Yesterday afternoon, the pigeons and doves had started to gather for evening feeding. I was relaxing in the sunshine out of the icy wind, upstairs on the deck. Suddenly every bird rose from its perch as one, from branches, rooftops, walls and telephone poles. They scattered in every direction, not forming a flock, and the banking and swooping of their flight indicated extreme panic. I knew immediately that a raptor was on its way and scanned the sky for the cause of all the commotion. Sure enough, there it came - the black sparrowhawk, wings neatly folded to give it optimum speed as it came out of nowhere.
As the birds scattered, its wings spread and it changed direction, having selected the most likely victim, no doubt. Unfortunately they all disappeared from view behind the house, but the hunt was unsuccessful, as the sparrowhawk soon landed on the uppermost branch of the big gum tree at the top of the garden. I was able to get a good view with binoculars and it seemed to be a teenager, with a few white feathers still on top of the head but otherwise in adult plumage, with a blue ring on the left leg. No pigeons came back to the area, and they could be seen flying randomly in small groups to keep up the confusion. The sparrowhawk eventually left in disgust.
I wondered if the simultaneous startled flight of all the birds was in any way connected to the inborn mechanism which allows them to flock in such perfect unison when they want to, similar to the way fish shoal, and whether it only needs one bird to be alert and the others automatically respond. Any ideas?
Monday, 7 October 2013
Exciting evening sky
My computer conspired against me yesterday. It ran so slowly I could barely use it - very frustrating when you just want to quickly put in a comment on Facebook! Then when I did manage to post a comment, it disappeared and I don't know where it is now - out in the ether, I suppose! Facebook suddenly updated with posts from half a day ago and to top it all, my anti-virus did an update which took five hours, so I just went to bed and read a book. However, what I was really trying to do was Google to find out what the stars above the moon were! I couldn't find any books that told me and we are so reliant on being able to find out anything instantly on our computers - talk about the world being at your fingertips - that sometimes the written word seems too slow.
I thought they must be Saturn and Mercury, which would explain why they weren't on any charts, and Venus was higher up - the asterism was too beautiful - tiny crescent moon with Saturn above Mercury below and Venus, the brightest planet in the sky, higher up. The computer is working again this morning and I could confirm all this, but it was too late to send out a message to alert anyone interested to dash outside and take a look. Frustrating for me, but doubtless of little consequence for those who don't ever look up! I always feel compelled to share these exciting events. As an added bonus, the bright red heart of the scorpion, Antares, is above Venus, making the evening horizon quite spectacular.
The good news is you can see it again on Tuesday 8 October just after sunset. The diagram below illustrates how we can see Mercury and Saturn despite their orbits being so different.
I thought they must be Saturn and Mercury, which would explain why they weren't on any charts, and Venus was higher up - the asterism was too beautiful - tiny crescent moon with Saturn above Mercury below and Venus, the brightest planet in the sky, higher up. The computer is working again this morning and I could confirm all this, but it was too late to send out a message to alert anyone interested to dash outside and take a look. Frustrating for me, but doubtless of little consequence for those who don't ever look up! I always feel compelled to share these exciting events. As an added bonus, the bright red heart of the scorpion, Antares, is above Venus, making the evening horizon quite spectacular.
The good news is you can see it again on Tuesday 8 October just after sunset. The diagram below illustrates how we can see Mercury and Saturn despite their orbits being so different.
Saturday, 5 October 2013
Wintry weather and rugby
The first picture was taken a year ago and the second two today. You can see there is a vast difference in the weather. We are definitely having a very late spring. Today the southeaster is freezing, gale force on top of Table Mountain (the cableway is closed) and it's winter clothes all round. Unbelievable in October. The combination of low clouds, drizzle and a southeaster means that there is no sound from the sea (the wind is offshore), the sea has blown completely flat and even the birds seem to be hiding in the hedges.
It's difficult to motivate yourself to do anything but lie on the couch and read a book, and I suppose there's nothing wrong with doing that from time to time. It just goes against the grain. I feel I should always be doing something constructive. As my daughter says, it's good to take a day off now and then - you don't have to work every day. A lifetime's habits are hard to break!
So I watched tennis - yay! I think I must be the only person in the country who is not watching rugby. I can't even tell you who is playing or what time! I've never been one for team sports - I prefer to watch individual skill. I can't even say that rugby games are too long, because tennis can go on for up to 5 hours! The advantage of being the only one not watching rugby is that during the game I can drive practically anywhere without passing a car on the road, or walk along the path at the bay without seeing a soul.
In actual fact, I suppose the real reason I never watch rugby is because no-one else in this household does. Oops! Just receiving smses to say things are not going well for us in the rugby from those watching elsewhere. Now I know - it's the bad tempers that go with losing that prevent me from being a fan.
Friday, 4 October 2013
The top shelf
At last the third duvet is back in the top cupboard! You probably think that it's because the weather has warmed up sufficiently to discard it. That is true. It got folded and put on the chair, waiting for me to put it away. Unfortunately I am vertically challenged and even a reasonable low cupboard requires a stepladder if I want to put anything in it. Why we bothered with anything higher than my head in the kitchen is still a mystery. Once something has been put on a high shelf, it can be ten years before it sees the light of day. Every so often, I take out the stepladder just to see what's in the cupboards. Usually I can't come to any decision about what to do with the jersey I knitted when I was 15, or the china biscuit barrel that I just might use one day, or even the neatly folded pile of bubble wrap which I might want to use if I ever need to move house. And so everything gets put back on the top shelf and the doors are closed until the next bout of enthusiasm some years down the line.
But back to the third duvet...
Every morning I would look at it and think, 'I'll go and get the ladder' and by the time I got to the kitchen, I had completely forgotten about it, having been distracted by the view of Table Mountain, or the clouds scudding across the sky or even a ship passing by in The Gap. Later in the day, I would look at it and think, 'I'll to and get the ladder' and once again, by the time I got to the kitchen, I had completely forgotten about it. There are too many other things to think about and do. This went on for four days, but this morning, as I walked to the kitchen, I said to myself 'Get the ladder, get the ladder, get the ladder...' and it worked.
While I was up there, looking at the top shelves of the bedroom cupboards, stuffed to bursting with an assortment of blankets, duvets, old pillows and the like, which you never know when you might need, my thoughts turned to giving them a clean out, but I will have to be ruthless and take a black bag with me to make sure that at least half of it doesn't find its way back to that top shelf!
But back to the third duvet...
Every morning I would look at it and think, 'I'll go and get the ladder' and by the time I got to the kitchen, I had completely forgotten about it, having been distracted by the view of Table Mountain, or the clouds scudding across the sky or even a ship passing by in The Gap. Later in the day, I would look at it and think, 'I'll to and get the ladder' and once again, by the time I got to the kitchen, I had completely forgotten about it. There are too many other things to think about and do. This went on for four days, but this morning, as I walked to the kitchen, I said to myself 'Get the ladder, get the ladder, get the ladder...' and it worked.
While I was up there, looking at the top shelves of the bedroom cupboards, stuffed to bursting with an assortment of blankets, duvets, old pillows and the like, which you never know when you might need, my thoughts turned to giving them a clean out, but I will have to be ruthless and take a black bag with me to make sure that at least half of it doesn't find its way back to that top shelf!
Thursday, 3 October 2013
Spinach saga
I am currently on a very limited diet of basically green vegetables, a few almonds and walnuts, half a carrot, half a sweet potato, a piece of free-range (skinless) chicken and two eggs, a glass of green juice (kale, celery, ginger, parsley, cucumber, coriander, apple) - strictly no white potatoes, aubergines or tomatoes. Hmm. Next time you see me, you will also want to go on this nutrition plan.
Spinach is the Houdini of leafy greens - you start off with a big potful and end up with two tablespoons of wilted mush - so I thought I would take the easy way out and buy one of those bulk packs of ready washed and chopped spinach from the supermarket. The bag was enormous (1kg) and stuffed so full I don't know how they closed it at the packing factory.
To open it, I stabbed it joyously with a knife, and a virtual explosion of chopped spinach jack-in-the-boxed all over the kitchen counter. It seemed as though it would never end as I shook out pile after pile of finely shredded greenery and still the bag was tightly packed. I stuffed as much as I could into the cooking pot, thinking back to the fairytale I used to read the kids about the magic cooking pot that wouldn't stop pouring out porridge until it eventually filled the whole house. I grabbed two large-sized storage containers (those nice ones with the clip-on lids that hold just about everything that's in my fridge) and soon they were also filled. Still more in the bag! As a last resort, I clingwrapped the bag to contain the rest of the spinach and put that in the fridge with the rest. I'd still like to know how they closed it originally.
The sad part is that it will only produce about 3 cups of cooked spinach in the end, and it is taking up most of my fridge space. Looks like I'll have to plant some in the garden rather, so that I can store it on the stalk!
Spinach is the Houdini of leafy greens - you start off with a big potful and end up with two tablespoons of wilted mush - so I thought I would take the easy way out and buy one of those bulk packs of ready washed and chopped spinach from the supermarket. The bag was enormous (1kg) and stuffed so full I don't know how they closed it at the packing factory.
To open it, I stabbed it joyously with a knife, and a virtual explosion of chopped spinach jack-in-the-boxed all over the kitchen counter. It seemed as though it would never end as I shook out pile after pile of finely shredded greenery and still the bag was tightly packed. I stuffed as much as I could into the cooking pot, thinking back to the fairytale I used to read the kids about the magic cooking pot that wouldn't stop pouring out porridge until it eventually filled the whole house. I grabbed two large-sized storage containers (those nice ones with the clip-on lids that hold just about everything that's in my fridge) and soon they were also filled. Still more in the bag! As a last resort, I clingwrapped the bag to contain the rest of the spinach and put that in the fridge with the rest. I'd still like to know how they closed it originally.
The sad part is that it will only produce about 3 cups of cooked spinach in the end, and it is taking up most of my fridge space. Looks like I'll have to plant some in the garden rather, so that I can store it on the stalk!
Wednesday, 2 October 2013
The haves and the have-nots
Turns out I was a little too optimistic about the ease of getting a police clearance certificate for a friend. I was told on Monday that I could make an appointment with the relevant lady at the police station, the first time being on Wednesday morning, and the certificate would be organised. What actually happened was that the lady came out of her office, took the money, gave me a receipt and stapled the documents together. This took 20 minutes, while I was left waiting at the counter. She then gave me a piece of paper with instructions to send it all to Pretoria, where it would take 15-28 days to process. I must phone them after 15 days to find out if it is ready. Not quite the service I had been led to believe in on Monday. I can only imagine I needed an appointment because it took so long for her to walk from her office to the desk and she needed time to prepare.
While I was waiting, there was at least a small diversion with the arrival of a police van and an assortment of six scruffy individuals were bundled out and ushered off to the cells. There was a general air of nonchalance in the group except for one young man who was handcuffed and had obviously been resisting arrest. The young woman I recognised immediately. She hangs around in Kommetjie and had her head in my bin the other day. She completely ignored my exhortations for her to remove herself from the area, which was no doubt linked to them all being there on drug charges, according to the officers on duty. I looked at her and nodded to show that I remembered her, but I doubt whether she cared!
The scene was quite distressing for me, as all I could think was that these were all some mother's children and how sad it all was. Here I was, arranging a certificate of no criminal record for a young man who has the world at his feet, and these unfortunate souls are at the other end of the social spectrum, with what appears to be little hope of a good life. It reminded me to be constantly grateful for everything I have, particularly my family.
While I was waiting, there was at least a small diversion with the arrival of a police van and an assortment of six scruffy individuals were bundled out and ushered off to the cells. There was a general air of nonchalance in the group except for one young man who was handcuffed and had obviously been resisting arrest. The young woman I recognised immediately. She hangs around in Kommetjie and had her head in my bin the other day. She completely ignored my exhortations for her to remove herself from the area, which was no doubt linked to them all being there on drug charges, according to the officers on duty. I looked at her and nodded to show that I remembered her, but I doubt whether she cared!
The scene was quite distressing for me, as all I could think was that these were all some mother's children and how sad it all was. Here I was, arranging a certificate of no criminal record for a young man who has the world at his feet, and these unfortunate souls are at the other end of the social spectrum, with what appears to be little hope of a good life. It reminded me to be constantly grateful for everything I have, particularly my family.
Tuesday, 1 October 2013
A near miss
I have absolutely nothing to report about today that could possibly be of any interest to anybody! I have been busy working on my 4th Toastmasters speech that I must give tomorrow night, and have decided to use the same speech I am giving at Astronomy the next night. Killing two birds with one stone. Hopefully there won't be a duplication of guests!
Apart from that, I spent a pleasant morning with friends, then shopped for first aid supplies - HWCFA sliced himself up with an angle-grinder yesterday - I say that quite casually, but in actual fact he could quite easily have hit something serious and no longer be here. However, he has been protected by a large host of guardian angels his whole life, so I see no reason why they would give up on him at this late stage. As always, he will use his mind to heal himself, and no doubt in a week or two there will be little sign of injury.
And so to bed, perchance to read...
Apart from that, I spent a pleasant morning with friends, then shopped for first aid supplies - HWCFA sliced himself up with an angle-grinder yesterday - I say that quite casually, but in actual fact he could quite easily have hit something serious and no longer be here. However, he has been protected by a large host of guardian angels his whole life, so I see no reason why they would give up on him at this late stage. As always, he will use his mind to heal himself, and no doubt in a week or two there will be little sign of injury.
And so to bed, perchance to read...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)