Eventide

Spring has morphed into summer, and with it comes those long evenings at the end of another perfect Cape Town day, golden light bathing the mountains and creating a soothing sense of gentle peace here on the shores of the Atlantic. A light southeaster has flattened the sea, with just a few white horses whipping up their sparkling manes. Easy to imagine them as dolphins carving a carefree path across the surface in joyous celebration of life - oh, to be a dolphin!

High, high above, gulls circle on the thermals, barely visible as they indulge in their favourite pastime. I first discovered that gulls enjoyed this while lying on the lawn one hot Sunday afternoon, gazing up at the sky and watching the activity in my field of view. They formed a little circle and let themselves be whirled upwards, wings motionless, until they disappeared from view. I don't recall seeing any other bird do that apart from raptors.

A constant fly-by of small birds crisscrossed the sky, with the odd bumble bee or butterfly going about their business much closer to the ground. I once saw a white object far, far away - perhaps above the clouds - a weather balloon. A once-in-a-lifetime observation, I would think. 

But best of all are the clouds - wisps that appear and disappear in moments, huge popcorn clouds that tower in ever-expanding ascension, herring-bone clouds, ice clouds that have electric pink and green shimmers. There's always something going on up there. So much to discover and enjoy and bring enormous pleasure into a simple life.