I walk with ... beauty

Beauty before me, I walk with.
Beauty behind me, I walk with.
Beauty above me, I walk with.
Beauty below me, I walk with.
Beauty all around me, I walk with.
—Navajo Night Chant

Camera : Canon EOS 550D
Taken in my garden at my wildlife pond (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa)

Southern masked-weaver, male – Ploceus velatus – surveying his domain from a rock at my wildlife pond.

Those little brown jobbies

House sparrow (Passer domesticus)

This little chap is one of the tamest birds in my garden, sitting right at my feet when I put seeds on the ground for the more timid birds like the Laughing Doves. And when I walk to the feeding tables, he will follow me, sitting right on the edge of one, waiting for me to fill it up.

We so often over-look these Sparrows, one of the most widespread birds in the world, who originated from Eurasia and was introduced to Australasia, the Americas and Africa. It is often considered an invasive species, ironically, however, its population is experiencing serious decline in many of its native regions. Despite its abundance here in South Africa, it seems to have a minor impact on indigenous birds, although it may have displaced Cape wagtails from urban areas, as they are both adept at scavenging in these environments.

It generally prefers urban, rural and suburban areas and are very rarely absent from human habitation. Being so used to humans has made house sparrows resourceful in finding unique food supplies. They have been seen inspecting car grills for insects, and will feed on farms searching for spilled seed and grain.

House sparrows are monogamous with a life-long pair bond and will build bulky nests in roof crevices, nesting boxes and natural tree cavities, or they may chase other birds out of nests. The female will incubate a brood of 4-6 eggs for 14-18 days, then both parents will regurgitate food for the nestlings for 14-18 days until they leave the nest. Depending on the climate, pairs may raise 2-3 broods per year.

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African Joy and Sorrow

"The triumph of life is the joy experienced thereafter." 

- Maree 

Watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm ©Maree Clarkson - done from a photograph of Guinea standing on the wall, forlornly calling his missing wife.

A couple of years ago, one of my guinea fowl sitting on eggs was killed by a dog, leaving 10 eggs, on the pint of hatching, without a mother. I gathered all the eggs and put them in a basket with a hot water bottle, trying to keep them warm to see if any of them would hatch. Two days later still nothing, but on the third day I heard a weak peep-peep from one of the eggs. None of the others showed any sign of life, so I decided to take matters into my own hands and open the one that was peeping. I gently peeled away the shell and lifted out a perfectly formed little guinea fowl, and placed him on the warm towel, drying his little body with a soft cloth until he lifted his little head and stared me straight in the eye...

That was the beginning of a beautiful, long relationship with "Guinea", who spent five years following me everywhere and providing us with endless hours of pleasure with his surprising antics. He even lured a wild guinea fowl female from the wild (they used to pass through our property in large flocks, travelling from one field to another) and together they reared 5 clutches of beautiful little guinea fowl, all of whom stayed on our property for many years

When Guinea's wife disappeared one day, he was inconsolable, standing on the wall and calling for hours in that haunting 'phe-twee, phe-twee, phe-twee' that is so typical of the South African bush. After that, he would often disappear for a day or two until, one day, he didn't come home at all. I hoped and presumed that he had found another family and was happily roaming the fields surrounding our property.

“This life as you live it now and have lived it, you will have to live again and again, times without number, and there will be nothing new in it, but every pain and every joy and every thought and sigh and all the unspeakably small and great in your life must return to you and everything in the same series and sequence -- and in the same way this spider and this moonlight among the trees, and this same way this moment and I myself. The eternal hour glass of existence will be turned again and again -- and you with it, you dust of dust!” 
- Friedrich Nietzsche

African Leopard {Panthera pardus}

Black Pilot FineLiner ink sketch and W&N watercolour on Amedeo 200gsm - ©Maree Clarkson

An African Leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) sunning himself on some rocks. Powerful, graceful and arguably one of the most beautiful of all the large cats, the elusive leopard is a master of stealth and survival. I have ever only seen a Leopard once in my life, and that was in the Kruger National Park, but I recall many tales my Dad had to tell about this magnificent animal when we live in the Northern Transvaal whenI was a child.

One such story was about the night him and a few friends were fishing at the Albasini Dam just outside Louis Trichardt, Limpopo Province, (the then Northern Transvaal). They had their camp fire going and had some fish, freshly caught that day, on the braai. A rustling sound caught their attention and upon shining their powerful spotlight into the bush, they saw a Leopard in a crouching position. Like one man they all dashed for the Kombi, scrambling to all get in the same time, slamming the door shut quickly. They spent an uncomfortable night huddled in the Kombi in stead of their comfortable tents and,  needless to say, the next morning the fish on the braai was burnt to a crisp!

In the Cape Province south of the Orange River (South Africa), they have been largely eradicated by stock farmers except in rugged mountainous areas. The Cape Leopard that lives in the Cape mountain range is much smaller than its big cousins in the Limpopo region. Their diet is probably the contributing factor, consisting mostly of dassies and much smaller prey.

The leopard lingered in the sun
Almost at close of day,
With all its hours almost done
And fast to ebb away…
The leopard let his memories
Remind him now and then,
Because he knew each day must cease
When moonlight shone again.

This day had seen new life, new death,
That’s how time passes by…
We understand while we draw breath
Until our final sigh…
The leopard knew his time was near,
Just like the sun above,
Yet leopards are not prone to fear,
That’s why they still share love…

His cubs were waiting down below,
As he watched like a king…
To see time like a river flow
To outlive everything…
Some day his cubs would watch in turn,
As their cubs played a while…
With each new day something to learn…
Some joy to raise a smile…
(The poem is based on the magnificent painting by Stephen Gayford called ‘Leopard Sunset’.)

African silhouettes

The shadows now so long do grow, 

That brambles like tall cedars show, 

Molehills seem mountains, 

and the ant Appears a monstrous elephant. 

- Charles Cotton 

Watercolour on Amedeo 200gsm – 12″ × 8″ - ©Maree Clarkson

Elephants (Loxodonta africana) in the shadow of a mountain on their way to water in the northern parts of the Kalahari desert (South Africa). This is how I imagine their trekking in their relentless search for water.

A portion of the Kalahari Desert transforms for a brief period each year from a parched expanse of arid wasteland to a bountiful floodplain packed with channels, lagoons, swamps and islands — and it has the Okavango River to thank for this temporary transformation into paradise.

During the annual inundation, the Okavango Delta region draws migrating animals like a magnet, among them herds of Kalahari elephants. Elephants must have water on a regular basis, so as the dry season reaches a peak, they follow ancient instincts across the scorched and desiccated sands to the promise of boundless waters in the west.

As the elephants slowly make their way toward the delta, many can survive on what little resources they find until they finally enjoy a respite in the rich lands touched by the Okavango. Other herds will not complete the migration and may lose members to the harsh and competitive environment of the desert.

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An African sunset

Day is life,
As the roars of lions echo,
And the galloping of the antelope fade.
Night is death,
As the laughs of the hyena haunt you,
And the bush is filled with the sounds of terrorized creatures.
But between the beauty all is quiet,
As the sun disappears,
And the land lights up in the most spectacular display,
An African Sunset.
- by Robert G. Fetters

 Watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm ©Maree Clarkson

Once you have lived in or visited Africa, visions of Africa become indelible in a visitor's memory. Vivid sunsets... warm and welcoming people.... amazing wildlife and, of course, the incredible silhouette of antelope etched against an African the sunset, all combine to make a visit to South Africa one of life's peak experiences. Seasons are reversed here, so the best time to visit is July through October. On nights when there's a full moon and high water, you may even witness a rare and thrilling lunar rainbow!

An extract from Wayne Visser's poem, "I know a place in Africa", sum's Africa up well :

My soul is at peace in Africa
For her streams bring lifeblood to my veins
And her winds bring healing to my dreams
For when the tale of this land is told
Her destiny and mine are as one

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A Windpomp in the Karoo

Ink sketch and watercolour on Amedeo 200gsm – ©Maree Clarkson 

A depiction of a ‘windpomp’ (windmill) in the Karoo. They are such a part of our countryside here in South Africa and they play a specially important part in dry areas like the Karoo where both humans and animals are very dependent on them for water.

These windmills extract the life blood of the earth and it is usually poured into a cement dam close-by the windpomp. Many farm children swim in these cement dams on sweltering days and I have seen flocks of Egyptian Geese taking a quick, cool dip on their way to somewhere.

Africa's wonder

“Let a Person Walk Alone With Few Wishes, Committing No Wrong, Like an Elephant in the Forest.”

Watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 16” x 12” - ©Maree Clarkson

Africa’s wild animals are a constant source of inspiration and for me elephants symbolise Strength, Solitude, sense of loyalty to the family and Intelligence. Looking into the eye of an elephant, one sees Wisdom beyond our understanding.

I sketched this young elephant on a visit to the Elephant Sanctuary Hartebeespoort Dam where they provide a “halfway house” for young African elephants in need of a temporary home.

African elephants (Loxodonta) are the largest living terrestrial animals. The African elephant differs from the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus) in that African elephants’ trunks end in two opposing lips, whereas the Asian elephant’s trunk trunk ends in a single lip. Adult African elephants weigh between 4,000-7,500kg and Asian elephants are less at 3000-6,000kg. African elephants have a fuller, more rounded head. The top of the head is a single dome whereas Asian elephants have a twin-domed head with an indent in the middle. All African elephants, male and female, have tusks, whereas only some male Asian elephants have tusks. Africans generally have the bigger tusks. About half of all female Asian elephants and a small percentage of males have small tusks like teeth, known as tushes. The African forest elephant has 5 nails on front feet and 4 on the back while the African bush elephant has 4 nails on the front feet and 3 on the back. The Asian elephant has 5 nails on the front feet, 4 on the back and on the very rare occasion, 5.

Although both species of elephant eat a wide variety of plant matter, in general term the Asian elephant’s diet is made up of a greater proportion of grass while the African elephants diet is made up of a greater proportion of leaves.

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African bushveld sunset

"Every sunset brings the promise of a new dawn."

Aloe Marlothii and Giraffe watercolour in hand-made sketch-book - ©Maree Clarkson

The fiery aloe in full bloom, the smell of the fragrant wild sage on a dewy morning and one of Africa’s tallest animals in the back-ground – a typical African Bushveld scene that makes one’s spirits soar!

A farm on the Highveld

 
W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - ©Maree Clarkson

 

The Highveld is a high plateau region of inland South Africa which is largely home to the largest metropolitan area in the country, the Gauteng City Region, which accounts for one-third of South Africa's population.

The Highveld constitutes parts of the Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, North West, and Limpopo provinces, and virtually all of Gauteng and the northern Free State. The Highveld is bordered by the Bushveld and the Lowveld in the north, northeast, and northwest, the Drakensberg mountains to the east and southeast, the Kalahari desert in the west, and the Great Karoo to the southwest. The Highveld covers an area of almost 400,000 km², or roughly thirty percent of South Africa's land area.

The Highveld rainy season occurs in summer, with substantial afternoon thunderstorms being typical occurrences in November, December, and January. Frost occurs in winter.

Cities located on the Highveld include Johannesburg, Pretoria, Bloemfontein, Vereeniging, Welkom, Carletonville, and the cities of the West Rand and East Rand. The diamond-mining city of Kimberley lies on the border of the Highveld and the southeastern Kalahari.

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African Wild Dog

Watercolour on Ashrad 200gsm watercolour paper - ©Maree Clarkson

Here is the link to my calendar South African Wildlife

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.”
- Mahatma Gandhi

The African Wild Dog (Lycaon pictus) is a medium-sized canid found only in Africa, especially in Savannahs and other lightly wooded areas.

It is also called the Painted Dog, Painted Hunting Dog, African Hunting Dog, the Cape Hunting Dog, the Spotted Dog, the Ornate Wolf or the Painted Wolf in English, Wildehond in Afrikaans, and Mbwa mwitu in Swahili. It is the only extant species in the genus Lycaon, with one species, L. sekowei being extinct.

There were once approximately 500,000 African Wild Dogs in 39 countries, and packs of 100 or more were not uncommon. Now there are only about 3,000-5,500 in fewer than 25 countries, or perhaps only 14 countries. They are primarily found in eastern and southern Africa, mostly in the two remaining large populations associated with the Selous Game Reserve in Tanzania and the population centred in northern Botswana and eastern Namibia.
- Read more on Wikipedia

African hunting dogs are endangered. They are faced with shrinking room to roam in their African home. They are also quite susceptible to diseases spread by domestic animals.

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Feral Pigeons

My Feral pigeon, Mask

They paddle with staccato feet
In powder-pools of sunlight,
Small blue busybodies
Strutting like fat gentlemen
With hands clasped
Under their swallowtail coats;
And, as they stump about,
Their heads like tiny hammers
Tap at imaginary nails
In non-existent walls.
Elusive ghosts of sunshine
Slither down the green gloss
Of their necks in an instant, and are gone.
-- Richard Kell

Feral Pigeons are an integral part of our lives. They are derived from domestic pigeons that have returned to the wild. Seeing that the domestic pigeon was originally bred from the wild rock dove, it's a natural progression that they would return to the wild.

Current evidence suggests that wild, domestic and feral pigeons mate for life, although their long-term bonds are not unbreakable. They are socially monogamous, but extra-pair matings do occur, often initiated by males. When Mask's mate disappeared, he waited and mourned for about a month, but then took fancy to Pinky and they soon became inseparable.

Abandoned buildings are favourite nesting areas. Mass nesting is common as pigeons are a community flocking bird; often, dozens of birds share a building. Loose tiles and broken windows provide access, and pigeons are adept at spotting new access points, for example following property damage caused by strong winds. Pigeons breed when the food supply is abundant enough to support embryonic egg development, which in cities can be any time of the year. Laying of eggs can take place up to six times per year, causing major population explosions in big cities.

Time to Retreat

“You know … they say an elephant never forgets.
What they don’t tell you is, you never forget an elephant.”
-Actor Bill Murray

With a height of just over 3 – 4m (measured at the shoulder), a length of between 6 to 7.5m (that’s the length of an average motor car garage!) and weighing in at 6 tonnes, these mostly gentle giants of the African bush are highly intelligent with a strong sense of family and herd, and a complex social structure.

Here in Africa they are native to a wide variety of habitats including semi-desert scrub, open Savannah’s and dense forest regions. Besides its greater size, The African Elephant {Loxodonta africana} differs from the Asian elephant in having larger ears and tusks, a sloping forehead, and two “fingers” at the tip of its trunk, compared to only one in the Asian species.

Connochaetes gnou

 W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - ©Maree Clarkson 

Often, when travelling on the Sterkfontein road on our way to Lanseria Airport (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa), these Black Wildebeest cross the road, bringing all the traffic to a halt and resulting in everybody hauling out their cameras and binoculars. I always leave early for the airport, never know what you might spot on the road!
Swartwildebees [Afrikaans]

Black Wildebeest, also known as the White Tailed GNU, are endemic to South Africa, found almost exclusively in the Highveld areas of the country in South Africa. It is a very strange and comical looking specie with its black body, erect mane, long whitish tail, forward curving horns and facial crest. They were on the verge of extinction in the 1960’s, but are plentiful today as a result of careful conservation management. They are often found in herds of females and young males, with the older males either being solitary or forming small bachelor herds.

G stands for Gnu, whose weapon of defence
Are long, sharp, curling horns, and common sense.
To these he adds a name so short and strong,
That even hardy Boers pronounce it wrong.
How often on a bright autumnal day
The pious people of Pretoria say,
‘Come, let us hunt the______’ Then no more is heard
but sounds of strong men struggling with a word;
Meanwhile the distant Gnu with grateful eyes
Observes his opportunity and flies.