Well, I have two bird species to show you in here, and our little song meister is first up. The little Southern Double-collared sunbird (Cinnyris chalebeus) never sits for long, and this guy, true to form, sang a song, sipped some nectar, and another song, before he took off.

...as we took our visitors, my in-laws, for a visit to a harbor. The idea was to show them the boats and the restaurants, but something unexpected pitched up.The ladies wanted Ice-cream, and I took my father-in-law for a short walk on a gang way closer to the yachts. While admiring the boats something suddenly emerged from the depths right next to us. Oh, let me tell you that I had my camera out in a flash, and while my father in law stared in awe, I took a step even closer to get a few shots. The surprise lingered enough time for me to also make a short video, and then it disappeared under the water. I cannot tell you how glad I was that my father in law could see this, and I can tell you that he was flummoxed.

…and I think that they were waiting in line to take a shower. Hot sunshine and rain puddles worked hand in hand to create a bird spa.The tag picture shows a line of Hadeda Ibis birds sitting on a fence. They are known to be very noisy birds, but on this occasion, not a peep was heard from them. Maybe they were all waiting for a spa treatment. It was one of those scarce bright and warm mornings, as we have had some rains, and as we are in a winter rainfall area, we hope that much more rain will come to fill our dams. Our summers are very hot with the result that evaporation drops our dams to dangerously low levels. A couple of years ago we were faced with a day zero situation, as the threat arrived of no drinking water in the western cape area, but thankfully we had a miracle, as suddenly the rains arrived. So, both the wildlife and humans appreciate the views that I will show you here.

... as a range of wildlife pedestrians came in search of a meal. First up was a small flock of Cape Sparrows, searching for insects and seeds.They were on the lawn at the front of our house, and I had to carefully hide behind a small thorn tree, that the previous tenants planted next to our driveway gate. The amazing thing was that as every car that passed by in the road, did not bother them. It's not a busy road, and that was one of the reasons why we bought this house, as we had our fill of traffic noise when we stayed up north in a big city. So, a rural town was our first priority, and we are so glad that we at last found a peaceful spot. A place with big mountains, farms, and the sea close by. Let me show you what went on at the sidewalk.

They simply run in, and in no time, there is nothing left. I said that I would show you what we do with the nuts and now you can see the effects that the small nuts have on the squirrels.If you saw the post of where we went to see the river, I said that we found some nuts below the trees next to a bridge. You can see that post HERE

…and it’s always a pleasure to drive around in the rural areas. Not so far away from the towns and the big city, but far enough to have almost total quiet.There is song lyrics that states that you can’t always get what you want, and it happens to most of us. But we have learned to be satisfied with the second best, as we get what was meant for us. Second best is not always ideal, but at least in second best one has something rather than nothing. I am talking here about peace and quiet, as that is something valuable that we prefer. No noise, such as the screaming of ambulance and police car sirens, heavy trucks passing by with the sound of loud airbrakes and rather the song of nature in our ears. One can have this in the countryside, but things have become so expensive that we are thankful for only having our small house in the town. A dream is to have a small cottage near a big dam on a farm, and some mountains, far away from civilisation. Come and drive with us.