Glorious Banksia Rose

 This past fortnight the banksia roses in all our farm gardens have burst into bloom. Late September into October is the time for these beautiful shrubs to show off all their glory in abundance.

I have a shrub at the farm office door, Janine on my right has a huge shrub over the bottom fence of her large garden and Ronnie has a shrub cascading over her entrance gate which I can see from my bedroom. My shrub which seems to be extra large and prolific this year, is over my back veranda and the fence between me and Ronnie.

My banksia rose shrub in flower at the moment 

The individual blooms are tiny - the size of half my thumbnail. Several little rose shaped flowers make up the larger cluster as seen close up above 

Three little roses close up 

I was fascinated at the green rodlike stems - this was one of the many which supported these delicate flowers. This is a very old and established Banksia Rose shrub 

Blogger friends who have know me before I moved to Champagne Valley, Central Drakensberg, may remember me posting the same shrub at our house in Marquard. 

The Banksia Rose which cascaded over our entrance gate every year in October 

And another glorious shrub on the wall running along Grant's four motor garages

I'm linking to Saturday Critters with Eileen here

Happy Saturday to you all 

Ambrose and friends

 Good afternoon to Mum's blogger friends; this is Ambrose. I think Mum wants to write more but I managed to get here and so...

...here I am!

Life is really good in the Hedges kitty and dog house hold. We are outside all day; laying in the sun; sitting on the garbage bin and watching the cows go by. Last week Mum said I had the touch of spring in me and took these photos of me dashing about the house.

I, Ambrose on top of the curtain rail! 

Jumping on the fridge

Across Mum's desk! 

Missy watching me from under Mum's desk 

Chappie watching me from the kitchen

I ran into the bedroom and up the clothes cupboard, but I was too fast for Mum to snap. Mama watched from behind Mum's bed! 

Mama watching carefully!

And then I was tired out. I jumped onto the top of the large fridge and rested! 

Mum knows that I am much happier now that Mama and I aren't fighting so much. And Mum is home a lot so we are all happy! 

Blooms and edibles; bales and a thrush

Notwithstanding another busy week with Weigh-Less groups, farm office work and guests visiting my accommodation, Skabby and I still managed to get out onto the farm road at least once a day. 

The days are beautiful and of course, the view of the mountain peaks are as spectacular as ever! 

An artistic take of the farm lands with Champagne Castle and Cathkin Peaks in the background 

Skabby was delighted when I permitted him to follow me into a paddock which he'd not yet explored! 

Back home, once I'd unleashed Skabby, I stopped to photograph the progress of the blooms on my garden shrubs. 

Tecomaria capensis (Cape Honeysuckle)

The Sunbirds, white-eyes and several other birds love this shrub. The cats also sleep under this bush catching the afternoon sunrays. 

Budddleja salvofolia (Sagewood) 

I've spotted several butterflies on this bush but haven't managed to photograph any yet. 

This is a macro image of a teeny bloom on a weed in my lawn! 

Another beautiful weed bloom!

Bulbine fruitescens (Stalked bulbine) My garden assistant watches as I take photos! 

The last of my cauliflower harvest. We had a hot wind earlier this  month and before I picked this head, it was almost spoiled, Tasted good all the same! 

My kale crop is still going strong

The beetroot is taking longer than I imagined to bulb...

Earlier this week I heard a different bird call in the garden. I grabbed my camera and dashed outside. There was a beautifully marked bird on my lawn. Skabby bounded across the lawn and scared this bird into flying up into the tree in my neighbor's yard. 

Groundscraper Thrush

The Groundscraper Thrush  has a mixture of harsh, loud calls ending with a grating sound 

Back indoors I was just about to replace my camera in its bag, when I noticed an unusual looking spider above the display cabinet.  

I  didn't want to stress this poor critter, so didn't get too close. 

Hence the blurry image !

I'm linking to Saturday Critters with Eileen here.

We are going to Level 1 on Sunday at midnight. Six months of Lockdown so far! 

I trust you're all well and and safe.

HAPPY SATURDAY TO YOU ALL ! 

Spring has sprung!

 Hello dear Blogger friends. Uh-oh. Once again I have been absent for two weeks. But here I am again. 

We had a terribly cold snap and rain on Tuesday this week. And gradually the weather has warmed up. Today has been an idyllic day which, of course, Skabby and I took advantage of. We went for our normal walk to the dam and enjoyed the warmth and a few birds in the area. 

Happiness is...

The Blacksmith Plover'd reflection in the water is higgledy-piggledy because of a certain dog's plunge into the dam 

A very agitated plover on the edge of the dam

For the past three weeks this single Blacksmith Plover has been very agitated by our presence; especially when Skabby arrives to jump into the dam. A plover will try to divert your attention from where its mate is sitting on eggs. They make a shallow nest in the open ground. I have walked all over around the dam, trying to see the nest or the mother nesting. However, the plover becomes so agitated, that I have stopped looking. 

An African Sacred Ibis also on the edge of the dam this morning 

Two weeks ago I was so impressed at Eileen's beautiful photography of her lush garden, especially the video of the butterflies on the Buddleia. I decided to keep an eye out for when mine started to bloom. Today I managed a few closeups of the new flowering bunches on the bush. 

Buddleia Salviifolia 

Close up of my flowering shrub

The weeds in my lawn are flowering as well!

This is the first (and only!) flower on the Tecoma Capensis. It attracts the sunbirds 

Ditto with the Plumbago auriculata

This bottlebrush is doing better than the other shrubs. I especially enjoyed the artistic effect of the sunburst through the leaves 

A promise of spring in the green fronds

I'm linking to Eileen's post here

HAPPY SATURDAY TO YOU ALL!