Five little fishies

swimming in a pond, 

actually a large old zinc bath tucked away in a leafy corner of the garden.

Caterpillars abseil towards them, dragonflies hover above, but their most favourite visitor is the art teacher- a very generous feeder.

See them wag their little fins in excitement, jostling for space in front of him.

He waits patiently for the slow one, always swimming excitedly in the wrong direction,

spreads the food evenly, so the greedy one can't eat it all.

What a happy little world to sit and observe.

news from the frontline

We've named him Gert- and meet Sizwe, below- my brother in arms. I can hear the rat-ta-ta-tat of the paintball gun approaching. I'm now familiar with the terms like ' Hold the front line!', ' Flush him out!' they are in constant radio contact and on my speed dial, I have a better understanding of the term guerrilla baboon warfare.

Sizwe and Armstrong are having a quick coffee and muffin in our garden, whilst keeping a watchful eye on the guava tree.

Sizwe explains our trouble in detail, the older alpha male with the collar has recently won his troop back with the help of his marauding son, our untagged trouble maker> The other young male, tagged, is the son of deceased alpha male- I'm thinking....no good comes of alpha's and their offspring.

It's hard work for Sizwe and his team, 7 days a week, until dark and over great distances- I came across them in hot pursuit on the other side of the mountain chasing Gert back to Tokai forest.

I think they are winning- but until we're sure, doors are still locked and loading catering into the Citroen has more eyes than on a bank cash van- there shall be no catering heists on my watch!

more monkey trouble

In all the years we've lived in our little cottage, come rain or shine, the lounge door to the garden always stays open- not anymore, the marauding young male baboon visits daily, hoping to get lucky.

His tally in the first unsuspecting week- 1 pizza, 10 bananas, a box of ouma's breakfast rusks, half a packet of raisins (not to his fancy), 1 pkt of crumpets, 3 avocados, 2 naartjies, 1 ciabatta bread,1 wholewheat bread and half a sweet potato- to be fair it was a little old.

But wait, there's more- the little marauder has learnt a new skill since last week, he's figured out how door handles work, so we are not only shut up, but also locked down.

I'm having a recurring nightmare that I slip into the garden for garnish and return to find Mr Baboon enjoying my client's catering.

This is another young male in a hurry after the Baboon monitors chase him with a paintball gun.

Their population has grown and their territory has been encroached, the mountain in now full of vineyards, add to that a neighbourhood with fruit trees and garbage bins- we've got trouble.

uninvited guests

You know us, there are animals scattered all over the lawn, but this one had everyone scattering.

He sat aloft the little guava tree, which swayed under the burden, munching guavas with an air of nonchalance- so far so good.

Until we lost sight of him, only to see him exiting our cottage, pear in one hand and newly bought ciabatta bread in the other.

Pale, speechless children inside......didn't he know I had to go to three shops to find that ciabatta- how rude!

all the leaves are falling

A kaleidoscope of leaves fall gently from trees and land picture perfect.

no work this weekend, I think I'll pull on my boots and play in the garden

perhaps find a cosy, warm spot to curl up and read - silly me, it's taken

here kitty, kitty....

lord Sithus

Meet lord Sithus in all his glory-  lord of all he surveys.

The little hacker felt the fish tank lacked drama, we ooh and aah, as he twirls and twists, flaring those magnificent fins, he sees our admiration and basks in it.

Since his arrival there's been tension in the tank, little baby Neon was found belly up in the lego cave, following that, Mrs Guppy was murdered with a short sharp bite to her tiny eye.

No need for Horatio here, I witnessed Mrs Guppy's demise.

We've grown quite fond of the little sociopath and are not without a little sympathy, lord Sithus now has his own tank next door to the other- white sand, drift wood and a tangle of plants, nothing less would do.

I think a bit of Carly Simon quite fitting.....

Happiness is a watermelon

I think the picture says it all?

The guinea pigs new favourite treat

Oh, they generously left us the other half.

How cute is the new boy on the block

I spotted him on my walk yesterday, clamored through the bushes for a better look- he lifted his head and gazed at me with those big brown eyes- sigh- I was smitten!

I rushed home, confessed to the art teacher, who kindly offered to bring the big lens for a bit of stalking.

That's when things started to heat up, you see he's a bit of a mama's boy still and mama's on the large side, giving us the eye.

Dad was even less impressed, he huffed and puffed and butted his son out the way, either he's had enough of the little upstart or he was getting ready to charge...

Don't worry cutie pie - I'll be back tomorrow.....I know where you live.

safely between mom and dad

Dad sizing us up

Do these plants look tasty?

The nursery staff steered clear of me, they were used to the usual questions of sun or shade.

Evidently my problem is quite unique.... I have a dream of an english cottage rose garden, roses, lavender and pretty flowers in abundance, but this clashes dramatically with my seemingly idyllic reality of bunnies and guinea pigs hopping about the garden- hence my desperate question, do these plants look tasty?

There was only one way to tell, 1 bought both punnets and put them on the stoep-  as I suspected, the dianthus evidently sublimely tasty and the cornflowers not, okay...its a start.

They also have the same taste as myself in lavender- quite literally, they love the english, but the french and spanish they ignore, what's with that?!

Now here's the kicker....we have a garden full and half a rose garden full of nasturtiums- nobody eats them, they grow in wild abundance everywhere.

So far, I have 3 sticks that were english lavender, two unruly other lavenders, a few cornflower plants and some violets...any and all suggestions would be most welcome.

Why are they so cute?