaded Finch Continue reading MORE SOUTH AFRICAN BIRDS

Originally posted on Something Over Tea:
The sheen on the wings of a Hadeda Ibis The brightness of a sunflower The scarlet beans of an Erythrina caffra Elephants The curve of a buffalo’s horn – with the added bonus of a Red-billed Oxpecker The ears of a scrub hare Continue reading NATURAL ADMIRATION FOR …

Originally posted on Something Over Tea:
Life goes on in the cycles it has followed since the world began. I have been thinking about the many things that have made me happy in my life and my thoughts naturally turn to my children and grandchildren. I could fill pages of cute baby photographs compared with the adults my children have become and how my grandchildren… Continue reading GROWTH

Originally posted on Something Over Tea:
… to the Ngulube Waterhole in the Addo Elephant National Park. Continue reading A FAMILY OUTING