Architecture; The original Cape Dutch

Cape Dutch architecture is very much identified with the rounded gables as one sees on pictures of wine estates in the Western Cape. But the original Cape Dutch homesteads in this part of South Africa did not have these gables but they had nicely rounded roofs. Local architect Maureen Wolters designed an original for friends of us but with all modern comfort. This new farm house is in its finishing building stages and is not only locally build but also the building materials were, as much as possible, locally sourced.

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Looks good…

Fishing 5 metres from the bank in a boat  with the bait towards the bank…. just wonder where they need the boat for. Maybe because it looks so good, professional, or what?

But the joke of it all: there are only very small fish in this water (‘Die Vlei’ in our village) and when the fish are getting less small… well there are plenty of ducks, and other water birds.

The license plate on their pickup truck says C(all) A(again) and that explains it all … 🙂 (CA = Cape Town).

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Flowering little stones

The genus lithops, originating from Southern Africa with the ‘epic centre along the Orange River along the borders with Namibia and Botswana, consists entirely of little stones look alike plants. Sometimes people even walk over these ‘stones’ without realizing it except ladies with high heeled pumps…. And except when they are flowering of course. And they are flowering now and these flowers are amazing.

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Cactus with hug factor and Sweet Blogger Award

If I mention the word ‘cactus’ people have the association with prickly plants with nasty spines. Personally I rather work with cacti than with roses (pruned many roses bare handed) I can taken them in my hands and I rarely get pricked but than I know these magnificent plants or is it when you really love plants, plants will love you?

Anyway; there are also spineless cacti. One of these is the Lophocereus scotti monstrose; it’s one with a huge hug factor and it grows naturally in Mexico, New Mexico and in Texas.

Never realized that my sweetness reached the level of being nominated for the Sweet Blogger Award but Heather nominated me. Thank you Heather and also thank you for sharing your pictures with the world.

Important note: I’m not in favor of all kinds of blogger awards for whatever (silly?) reasons but I’ve been nominated so many times now and didn’t do anything with it. So for the first and LAST time I’ll play this ‘game’ with you.

Now I first have to answer 5 sweet questions and secondly nominate 13 co-bloggers:

Cookies or Cake? Both? Cookies with preference for Dutch ‘pepernoten’ and ‘speculaas’. Cake only with raisins

2. Chocolate or Vanilla? Chocolate but than only the real thing (from Belgium, Finland or Switzerland)

3. Favorite Sweet Treat? creamy puffs

4. When Do You Crave Sweet Things The Most? Together with coffee

5. Sweet Nick Name?  Puffy maybe… 🙂

And now the 13 nominees. This is very difficult for there are many nice people/good photographers to chose from so don’t be angry with me if you’re not listed.

1) First of all Brigid Taylor Jackson of Ariston Organic for her honey-cinnamon recipes are so ‘super sweet’.

2) Andrew Harvard is the Super Sweet Chef of Durban. During his recent trip to Turkey he went into virtually every restaurant on his way. He’s now on a diet; probably eating his own superb bahklava.

3) Kenneth McMillan of Hardtocomebylifestyle ‘loves’ raccoons. Didn’t know that these are sweet Kenneth.

4) Shiarika Pienaar of AmberAfrica with her sweet dog. She is also an intellectual (the dog I mean).

5) Ray Fausel  who shows us the ‘sweet’ side of Maine, USA; a state I only know to be freezing cold (but that was in Winter).

6) Even if you don’t intend to go to Barcelona (personally I’d rather choose for Madrid) it’s still very worthwhile to follow The Xavi’s Photoblog. Don’t know if Xavi Geiss likes sweets but it’s not impossible that as an historian/archaeologist he’s digging for it.

7) Heather, who nominated me, has her home-sweet-home in the Ozarks and she loves plants like I do so she must be super sweet as well.

8) Nigel Borrington is from county Kilkenny in Ireland and his pictures resemble, metaphorically,  the taste of sweet potatoes (my favorite potato) and as Irish know everything about potatoes including the sweet ones I know that he really deserves this award. His landscape pictures are awesome!

9) From county Kildare in Ireland is Ed Mooney. One of his specialities is weddings. Bet he’s doing that to get his piece of a sweet wedding cake… 🙂 Love his pictures.  Ireland is indeed a destination for (landscape) photographers.

10) Leanne Cole from Melbourne in Australia doesn’t need much of an introduction for she’s probably known to most of us and has developed her own style. Can’t stop liking her posts. Okay; I’m a bit jealous of her but that does not stop me from mentioning her where- and whenever I can.

11) Toemailers Angela and Quinlan are making the world a better place ‘one foot at the time’. Sweet feet from all over the globe (including mine!!!) in their posts!

12) Odile d’Harnois lectures from the heart about literature and movies in French and English. Her photographs are … well … don’t have words for it…. See for yourself!

14) At last but not at least number 13 (not the best number for a nomination… that’s the reason I skipped it and went over to nr 14). This is for quite a somebody from Kaipara in New Zealand. And I bet Maureen loves her sweets. Well her pictures and photographs are!

A hug for all of you and that includes all the bloggers I haven’t mentioned! 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

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Good morning from under the Bread Tree leafs

‘Bread Trees’ or cycads belong to the oldest known plant species in this world. They survived the Age of the Dino- and other Saurusses and they are still amongst us. In South Africa the indigenous cycads are protected plants and, by law, possession  is only allowed with an official permit. But who cares? While many are complaining about Rhino poachers (and with good right!) South African cycads are poached with hundreds and exported as ‘ferns’ of ‘palms’ (What do South African customs and their colleagues abroad know about the difference?).

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Dagga

There is Dagga and there is Dagga; the first being the Cannabis sativa (from which marihuana and hash hare derived) and the second is the Leonotis leonurus or the ‘Wild Dagga’. The Wild Dagga grows naturally in many (subtropical) parts of the world. But mentioning the word Dagga to a local ‘law enforcement officer’ can result in some confusion. So it happened that a guy we know spend a weekend in police custody because he had ‘Dagga’ growing in his garden. They raided him with an army and confiscated all the plants on a late Friday afternoon and he was unable to explain the difference to those who were bullying him. Once in court, on a Monday morning, the prosecutor had to admit that his ‘detectives’ had been too ambitious ….

We just wonder …. virtually all farmers in this area with ‘veld’ in their property are growing Dagga ….

 

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