Mole catching and mowing - and a walk

The weekend started with Laddie attacking the mower,

while I watched with extreme disdain.

Sunday dawned rather wild and windy and wet, so the walk up Oppelskop was cancelled, but at about midday it stopped raining so we decided to take a chance with the weather and have a quick walk in Cecilia Forest - but "no arsing around".

Everything was rather drippy. These are little sorrel leaves - possibly Oxalis eckloniana.

We decided to take Robbie's Walk down again - through the blombos,

and into the forest - past this rock that must have recently fallen on the path.

Lots of mushrooms and toadstools coming up,

but I had to keep a leery eye out for falling trees.

I was glad to be out in the open again with some cheerful pink Red Heaths (Erica abietina subsp. atrorosea) to brighten up the gloom.

There were lots of smells and interesting things to investigate ... maybe this is arsing around? But the Alph didn't seem to mind.

When we got home I was inspired to do a bit of digging in the back yard and look what I unearthed eventually! A mole!

A Cape Golden Mole to be exact. The Food Lady told my I was really clever but she whipped it away and I saw it squirming and wiggling and then she let it go over the fence where it immediately dug down into the soil so I couldn't finish my game. Such a spoil sport!

Two walks, some birthdays and a party

On Sunday morning the Food Lady bundled Laddie and me into the car and left Harvey and the Alph at home with Phil and Kerryn to cope with the loadshedding. It was a Scottie Walk! We arrived at the Jack Muller Park to find a scattering of Scotties (most of them were still cuddled up in their warm beds because it was rather a chilly morning). But Scotties love the cold. Laddie was instantly and totally and utterly smitten with Blair - who really was rather young for him - 9 months.

Pam, Mac's mom, gave me lots of treats because she knew it had been my birthday yesterday. Nine years old!

It was also Bailey and Angus's first birthday today and their humans brought lots of treats for us and the other humans. It was delicious. You can see me in the photo with my red bandana - just waiting for a crumb.

Our friend Snippie was there,

with her sister Snoekie and brother Knapie.

And of course, Mac, who doesn't really like the antics of the youngsters.

Just look at them all racing around.

A little Red-headed Finch trying to get a better view of the goings-on below. There were a few of these birds - probably escapees from an aviary because they are not meant to occur in Cape Town.

Then, in the afternoon, we went for another walk in Cecilia Forest with Paul. This time Harvey was allowed to come too. It was a pretty cold day - but the group in front were optimistic about the sun!

I love to linger behind, savouring the smells of the forest,

and investigating the possibilities of little things to chase or eat - imaginary and real - just like I used to do with Dougal who died exactly two years ago.

Laddie bounding across the scary snary stream just like Dougal used to - with lurgies hot on his heels.

There were lots of ericas coming out - like these Erica hispidula bushes with their teeny tiny flowers.

We climbed up and up and found a spot for a tea break where we could see the moon and all the way to the Hottentot Hollands Mountains.

Chin chin!

The Alph even tried some foraged botanicals in his gee and tee.

Laddie being adventurous,

then getting a bit of vertigo and retreating.

Harv was shivering with the cold, so we had to move on again.

A weird little restio spikelet with several flowers with curly appendages (awaiting comment on iSpot).

Coming down the concrete jeeptrack with views over Muizenberg.

We looped round back to Robbie's Walk which took us down into Cecilia through a deep dark gum forest.

Then out into the light again - welcomed by a lonesome Chasmanthe flower.

We were down in the nick of time, just as the setting sun lit up the distant hills.

Sun and Shade

On Sunday we set out from Cecilia Car Park early in the morning as it was going to be a HOT HOT HOT day. Sue and Honey came, as well as Paul and Pauline, and Alice and Maddy. The forested paths reminded the Food Lady of a quote from Kipling's Puck of Pook's Hill:  "The trees closing overhead made long tunnels through which the sunshine worked in blobs and patches." 

There was a little bit of discussion about the route, and in the end Alice, Maddy, the Food Lady and us two Scots decided to go the hot way round and all meet up at the waterfall. It was quite a pull up but we were in good spirits. This is the view over Kirstenbosch looking north east over the Tygerberg and the distant mountains. 

Alice and some King Proteas (Protea cynaroides) colour-coordinating in the hot fynbos.

Just spectacular!

Alice remarked on this rather yellow Erica abietina subsp. abietina which is normally bright red.

We soon reached the cool dark waterfall where the others were waiting for us to bring the tea. We were a bit nervous as there seemed to be quite a lot of whispering and dripping and strange goings on in those mossy drippy falls.

Out we shot, like the proverbial bats out of hell, and into the sunshine - the little people don't really like the hot sun.

Come on you lot! There are things under that bridge.

A back-lit Common Sugarbush (Protea repens),

and looking rather hot and bedraggled, a Red Disa (Disa uniflora) clinging onto the rocks above the path.

Soon we were back in the cool river near the Car Park. What a pleasure! 

This is Asparagus scandens which grows in the shady forests of Table Mountain.

Missing out in Cecilia

After our walk around the block, they left us with some delicious marrow bones - nyummmmm - and Patrick the Painter with some paint and coffee, and went for a walk in Cecilia with Sue and Pauline.

Well. What did I miss? A curly forest fern - Todea barbara maybe?

I missed seeing fairies in these dangly grass flowers.

I missed tea in the shade of a Rooiels (Cunonia capensis).

(The growth tips of the Rooiels look like spoons hence the English common name Butterspoon, and so Alice told us, if you snap the base of the "spoon" open, a buttery yellow liquid oozes out. Amazing!)

I missed seeing the Alph sitting in a grassy patch of Corn Lilies (Ixia polystacha),

ranging in colour from mauve to

white (and many other colours too, including yellow).

I missed hunting for mice in the yellow-flowering grass

and amongst the alien Red Valerian (Centranthus ruber).

I missed walking back to the car park down the cool  river under the trees. (Even though some of them are bad alien trees drinking all the mountain's water like these Eucalyptus trees.)

I missed seeing the friendly car guard who colour co-ordinates with the cars.

But I didn't miss the heat!

And it was fantastic when they came home again! Later on they had some wine - a present from some friends who came to dinner the other night - called Four Paws. And even though the pawprint on the bottle is meant to be a cat called Pablo, we all know that cats retract their claws so it can only have been a dog paw print! Woof to that!