Becoming social again after my arrival in South Africa has been difficult, with the pandemic showing up in 2020 and forcing house arrest for eons (or so it seemed) …after the lockdown was lifted, Mr. P and I had decided this year to try and expand our social horizons to aid in our ‘staying young’ mission…
My KSA (Knight in Shing Armour) had joined the PE Camera Club with me to support me and my love of photography…and so I joined the BLEC with him…Bird Life Eastern Cape…birding is a passion of his and he’s been drawing me in …one bird at a time…”take a picture of that one, so we can identify it later” …
I asked him what made him fall in love with birding …being an engineer, I shouldn’t have been surprised when he first answered that it was a science and a challenging one at that …it is also being in nature and the absolute unique exquisiteness of each specie…
“Birds will give you a window, if you allow them. They will show you secrets from another world– fresh vision that, though it is avian, can accompany you home and alter your life. They will do this for you even if you don’t know their names– though such knowing is a thoughtful gesture. They will do this for you if you watch them.”
― Lyanda Lynn Haupt, Rare Encounters with Ordinary Birds
The 5am wakeup that preceded this outing was not my preferred way to start my day …especially on a chilly winter morning …a cup of coffee and slowly peeping out from beneath the covers is more my style …but for my Mr. P. I ventured out of the warmth and grabbed my camera …always being hopeful of images that call to me …and I can possibly enter in the monthly camera club competition …
It was our second outing with the group …a great bunch of people to meet and greet … the morning sun adding such beautiful light to the subjects of the day … and my own interesting views …
Caspain Terns showed up …”Come on, Hattie…I know it’s cold, but just standing there…you’re not going to get any warmer” …
Grey-Headed Gull – my arty rendition
Cape Cormorants Waiting for the Family & The Gang’s All Here
The African Black Oystercatcher showed up to check for his favorite diet of limpets (aquatic snails) and mussels … using his strong broad dagger-like red bill for smashing or prying open molluscs or for finding earthworms …it must work for them because they can live up to 40 years …
“To the poet (and the photographer),
Every act is poetry;
From cutting the grass,
To cleaning a headstone.
From walking,
To breathing.
Every act is something worth holding
In the mind’s eye and letting go
Onto paper or into the imperfect
Reflective stream of memory.
Every act done simply,
Reminding them of their place here
And the impermanence
Of experience and of the moment.
No matter the situation,
“Yes, and this too is beautiful.”
Is the mantra.”
― Eric Overby, Legacy
As I go through the memories of the day …I don’t remember the morning chill …the early morning crawl out of bed …or at least not enough to take away from all the beauty of the day that I enjoyed …the memories that I hold in my heart to heat life moments that seem dark and deary …
Gertrude and Mabel checking out the fact that all the girls wore the exact same dress that day …although it was much prettier on them
I hope that you enjoyed the journey to Cape Recife in beautiful South Africa
“Actually, it’s nature itself that creates the most beautiful pictures, I’m only choosing the perspective.”
― Katja Michael
Sending love❣ May you find the beautiful in the everyday …savoring life intensely …every magical second of the day
Beautiful photography and commentary
This is a beautiful post! The photographs of the birds are just amazing. I felt like I was right there with the group searching out the birds. Thank you for sharing this small adventure.