ANOTHER ARRAY OF PATTERNS

It strikes me that if you look at anything close enough and for long enough, a pattern will emerge. Take this cauliflower for example:

I seldom get an opportunity to walk along the beach and when I do, apart from the waves, shells and seabirds, I am mesmerised by the patterns made by ripples in the shallow water:

I admire images of centuries old stone bridges as well as more modern concrete and steel bridges from abroad. Sometimes in this part of the world we have to make do with something more humble, like this flat wooden bridge:

For several years we had an angulate tortoise living in our garden – until he decided the time was right to seek a mate and he wandered off:

I also enjoy patterns seen in weathered rocks:

Lastly, this one may take you by surprise:

It was sent to me by a family member several years ago.

SIX GARDEN PATTERNS

Enjoy these patterns seen in my garden over the past month:

All were taken with my cell phone.

A DISCERNING DRINKER

As you know, water is not the same everywhere and water from some sources tastes better than from others. We have a choice that this elephant doesn’t. Nonetheless, it is a discerning drinker too. As you can see, the first slurp of water from this shallow cement dam is not very tasty:

This one is better:

Definitely not this one!

Ah! This one is not bad:

WATER

You can probably recall the lines from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge that read:

Water, water everywhere

Nor any drop to drink …

While this is a reference to being surrounded by sea water with no fresh water at hand, it serves as a reminder of how precious water is to all living things.  As so many of us are landlubbers, South Africans enjoy seaside holidays. This is utilising the water for recreation. What is of more concern is the availability of water for drinking.

I mention our ongoing drought so often, yet water is the lifeblood we all need. I have several bird baths in the garden which I keep filled daily for the use of birds, the visiting mongoose, bees, wasps and anything else which requires it. Here an Olive Thrush enjoys a drink on a hot day.

Rain is something we long for daily. We watch the ten day weather forecasts and greet each other with the news of rain coming over the next few days … only to see those rainy icons disappear just as the sun draws the moisture from the laundry, until there is nothing left. This picture was taken two years ago. The lemon tree is barely surviving now.

In most parts of the country we have forgotten what flooded rivers look like – this photograph was taken five years ago.

The availability of clean, fresh water is currently being denied to many of our citizens – not only because of the drought but because not enough has been done to care for the water resources that we have. In our town alone a lot of water is wasted through leaks that are ignored for months; water courses being choked by alien vegetation and rubbish – not to mention the pollution of some of the streams.

Water is life and is a commodity that needs to be taken care of to the utmost of our collective ability.