Still storming

I always say that the mark of a good builder is how well a freestanding wall bears up to a Cape winter storm. A house is being built up the road and on Friday they put up one of the upper storey walls. It's still holding firm, so the owners can rest easy in their beds for future storms.

An old oak tree at the entrance to Noordhoek Farm Village wasn't so lucky, and crashed ignominiously to the ground during yesterday's gale. By the end of today, it was just a pile of neatly carved logs. Hopefully some will be preserved in the form of furniture rather than tossing it into a fire, and the shavings can be used to flavour the most delicious smoked fish - oak is the favoured sawdust for this.

Here in my garden there is little evidence of any particularly high winds apart from the new growth on the bougainvillea having been nipped in the bud, so to speak. The gigantic Brazilian peppers, which are the bane of my life, barely lost a twig and the old gum tree near the road survived similarly. Perhaps we didn't bear the brunt of the bad weather in Kommetjie.

'Our' flamingos - funny how quickly we become proprietorial - made a brief appearance this morning (20), but sensibility got the better of them and they have retreated to a milder climate for the moment. I hope that they return in full force once the weather improves.

We are still painting the bedroom and K is living in a campsite in the lounge, but as she has the big screen TV and a separate remote from ours, I'm already wondering whether she is going to move back into her room when the redecoration is complete. In the meantime, some of the pets are taking advantage of the luxurious accommodation and have moved in with her.