Sunday sky

Hot, hot day in Cape Town. Down here in Kommetjie we have been lucky to have the odd drift of cool air coming in off the sea. Had to water the garden twice today - the water table is getting low, as summer draws to a close. Although officially ending on 20 March, the last week has definitely had moments when the air and the light have brought autumn to mind, and it seems as though winter may be early this year.

We had heavy rain last weekend which brought the Scarborough lilies to life, with gorgeous deep orange blooms appearing from nowhere. The bulb stock comes from my paternal grandmother, who passed away in the 1960s and had given the bulbs to my mother some years before, so they are in a way a link to her, and an annual reminder when in bloom. There could be worse things to be remembered by!

While doing my usual Sunday afternoon sky scan, I noticed a bright white circle in the sky, way beyond the swifts and swallows crisscrossing my vision and the odd gull drifting on the thermals. I dashed inside for the binoculars and saw a round white balloon, presumably, with a long tail hanging down, and suppose it was nothing more exciting than a weather balloon. However, even that is something I have never seen before, which just goes to show that if you keep looking up, there will always be something new to see. It drifted away over the sea quite rapidly and was soon lost from sight, and there was no way of knowing how high up it was.

As I write, I hear the rumble of another object in the sky, a white plane leaving Cape Town for Europe. I always go outside to look at planes, I don't know why. Perhaps I'm not easily jaded, and planes have always fascinated me. I love to watch them land and take off from the airport whenever I am there to drop off or pick up a family member. And every so often, I feel the need to be on one of them and venture into the wild blue yonder.