Category: Wildlife

Day 155: A Fox, A Snake And Other Encounters

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When Alanna was just about to turn one, we took her to a small zoo. She was absolutely horrified of the goats, but determined to go and pet the tigers. 

This popped to my head when we visited a small animal park just an hour from home. The bunnies, horses and wolly lambs were lovely, but nothing compared to the snakes, porcupines, giant tortoises, reindeer – and especially the foxes.

The place was thoughtfully designed – children could interact with many of the animals, but only if the animals chose to. And, since it was quite hot, not all of them did. I think it’s important for children to learn, that animals get to choose, too.

But I was practically giddy when we got to interract with a fox. I’d never been that close to one before.

Always a kid.

Day 112: Busy Bees

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The house belonging to kids’ scout group has a handfull of beehives at the edge of the property. The bees seem pretty used to strangers coming and going, and they paid no attention to me or my camera.

During spring, the kids sell the honey (there is a bigger farm further away) as one of their fundraising initiatives. This time of the year, they just observe the bees. 

And learn to stay away.

Day 72: Nesting Coot

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A few kilometres from our house is a small pond that is a birdwatcher’s paradise. Several rare birds nest there and in the surrounding area, and there is a very active community alerting people to rare sightings. I am not part of it. I mostly know about it from my walks, when I occasionally stumble into clusters of people arriving by car or bicycle, or nearly running, binoculars in hand, asking breathlessly if they have “missed it yet.”

As it was a beautiful day, I cycled to the pond to join tens of others trying to catch a photo of a bird. I just wanted a pretty picture, so I would have been quite happy with a duck. Instead, I found this Eurasian coot building a nest. Although common in Europe, the Finnish population is critically endangered.

So, am I a birdwatcher now?

Day 24: Natural History

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When I was a kid, I remember visiting the Helsinki Natural History Museum. The exhibit that impressed me most was a calf with two heads (still there today). Otherwise, I remember it being quite ‘dusty’ and stiff. It was very different from today’s museums.


Entering the Iziko South African Museum felt like a return to the late 80s, with glass cases filled with rather poor examples of taxidermy… until we wandered into the new side with the dinosaur and shark exhibits. They were cool! Very cool!


The main picture today is a giant fig tree in the Company’s Garden just outside the museum. It is approx 150–175 years old, so you can quite fairly classify it as well within Natural History.

Day 23: Cape Winelands and impossible-to-spell Franschhoek

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I love proper breakfast. Whenever I find the time, I cook different dishes even just for myself. I adore eggs in all forms, sauces, mushrooms, avo, bacon, salmon, yogurt, jams… you name it. Funnily enough, breakfast is the only meal Stuart does not cook. And rarely eats.

But there was no need to twist his arm to get him to enjoy a great breakfast in Franschhoek. The market was even on, so we spent a good few hours around town before taking a scenic drive to Vredenheim Wine Estate to meet the whole wider family for lunch.

A day of beauty and decadence.

And yes, despite visiting Franschhoek at least 15 times over the years, I still need to check the spelling every time…

Vredenheim has a park for big cats. These white tigers were not getting along…

Day 20: The best of the ocean

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We are not beach people. I like swimming in a salty water only slightly more than Stuart likes getting sand on his Kindle. The girls like the idea of the beach, but are not keen on the waves or the heat – so always choose the pool when given a choice. None of this means we don’t want to GO to the beach. Alanna plays with sand, Kiara hunts for shells and I take photos. We just don’t want to stay there.

So, we enjoyed the Atlantic ocean in the Cape Town Aquarium. And why not? Even I find it magnificent!

Day 113 – Worrying Kind

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In winter it does not rain for 6 months in Johannesburg (Or at least it shouldn’t…). This means that by mid-winter, it is dry. And dryness inevitably means grass fires – some natural, but most of them not.

I continue to be puzzled on how casually South Africans treat these small fires. As long as they are under control, they are left to burn. For example, there was a small tuft burning in the neighbourhood park. The first time I saw it, there was a park maintenance team standing next to it, but after careful consideration they left it to burn. It was still smouldering the next day (unless somehow there was a second, unrelated fire at the exact same spot.

The Hadida found it quite worrying, tho. Although a little less worrying than a little puppy charging him from behind.