Come with me on a weekend away...

We want wandering off for a few days the weekend before last. As usual, I was over-zealous with the camera. You have no idea the job I had to thin down over 1500 photos to this little pile... Hope you enjoy them. I, meanwhile, am going to finish off the article I wrote whilst there about porcupines, and then I'm going to play at making a book trailer...

The Franschhoek Valley

The view from the hotel patio

A far flung corner of the Franschhoek valley

Signs of spring

Blossoming

The road through the mountains

No way through

Spring greens - and pinks and reds

Soaring peaks

The vineyards at Boekenhoutskloof winery

Spring is springing

Proteas

Village life

The orchards at Villiersdorp

Theewaterskloof dam

Country roads

Country art?

The farmer's road and the "main" road

Theewaterskloof dam

Orchards near Grabouw

Theewaterskloof dam

Trees before spring

The abandoned house

Calling the Angels

Spare a prayer...

It is, quite frankly, too hard for me to write today what I was planning on writing about. I have had a weekend bombarded with the reality of violent xenophobia and there is just so much I can take. Our media are full of it, and, given that I've provided Angela and her husband with refuge, my life is now full of it too. The ignorant barbarism of it all is almost beyond me and I find it tearing at my energy.

If you are interested, and want to know me, let me know in the comments and I'll post about it later in the week. For now though, I'd rather share with you some fun, lighthearted images snapped a week ago in Franschhoek - a village about an hour from Cape Town, famed for its wonderful restaurants, fine vineyards, quirky shops and wonderful scenery.

Across the tracks and golden vineyards...

These whimsical beauties come from Pret a Pot... - a wonderful spot tucked away at a railway siding.

Russet bird - not rusted bird

Within your heart...

Mermaids ponder and plan...

Garden warrior...

We need the angels right now...

Drakenstein Autumn

Doorways and Windows

There is something evocative, I find, about doorways and windows and shop façades…the prospect of a glimpse into another (or another’s) world. I remember when I first lived in the UK gazing in wonder at the brightly lit windows at Christmas time…trees and tinsel sparkling behind the glass, families gathered together, manikins dressed up doing Santa’s work in faux snow – it was like looking in on a story. No, it wasn’t “like” – it was looking in - on multiple stories. I remember too, walking along the street on the Ile de la Cité in Paris at night, staring up into the golden windows of old mansions that held sumptuous wealth, multiple tales, rich and varied lives… I suppose it comes back to a writer’s imagination and an inherent love of a good story well told, of the opportunities for magic and make believe, the desire for glimpses of things that lie beyond, an innate curiousity and wonderment at the worlds and peoples around me… I like to look, to imagine, to make up – you might say I’m a voyeur of life and its potential and possibilities.

And so, continuing the phoctober theme, some glimpses through doorways, of windows and façades all rich with a promise of story… The photos, once again, were taken in that little corner of France not too far from where I live… Why don’t you tell me what stories you see through the glass and the doorways…

Enter the darkened doorway to behold the treasures within, flying carpet, magical lamps...

Multiple lives painted in colour...

Through the door, beyond the twinkling lights, a witch doctor, an elf and a princess are gathered...

In a land of bubbling chocolate creatures arose amidst plumes of vanilla, strawberry, amarula...

She's waited a long time, hidden with her memories, waiting for him, for all time...

His lips are sealed but his soul speaks in volumes... Oh he has many tales to tell...

Outside is sunny, inside things whisper, rustle and wait... Take me home, they sigh, take me home...

FEAST! Franschhoek Food, a Thoughtful Award and... Babies!

Continuing the Franschhoek theme started yesterday along with phoctober fun.

These are scenes of pavement cafes and restaurants along the main street of Franschhoek - called Huguenot Street. If they look a little empty it's because most had finished munching - it was about three in the afternoon and a Thursday. On the weekend, if you don't make a reservation, the chances of finding lunch anywhere are slim and diners are known to linger until four in the afternoon! It's that popular. We had lunch at La Petite Ferme, just a little way out the village, perched on the mountainside looking out over the valley. No photographs of the sublime views, I'm afraid, as elderly ladies, I've learned, like to eat and run. Time is, I suspect, too short to linger...














The weekend fun continues... Sameera has very kindly given me a "Thoughtful Blog Reader" award. Thank you, Sameera!

She said, "I felt an award should be there to celebrate not the writers alone, but the readers as well. Reading is not a passive process as most people think it to be; it takes great depth ofmind to understand the true essence of what the writer wants to convey". The award is "for those people who have constantly motivated me with their opinions till now, each in their unique way."



As with all bloggy awards, the idea is to pass this on. I, however, have a slight problem with this... I know there are many who read my blog and think about what I've said but they don't leave comments, which means I don't really know who my most thoughtful readers might be. So, here's what I'll do - I'm passing this award on to each and every one of you who reads my blog. Thank you for taking the time to stop by, thank you to those who add a few words and thank you to all the readers of this blog for sharing my blogging journey with me. This one is for all of you. Please put the award up on your blog and please, in keeping with the spirit of the award, pass it on.

STOP PRESS!!! STOP PRESS!!! STOP PRESS!!!

And now.... THE BREAKING NEWS!!!

We have babies...!!! Yes, spring is definitely here! The guinea fowl, who've been displaying the most bizarre mating behaviour are finally starting to see the er... fruits of their um... labour...

This particular family of guinea fowl have nested in my neighbour's garden and the shots are taken kneeling on the composter, hanging over the garden wall with a 300mm zoom lens! I'm guessing the chicks must be about a week old. In another two weeks or so they should be big enough to flutter and flap their way over the six foot wall and into our garden where there's always a feast waiting.