taking small steps toward a new year breathing in breathing out another series of moons have come and gone now on the doorstep of a new year we can breathe a new breathAnd so, we are on the cusp, on the doorstep, of a new year. It is incredible that we made it this far, with so many new memories, so many new prospects, so many new friends, and so many new potential for connections.

Last week, I started my journey into craft lagers. I would argue that the market for lagers in South Africa is so big that if a craft brewery does not offer their unique spin on a lager that they will lose out on a big market share.

The end of the year syndrome is always a funny thing. We rush to finish things only to start them over again in the new year. For a brief moment, a thin slice in time, we stand still, to reflect. In fact, this is actually not a time in the year in which we stand still and reflect, it is actually a time of hyperactivity! We rush to get things done, only in order to rush to get our homes in order for friends and family to come over, to cook up a storm to feed the hungry bunch, and to “end the year off” — whatever that might mean in our day and age.

I think most South Africans grew up with the idea of an ice-cold lager (either Black Lable or Castle Lager) and a braai-vleis vuur (BBQ meat fire) on most weekends or even during the week. I grew up with my father and grandfather always lighting a fire and opening up a beer after a long week's work or after a weekend gardening process.

papery leaves poetry written in dust and chaos monuments captured in eternal bliss architectural events of everlasting loveOnce a year, the Helichrysum retortum or everlasting flowers in my garden begin to produce their spikes, their pointy heads. I look forward to it every season, as these plants are really finicky and strange. Every year after they flower, they tend to die, and I never see them again. Every year, I make as many cuttings as possible, so that I might possibly see new flowers year on year.

After another week, the garden is blooming once again. From flowers to fruits, cuttings and seedlings, everything is growing at a tremendous pace, in this week's garden journal, I muse about the flowers that still bloom and I think about the future of my garden.