Bubbles in the mizzle

Kate and Richard joined us on Sunday from Canada and Cornwall - as did Sue and Honey and Paul from Rondebosch and Pauline from beyond the warzone of Masipumelele. We were very happy to see everyone.

We were expecting heat but it was a cool day with a light misty drizzle instead - perfect for me. There were lots and lots of flowers emerging from the burned veld - this glowing Rafnia angulata for example,

and these tall silenes with the strange name of Silene pilosellifolia.

The Food Lady was on a quest to find rare and interesting orchids that like to flower after fires. There were quite a lot - like this not-so-rare, but lovely Disa bracteata.

We climbed up towards Steenberg Peak, looking back towards a misty Table Mountain to catch our breath/admire the view/photograph flowers every so often.

There were several bulbs flowering too - like these Geissorhiza bonaspei,

and beautiful grasses - like this Wire Grass (Geochloa rufa)

and pretty shrubs like this Podalyria - possibly P. argentea.

The Fire Heaths (Erica cerinthoides) were out - some with unusual white tips,

and we found some more orchids like this scented White Satyr (Satyrium candidum)

with a large dollop of sticky yellow pollen at the tip waiting for some unsuspecting moth to come and collect it.

The humans decided to cut across the top towards the Fat Lady as no-one felt like a long walk in the mizzle as some of us are unfit and others are recovering from colds and other illnesses. But where is the path?

We tried to help but couldn't reach a decision. I had the strangest feeling that something was watching me - and not just the Food Lady and the Alph who were keeping "an eagle eye" on me after my exploits last time.

Finally we located the path and I discovered this creepy rock dinosaur monster looking sideways at me. Yikes.

We managed to chase some peeps out of our tea spot and shelter from the mizzle in the Fat Lady Shelter: Honey, the Alph, Richard, Kate, Laddie, Pauline, Sue me and Paul.

Kate had brought some bubbles to celebrate her and Greg's wedding a few weeks ago,

as well as some wedding cake which was apparently very yummy even though Kate said half her guests weren't too sure what it was. This lot knew very well, and ate it all up very quickly without offering me a crumb!

Laddie soon found a friend or two. Or three or four.

We were soon on our way down again, and while the Food Lady was busy with photographing the Fireworks Flowers (Dilatris)

I tried to hide behind some grass and disappear again, but I was discovered: 

my cover blown by a noisy Malachite Sunbird shouting at me from a rock.

A last photo for the Food Lady - a rather unusual little Wax Twiner flower (Microloma tenuifolium) in a burned protea bush -

then it was back to the cars and goodbye.

When we got home it was still nice and early, so the Food Lady planted some seeds which Laddie and I re-arranged later. "What were you thinking of?!" she shouted at us. Well, Laddie was chasing a gecko that went under the box and I was thinking that there just might be some tasty egg left over in those eggshells. What is all the fuss about?