The Food Lady and the
Apha Male decided to leave us at home last Sunday, even though it was a cool,
scottie-
ish kind of a day. A bit mean I thought, as I munched my
Beano biscuit with a mind-
blowingly delicious blob of extra-lean beef mince stuck on top. Apparently they wanted to walk up a path where dogs are not allowed, starting at
Kirstenbosch main gate, where dogs are not allowed.
They ventured deeper and deeper into the forest - along the
Donkergat path (w d a n a*) where a huge old Spanish chestnut tree and some ghostly ruins of foundations are all that is left of a woodcutter's home.
Up and up they climbed ...
past scary creatures that lurk in the woods - a
Griffon (and I am not referring to the dog version!) about to take off?
At last they reached the top of
Skeleton Gorge, without mishap, and into Paul's curly grass with
Hermas villosa plants looming up in the mist.
A lonely cuppa tea in the mist. I think they were missing us and the rest of the group.
The object of the walk - some Red
Disas (
Disa uniflora) in the Window Gorge Stream.
There were many other interesting plants too - this Jacaranda
Inkflower (
Harveya pauciflora), a root parasite, that the
Alph spotted growing along the
Aqueduct.
And the Table Mountain endemic,
Watsonia tabularis. growing in front of some Table Mountain sandstone.
Another group had made themselves at home in the river, having a picnic in the midst of the
disas in the valley between Junction and St
Michael's Peaks.
Another
disa - the Golden Orchid (
Disa cornuta).
The
Hely-Hutchinson and
Woodhead Dams with some wisps of misty clouds making them look rather mysterious.
An Autumn Painted Lady (
Gladiolus monticola) alone and palely loitering.
Short cut across the half empty
Hely-Hutchinson Dam - with lots of other people - all come to marvel at the
disas?
Back down Skeleton Gorge, and into
Kirstenbosch.
The Food Lady took pity on us and took us for a walk in the Greenbelt so that she didn't have to feel so guilty about not taking us up Skelton Gorge. This is
Dougal in full squirrel hunting mode.
The Green Belt has its share of natural curiosities to keep the Food Lady clicking away. This is a fungus called "Chicken of the woods" (
Laetiporus sulphureus) identified by Malcolm
Greaves on
iSpot.
Hunting squirrels in the dappled shade. (
Dawnie was there too but she is a bit slow these days and lags behind.)
Australian Cherry Tree flowers.
and some
Heavenly Blue morning glories growing in our own little
doggie heaven in Constantia.
*where dogs are not allowed.
A bit of a late start for a walk but the Alph was not at all well and had to stay at home, and Wyndham felt like a walk in the hot hot sun before flying off into the teeth of Cyclone Irina later on. So we went for a short walk at midday in Cecilia Forest all the way to the waterfall. We were rewarded with the sight of these lovely Red Disas en route. 
What is Wyndham photographing? You probably think its that magnificent King Protea? 
Well no, we think he was photographing us, takiang advantage of the protea's shade.
We were very hot dogs.
This was the main reason we were not allowed on the weekend away. John and Julie took our humans out to lunch at Jason's Hill wine estate near Worcester where they 
Looks like a good time was had by all, except us! But we were happily at home with Leticia and Simon so we 
