The trouble with living in Kommetjie and working from home is that it is almost impossible to stay inside and work. The path by the sea beckons in all weathers, and you will never stroll along there without meeting somebody you know and then passing the time of day. Occasionally, just as you are finishing one catch-up conversation, another friend will hove into view and you start all over again. These can be wonderful interludes, punctuated by gasps at the gloriousness of the weather or good-natured grumbling about life in general. There are usually plenty of large dogs in tow, apart from my two little white yappers, and I am always thankful that it isn't necessary to exercise mine - they are just out for a sniff - as some of these dogs can be quite a handful.
Yesterday we stopped to chat to an old friend who was sitting by the side of the path with her two young grandsons. She pointed towards the shoreline and said that she was looking after a young seal that was lying on top of a flat rock. It was so well-camouflaged that we would have walked by, completely oblivious to its presence. It had beached itself the day before and appeared to be ill and she had called the animal rescue people to come and have a look - it was identified but the name escapes me! It had come up from the Antarctic, so must have been pretty tired!
The friend was guarding the seal to ensure that no dogs worried it, and I asked her why she had her grandsons with her - they are apparently home schooled, and I thought how lucky they were to be learning about nature on the rocks at Kommetjie rather than sitting in a boring classroom learning from a book. They were very bright and articulate young boys, taking their guard duty very seriously, and what impressed me most was that they had collected sticks and made an arrow trail all the way from the car park along the path so that the rescue team would know exactly where to go!
I hope the team appreciated it and let them know how helpful they had been!
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