AUGUST IN THE DESERT

August is the month of blustering winds, sometimes searingly cold. The Ha de Da Ibis have paired and are preparing nests for offspring , so they fly above the farm wailing at each other in their "otherworldy" way..

The bare vines have had enough rest and are just starting to bud.

A view of the vines with Ha De Dah`s rising and screeching!!!

 We have returned from dear old Blighty to see Winter scurrying from the desert...and  Spring arriving, the nights are still cold [nicely so!] but the day time temps are reaching the mid 20`s now, so I arrive first thing in the garden, clad in boots and fleeces and by mid day am working in a teeshirt and my new leather bushmans gardening hat [My dear old Panama finally died!]
Bee loves sunbathing on the decking ,its not yet too hot for her.

A very content Bee.

So what has happened at the farm? Moses now has 20 goats, of varying ages and colours..he is sooo proud of his flock, and I have to admit that watching them poddling around the wilderness around the farm is a great delight to me..if only they didnt smell like goats!
The geese have procreated and the three females are taking turns in sitting on appx...12 eggs. I cant really say for sure because one nest is in the coral and the old girl ontop [ one of our original flock] refuses to allow anyone near her. The younger girls have made a nest in some high grasses in the front garden and there WERE six beautifull white eggs in there, she doesnt pay such strict attention to these eggs, and Bongo has sniffed them out and returned, slug faced and  licking egg yolk from his jowels! As a result, the flock of very aggressive boy geese have now posted themselves around the make- shift nest and launch frenzied attacks on ANYONE who happens within 50 meters of the nest.

Sensible Mama goose

My three new veggie plots are well under construction . Moses and his two assistants rose to the challenge and have constructed them [based on a similar formulea to my herb garden]. Clearly they were not prepared to let me continue to crow over my construction talents. It was very hard work doing the herb garden on my own, so I have very gracefully allowed and encouraged them all and am delighted with the results.

Veggie plots awaiting soil and shade netting

While we were in UK, the entire front rock face of the farmgarden, was covered in the "orange soil" in prep for grass stookies to be laid in the Spring. A lorry load of Buffalo Grass Stookies arrives this week from Cape Town, so I have been busy marking out the new driveway. We have much work still to do, but the scaffolding of a new entrance to the farm are in place. Every time I go outside to muddle around in the sand, Bongo goes quite wild, he always loved playing in the sand as a pup, now at 85 kilos, he is quite a revalation to watch...These are pictures of a VERY happy and exuberant BONGOGOGO!

stakes mark the position of new drive way

 

BONGOGOGOGO...GO!

Arty news..My great friend Eugene has been offered an exhibition in Cape Town..not of his pastel work, but of his ceramic heads. [which I have always loved]. He promised that upon my return ,I could join him at his Aunts studio and start to learn how to use clay. Indeed if I liked it, I could be a huge help to him in his lengthy preparation for the exhibition.
It has been a rapid initiation into "stage one"ceramics, by this I mean the preparation and forming of clay. Stage two is the kiln work and firing and stage three is the glazing and fire pit work.[ these proesses I know nothing of yet]

Even Eugene sais that of all of the 15 heads he has been asked to produce, there will be fall out during each of the ceramic  processes. With his exhibition looming in November, he has much work to achieve. So I have been busy in the braai room [a rapidly trandformed studio] "playing with clay" or in artists speak "Trying to develop a relationship with clay". I have prepared some heads in the style of Eugene to hand over to him for the firing and glazing, but have also been indulging myself and playing with coiling . I am very proud of my first coile vessel..a "Fruit bowl" in the form of a pregnant torso....It is only Stage 1 at the moment and will take several weeks to fully dry before the kiln process can be done.

Above are some of my first attempts at  "stage 1" ceramic sculpture!!

I know that Eugene wont mind me posting some pictures of his "Process" in prep for the exhibition.

BEAUTIFULL HANDS . Beautifull is the name of the lady who helps Eugenes aunt in the house. She is also brilliant at rolling clay in prep for use. I snapped this photo as she was completely consumed byrolling the clay

Weird and wonderful:

In the middle of no-where, somewhere in the Northern Cape!

After I returned from home, Eugene took me on a drive into the wilderness to see a strange sight, we drove off the road into desert and abandoined vines, after a good 20 minutes of driving on rough tracks we came to a rocky outcrop in the middle of no-where...There on the top of a klippie, was the most extraordinary cement sculpture. Apparantly it was created by a local farmer [in extreme privacy], who had a penchent for sculpting. As you will know the local farming fraternity are very hands on and practical people and soley focused upon farming, so expressions of this sort are not really understood and even less so in the 1950`s. I find it rather soulful and sad this "beauty in the desert".

she really is quite scarey!

More weird stuff:

WHY??????..guaranteed to confuse me as a "tourist"

Equally mind bending...message in the centre of Salcomb, Devon.England.

 

Farewell to all for the moment, lets hope the next time I post there will be pictures of goslings...if the terrible Bongs hasnt had his way!
Much love and kisses on the Lips to all..
DawnXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX