Mr Mantis

I spotted this beastie in my garden this afternoon. 

~ A year ago today I had some easy reads ~ 

Fish Eagle

Today we had a work function at the Eagle Encounter centre at Spier. It was fascinating and I learnt a lot. Including how hard it is to photograph birds in flight!
~ A year ago today Thomas was chillin' ~ 

The Owl

Got a good sighting of the Spotted Eagle Owl at Kirstenbosch this afternoon. Such an intense stare! 
~ A year ago today I was doing some dusting ~ 

Little Snake

First thing I had to deal with when I got home today was removing a snake that Thomas had brought in and was playing with in my living room. Fortunately it was easy enough to catch in a tupperware. *Shudder* I hate snakes.
~ A year ago today I was having lunch with friends ~ 

And the Bees Like It Too

French lavender is different to the English lavender I'm used to. It is wonderfully fragrant.
~ A year ago today I was shopping online ~ 

Gulls

It's fun when I find photo's I'd forgotten I'd taken on my memory card. These gulls were in the park yesterday, dive-bombing us a they swooped in to grab french fries from the people standing next to us.
~ A year ago today I hopped on a ferry ~ 

Tahr

We saw a tahr on the mountain this evening! It was right in front of us on the contour path, then posed for a moment on a rock above. I didn't have my camera with me, but managed to snap it with my cellphone... not the best photo unfortunately, but look, a tahr! 
~ A year ago today I was packing books and games ~ 

Creepy Crawly

Some friends and I had a picnic in Kirstenbosch today. There were a lot of these little guys around.
~ A year ago today I ate a cupcake ~ 

Wings

Today I went to the Open Garden at Ina Paarman's home in Constantia... it was gorgeous! And the heliotrope and lavender beds were full of bees and butterflies.
~ A year ago today I went to a music concert ~

Street Scenes

Seen today while strolling around Naoussa.
~ A year ago today I was listening to the new David Gray album ~

Gem

Spotted in the road home today, as we were leaving the nature reserve: a magnificent gemsbok.
~ A year ago today I was out to lunch ~

Sneaky Snail

Something has been munching my daisy bushes and after a shower of rain this afternoon I found the culprit. Garden crawling with snails!
~ A year ago today I was fighting with the copier ~

The Shark

There was a shark attack at one of my favourite beaches yesterday. I'm a little obsessed with the video footage of sharks available on YouTube. OMG, so scary!
~ A year ago today I was watching dvds ~

Mongoose

This afternoon I fed carrot cake to the mongoose. He came right onto the patio!
~ A year ago today I was driving through the Overberg ~

Goosey

At Kirstenbosch today Dom and I watched a pair of Egyptian Geese and their brood of nine goslings. Adorable!
~ A year ago today I was roasting vegetables ~

Sunbird

I spotted this friendly fellow, an Orangebreasted Sunbird, in Kirstenbosch today.
~ A year ago today my garden was newly planted ~

Ellie

Elephants are one of my favourite wild animals, and I got to see several today.
~ A year ago today I was noticing the Cape Holly berries ~

Golden

I went on a game drive this afternoon and was blown away at how beautiful the landscape and animals looked in the late afternoon light. Zambia is gorgeous.
~ A year ago today I collected my World Cup tickets ~

Oystercatcher

We saw quite a few of these sea birds on Day Five of the Whale Trail. I'm sad the hike is over, but feeling inspired to do more long walks. Perhaps the next one should be the Oystercatcher Trail?
~ A year ago today I was in a plane ~

Ants!

Yesterday I heard a snippet on the radio saying that there are a lot of ants out and about in Cape Town at the moment, and their furious activity is a sign that we are in for a very wet winter. At the time I thought that's odd, I haven't seen any sign of ants for months. However when I arrived home this evening my patio was overrun. A column of ants were moving stuff (food? eggs?) from my neighbour, across my garden, out the gate and along the side of the building. So many ants, so very busy!
~ A year ago today I singing the praises of my flat iron ~