03 October 2010

Baboons and wee folk in oaks

Today the walk was cancelled. Everyone is away or has a sore back or some lame excuse like fetching someone at the airport. We were mighty depressed on our tartan bed. I looked imploringly at the Food Lady ...
and she relented and took us to Groot Constantia. Not quite the fynbos, but better than round-the-block.
There are fabulous old oaks with squirrels and maybe even wee folk and fairies living in their hollows and holes. All very exciting.
I went right inside this one and found a few gold stars on the floor. I think the fairy flew out of that hole when we barked.
We started walking up the mountain behind Groot Constantia and found this old grave overlooking False Bay. (You can see the southeaster cloud on Muizenberg mountain in the distance.) It belongs partly to the lady who Ladies Mile is named after - Eleanora Maria Colyn - who died on 2 October 1839. Yesterday 171 years ago.
We had to turn round and come back fast as there was a whole troop of baboons lurking around and the Food Lady was worried we might attack them. So it was back into the vineyards for us.
Dougal being "wheaten". We were sure there were some field mice in there to be eaten!

The new shoots on the vines were sparkling in the sun.

The Groot Constantia house from one of the old oaks.

This is the Food Lady's favourite staircase down to the stream looking rather overgrown.

Having my photograph taken in front of the Manor House before being hustled away from my potential modeling career and into the Land Rover.

Stop the car! I see something that needs chasing ...
A great big ugly baboon! Bark! bark! Let me at it!

2 comments:

  1. sweffling.wordpress.com04 October, 2010

    Chasing baboons, I've never heard the like!

    I expected it to be the other way round, baboons chasing small dogs. You model beautifully.

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  2. I think Coco and Dougal have a very distorted idea of their size!

    ReplyDelete