.....the Storm

The Beast was still in hospital having some rot removed, so I decided to leg it into the Karoo and re-educate myself on the avifauna of the region.  Found a very reasonable self-catering cottage, about 5 km off the N1 between Touwsrivier and Matjiesfontein, though the surrounds were as dry as a bone.  Being under the main airway to the north meant that contrails were a regular feature in the vastness of the sky.

Only managed to cobble together 21 species over 3 days but most of them were typically Karoo, except for the ubiquitous Cape sparrow.

Fairly chilly mornings meant the white-backed mousebirds made full use of the early sunshine to warm their tums.................

...........and something that always amazes me about South Africa, not matter how arid, there is usually something to add splash of colour, in this case a Paintbrush lily, Haemanthus coccineus.

A personal favourite because of it's shear attitude, the Karoo scrub-robin always strut around like mini-sergeant majors, ram-rod erect and totally owning the place.  Pity the age induced shakes and massive magnification meant his legs were sawn off!

Thought I'd discovered a relative of the spiny echidna when I stumbled on this little cactus-type plant which I assume is some sort of euphorbia (awaiting the oracle's verdict!)

Went back to Riebeek via Ceres and passed a farm where the hill in the background appeared to have been ploughed, which would have been pretty impressive as it is solid rock - so guess it must have been caused by some geologic upheaval in the distant past.

Just down the road came across something that you really don't expect in the Karoo, courtesy of the Aquila Game Lodge.

Rolling down the R46 into Ceres, this stupendous vista appeared which necessitated a stop.  Even Eskom's new power lines couldn't really spoil it.

Back in the real world news of the coming lock-down put a damper on proceedings and as the Beast was not going to be ready beforehand, the King's (whose house I'd been looking after) very kindly suggested that they collect her, so that I could hot-foot to Boksburg.  They also recommended avoiding the traffic on the N1 by going via Calvinia and Carnarvon along some of the straightest roads in the country.  A real pity that I didn't have time to smell the proverbial roses but I only had two days to cover 1600 km - a real feat considering my normal pace. "I'll be back", as Arnold is fond of saying.

Thus began what appears to be an ever lengthening period of incarceration with not much in the way of interest.  Was pleasantly surprised to find this little beauty, unfortunately deceased,  which appeared to have gold plated wings.  Astounding and finding any sort of moths these days is highly unusual.

My sister came to the rescue with a diversion in the form of a 3-D puzzle which maintained sanity for around a week........

............and the bonnie ribbon bush (Hypoestes aristata) outside my front door to remind me of KZN.........

.........and blow me another moth to confound my theory that they're all extinct!