birding | Portrait of a Village

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Walks with Kerneels – 31 July 2018

Posted on August 13, 2018 by Annalize Mouton

I’m so amazed at all there is to see and capture in an hour’s walk through only a small part of the village! Today’s walk was a longish one, as I decided to also run by the shop. It was a beautiful sunshiny day with blue skies, albeit still a bit cold. Birds were singing and out feeding almost the whole time & the villagers were out walking their dogs. Workers after the days labour were either waiting for their lifts home, or walking home… some like my friend Nolithemba Nosihle, has quite a long walk to her home at Die Kop, the informal settlement just outside the village.

My eldest son Thys and their Bella again walked half of the way with me, much to my relieve, as he sometimes held Kerneels so that I had both hands free to hold my camera!

I feel so blessed to be able to live in this beautiful village with its many amazing people. Enjoy!

Flower of coral tree or lucky bean tree (Erythrina lysistemon).

Bella and her ever-present pink ball. She walks all the way with that ball in her mouth!

Polyboroides typus (African harrier-hawk, Gymnogene). Kaalwangvalk [Afrikaans] flying over the village green.

Bella waiting for her ball to be thrown

Young men out on the village green with their dogs.

Young girls crossing the village green.

Nolithemba Nosihle and friends on their way home to Die Kop… the informal settlement outside the village.

The lovely sandstone building of the St Thomas Anglican church on the one corner of the village green.

This couple and their sheepdogs walked past the village green and we again found them on the river bank.

Beautiful willow tree on the village green.

Sam Erasmus on his way home after the day’s work.

Different fence, different doggie guarding

And still another one

Yes, that’s a very good resemblance of the dog that lives here… Abbraxis

The same couple with their sheep dogs

Barry and Angelica on a walk to the shop

Beautiful bottle brush (Callistemon) flowering in a garden on the river bank.

Thys relieving his mother of her load… Most of my photography on the walks happen with “one hand”.

Head of a kudu on the wall of Stanford Trading Store’s stoep… the house of artist Cobus van Niekerk … once the town’s Post Office.

Artis and interior designer Cobus van Niekerk’s house’s stoep

Detail of a bench on another stoep.

Cape robin-chat (Cossypha caffra)

Southern double-collared sunbird or lesser double-collared sunbird.

Bunch of bananas on a tree in a garden.

Hobbs and his parents on their way home.

Beautiful red VW Beetle!

A rose along the way

Kerneels is just like a child… he would walk free for a bit, and then come to me for a pat on the head… just making sure I’m still there and still loves him and everything is ok! I remember my children doing the same when they were little… they would play in the garden and then quickly just come into the house to where I was working for some reassuring mothering!

Blossoms now almost everywhere

Southern double-collared sunbird or lesser double-collared sunbird

Waiting for their lift home after a day’s work on a building site

Walks with Kerneels

Posted on August 12, 2018 by Annalize Mouton

Over the weekend of 16/17 June our beloved Great Dane, Anna, fell ill and died on Monday, the 18th. After Anna’s death, Kerneels, her canine mate, refused to lift his leg in our own garden, so I had to take him out on walks three, four times per day. And he’s a fast walker that one! So, each day now I have to fit in a few kilometres of “walking the dog” and decided to take my camera with on our walks and capture some of the scenes and people of our beautiful village. And just so you know… Kerneels, normally a handsome dog, with ears alert and tail curled and bushy, hates having his photo taken! Then he gets this dejected, feeling sorry for himself, look!

19 July 2018: Today, Kerneels and I, again took a different route for our daily walk. Down the dirt road at the end of our street and up the hill to the village and down Caledon Street to the river and then with Vlei Street back up the hill to our street and back home. Caledon Street was once called Piet Street, because of all the people called Piet living there… there were Piet Maree the policeman, Piet Barends, Pietie Skoenmakertjie (the shoemaker), Pietie Appel, Piet Dempers, Piet Sheriff, Piet du Toit, Piet Bek, Piet Titus and his son Piet…
Although a grey cloudy kind of day, all along the streets there are definite signs and smells of spring advancing rapidly now – jasmine, arum lilies, moon flowers, blue felicia’s… Birds are changing into their breeding feathers and colours… the pin-tailed whydah’s tail feathers are growing and he’s already fighting his own reflection in the side mirrors of cars! 🙂
Villagers are out walking their dogs and children on skateboards are doing amazing stunts in the streets.
It was a long walk… and we were both quite exhausted when we finally arrived home.

Blue gum trees lining the dirt road.

Bontebok in a field next to the new cemetery

My eldest son, Thys Basson and their Bella.

I love blue gum trees… their coloured bark and the sound of the wind through their leaves.

Aloes are flowering all over Stanford.

The first blossoms appearing… spring is near!

Canine friends along the way…

Fiscal flycatcher

Fresh flowers on the grave of a young woman who had been brutally murdered a few years ago in Hermanus.

At last a decent photo of Kerneels!

Kerneels “kissing” young Burton Dreyer

Young Burton Dreyer

Meisie, Elzane and Shwaan were playing amongst the trees while a family member’s grave has been dug.

Shelton and George busy digging the late Susan Present’s grave

Linda and the young ones… Meisie, Elzane and Burton

Sharon

Morning glory bud

A patch of arum lilies along the wandelpad

The dirt road at the end of our street…

Caledon Street… or what once was called Piet Street.

Felicias

Wagtail on a roof

Wagtail and jasmine…

A rose in a friend’s front garden

Pointsettia… Karlienblom flowering in Caledon Street

Aloe flower

More aloes

Young girls enjoying a walk down to the river…

The Kleinrivier

Kerneels’s first time at the river… somehow we never got to do the river walk before with both him and Anna

Reflections

Moonflowers

Geranium buds

Aloe flower

Beautiful bluegum tree

Dr John Fürsman

Dr John Fürsman also out on a walk with his two doggies

A beautiful willow tree at the entrance to Vlei street

Coming out on our side of the village across the bridge in Queen Vic street we met Elsa Gebhardt and Allan Youens and their dexter. Allan kindly offered to hold Kerneels while I was trying to take photos of the skateboarder.

Dexter

This young man was so fast that I could not even properly take aim… he just zipped past in a flash… and a car came speeding past also… so I just shot and thought to myself, whatever comes out, will sure be a fun photo! And it is!