Society

Mr Eddie Vedder I think said it best.



Oh, it's a mystery to me
We have a greed with which we have agreed
And you think you have to want more than you need
Until you have it all you won't be free

Society, you're a crazy breed
Hope you're not lonely without me...

When you want more than you have
You think you need...
And when you think more than you want
Your thoughts begin to bleed
I think I need to find a bigger place
Because when you have more than you think
You need more space

Society, you're a crazy breed
Hope you're not lonely without me...
Society, crazy indeed
Hope you're not lonely without me...

There's those thinking, more-or-less, less is more
But if less is more, how you keeping score?
Means for every point you make, your level drops
Kinda like you're starting from the top
You can't do that...

Society, you're a crazy breed
Hope you're not lonely without me...
Society, crazy indeed
Hope you're not lonely without me...

Society, have mercy on me
Hope you're not angry if I disagree...
Society, crazy indeed
Hope you're not lonely without me...

The Secret to Longevity

Is Love

UNTAMED

On a very summery winter's day in Cape Town following a tip off from a family friend my dear mother and I found ourselves at the base of Devils Peak at the famous Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.
Although ordinarily I would be here to feed my rather obscure obsession for bird watching with the garden teeming with all sorts of colours and species of birds trying to tame their insatiable hunger for the nectar producing aloes scattered around the gardens.
Instead we found ourselves on more of a cultural expedition, now I'm no art fundy but I'm open to new things. After having seen some of his work in and around the Stellenbosch area I am familiar with sculptor Dyan Lewis' bronze sculptures depicting African wildlife which have always held a very special place in my heart.

So on arrival into the gardens as expected we find one of Lewis's more well known pieces - a cheetah capturing an impala in mid leap. Awesome stuff!!

Check out the shadow

The exhibition we went to see really is something to behold - an amalgamation between Architecture by Enrico Daffonchio, Sculptures by Dyan Lewis and Poetry by Ian McCallum - Author of Ecological Intellegence. I was going to walk you through it, however my words would not do it justice, not that my pics would, but hopefully it's enough to entice you to go see it next time you are down in Slaapstad.
The exhibit itself is about the relationship, or lack there of, between humans and nature and is made up of some really powerful stuff , from bronze sculptures to poems lazer cut into cast iron. Read and have a look.

The entrance

 

 

Artists

Sculptor

Architect

Poet

 

The Opening Piece

Untamed

Untamed with Male with Wildebeest skull

Untiltled

 

 

 

Fierce

 

Winged Woman

 

 

Man with Eland Skull

Homecoming

 

Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as human nature.  There is only Nature and the very human expression of it.  To understand this is to understand the significance of what we need to do if we are to restore the lost balance.  Our task is not to go back to Nature but to give back to Nature.  How about half of our energy, our thoughts, our language and our hearts?  Nature needs it and Nature will give back,”

 

 

Ram horned Woman

Man with Hartebeest Skull

The Rising - Found this one very very powerful

Out you go

The main theme being that all living things are bound together.

But Trust me do yourself a favor and next time you are down, go have a look, it runs till June next year so pull finger and pull in.

Another Day Another Dollar! or not

Well Another 6 week stint done and dusted and what a stint its been. Lets see, well I said goodbye to a dear friend, made some new ones as you do in this line of business. Oh well such is life, guess we go through it all. The only bad news I have is that after 8 months of being pretty damn strong I FAILLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLED and I ate red meat GASP the urge for biltong was too strong, I was disappointed but I’m over it now, I really forgot how amazing it is to be a carnivore (sorry Dom) but I do promise to revert again to red meat free, maybe even full veggie, who knows.

The game viewing has been up and down, below is a little highlights reel of what we got up to this cycle, I reckon the wild dogs were probably the saving grace of most drives providing hours of hilarious and exciting game viewing from chasing all sorts of creatures to being chased by all sorts of creatures, pups running under cars chewing tires and tearing blankets. Well enough about me, have a look at the pics.

Very very powerful symbolism here as the sun sets on the cycle.

 The 15th of June we were witness to a complete lunar eclipse, now for someone who has never been able to decide which is better between a moonless night or a full moon night, this was probably one of the most amazing things I have ever had the privilege to witness. Over the coarse of two hours we watched as the full moon which drowned out the stars was silenced by the shadow of the earth and to watch the milky way slowly reappear around it, it was incredible to see this orange orb swimming in this white river of stars. Way too much to handle!!!!

Something a little different, a little abstract!

So this is the beaut we had say goodbye to, Scotty D, best guy in the world moving on to greener pastures.

Happy Grazing buddy

Southern pride

Elephant bulls interacting

How is this?????? wake up one morning with our resident female leopard outside my door, but moving away, I walk outside to see where she is headed only to find her cub hanging out on the latter fence by the pool. sending the entire village into panic, however everbody survived to see another day. Unfortunately one of the cubs was killed by lion the week after. @%$# LIONS!!!



Second Caracl in five years!!!!!!!!!!

By far one of the most amazing things to see in the African bushveld is when these things get hunting, it is AMAZING!!!!!! They stick their ears down the minutes they spot their intended prey and then all hell is unleashed in a sprint that can only be described as .................................very very fast.

 So as i was saying about the dogs interacting with all sorts of creatures, Bull elephants seem to have a particular dislike for them, this shot was taken from my phone as we were sitting with the pack these three massive elephant bulls emerged out of the bush with heads held high, tails straight and very ticked off. I was able to get right down out the vehicle to get this shot.

Lioness on the move

Some Sunbird Socialising.

So as we break the back of winter and while we wait out the cold and drab that lies ahead we can look to  the one plant that flourishes at this time of year when all else fail, the aloes, correct as in vera, so my very otherwise very brown garden is now painted with shades of orange and flits of awesome colour from the feeding sunbirds collecting nectar from the flowers. This little collard sunbird -whom we have dubbed Hamish-, because I have always wanted to name something Hamish, anyway he is the local that occupies the aloes outside my house, and he is sooooooooooooooooooooooo unbelievably chilled, during his flurry of nectar feeding he rests intermittently and when he does, shuts his eyes and you are, check this, able tickle his backside with a spatula. I have checked with others if this is rude or inappropriate and because he's a bird, its funny and completely awesome!!!!!!