Langebaan gaan aan

There's a large patch of open ground on the ridge above Langebaan, which affords a good view of Schaapen Island, named for a couple of sheep left left for marooned sailors.

Often spent some of Sunday up there and on one occasion had a caller!  Bar-throated Apalis singing his heart out right next to the bakkie.

There's also an old quarry nearby and while atlassing there I came across a pair of Verreaux's (Black) Eagles which was most unexpected, though the quarry was home to an ample food supply in the form of dassies. While enjoying the eagles, movement caught my eye and enter stage right, a pretty pair of Bat-eared foxes. Have since seen at least eight others flattened on various roads, so not sure how long they'll be around - appears they haven't yet figured out how to use those ears to hear cars.

On the other side of the lagoon is Saldana and a massive military base surrounded by thousands of hectares of pristine veld which is a designated nature reserve and the public is welcome to make use of many kilometers of tracks for hiking or biking.  I did try to ride there but the wind was howling straight off the Antartic so I took a drive and passed North Head lighthouse which I see as a prick of light every evening from my campsite.

Found another fellow full of the joys of spring - in the middle of winter - a Cape Bunting.  Was once in the vulture hide at Giant's Castle and a lady in the party spotted one of these and said "it's got a head like a humbug, makes you want to suck it!"  Whatever floats your boat.

The flowers were just starting to show but were nothing compared to what it would look like a couple of weeks down the line.  Hope you like flowers because there's going to be a lot of them.  Start with some Arctotis .......

..........a few Dimorphotheca fruitcosa, which there will be a lot more of..........

.........and a close-up of Sunflax, wait for it - Heliophila  coronopifolia - sporting the most astounding blue petals.

There appearsto be a definite west coast style of home and thee are any number of housing estates built using a similar pattern but in varying shades of luxury, this being one in Jacobsbaai.

Flowers anyone?  The little white jobs are blessed with the delightful soubriquet Lazy Daisies, Faveolina tenella.  I had a father-in-law who referred to all daisies as civil servants - only open between 9 and 4.

There are some fairly large swathes of land that look as though they've been generously coated with butter.

There is a military base in Langebaan as well though not as big as Saldana, but there are a couple of aged vessels that take staff over to a third base situated of the peninusla opposite that forms the south head of the bay's mouth.  Took me back many years watching all the troopies doing the "hurry up and wait" routine.

I now know with absolute certainty that the world is doomed, it was conclusively proved by driving around the suburbs.  How is it possible that there exist a'holes that can take this ............

...........and turn it into this?  I have so far seen only about two gardens that have wild flowers in them, there is no hope.

I decided to revisit the flowers on the Saldana side but arrived in mist and they weren't out of bed yet, so wandered down to the harbour to watch other people work - very satisfying.  This little lighter had just arrived from the mussel beds and was unloading them into plastic crates which were then hauled off to a processing plant.  They are grown in pockets of plastic mesh that are hung from lines between bouys and in the nutrient rich waters of the lagoon are ready for market within 14 months.

Then discovered a massive breakwater extending over a kilometer into the bay and right at the end of it found the biggest group of Bank Cormorants I've ever seen.  They are not fairing as well as the Cape Cormorants and are few and far between these days.

There are large areas around both Saldana and Langebaan where you'd be forgiven for thinking it had snowed.

A return visit to North Head reserve had me trying to kickstart the grey matter when I saw this beauty fly up and land nearby.  My immediate thought of Steppe Buzzard had to be ditched as it's winter, followed closely by Booted Eagle as the tarsii are bare, which left Jackal Buzzard - tricky devils these juveniles.

The problem is you just can't stop taking pictures................

.............it's just mind-blowing..................

.........and the close-up.

I took a walk along my favourite ridge behind Langebaan and had to very deliberately switch off to the massed spectacle to look at some of the other marvels, such as this Blou Afrikaner Gladiolus carinatus, who's ever even heard of a blue glad?

Or how about the tiny bell-shaped Romulea hirsuta with flowers around 10 mm in diameter.

OK so it's difficult to ignore the spectacle, right at the top it's laid out in bands, white, yellow, orange and ORANGE.