Lonely petunia in an onion patch

Well not quite, but close enough. These flowers are like weeds and come up all over the show. They do not have seeds so I am not sure how they propagate themselves, but I do know the ants love them. They have pink and white flowers and grow to a height of about 3 foot. Very often they are found in places like this:
There is not a scrap of soil in this rock so it is putting out roots on the side.

A loving couple

While waiting fo the bank to open, I spotted these two pigeons on a high shelf on the one side of the building. They were very lovingly grooming each other and the male was definitely enjoying all the attention.

Geranium Bronze (Cacyreus marshalli) Lycaenidae

Okay, it is time to quit fooling around and get down to the serious stuff. This hairstreak is about the size of a 5c coin and is fairly common in our gardens. A very difficult subject to catch with their wings open.

Kapok Tree (Ceiba pentandra)

Kapok Tree  - local name: Knob Thorn (Ceiba pentandra) family Bombacaceae

We have a few species here called the knob thorn but this one is popular in gardens.
They get these huge beautiful flowers on them in the begining of spring before they get leaves.
In winter, they have big seedpods on them which loose their cover when the weather turns warmer. The pods are about 6-7 inches in length.Inside each pod is hundreds of black seeds surrounded by this white, furry hairs and is easily blown about in the August winds. This is just the time the birds are starting to build their nest for summer and it is highly prized by them to line the nests.

Kapok (Ceiba pentandra) is a tropical tree of the order Malvales and the family Malvaceae (previously separated in the family Bombacaceae), native to Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean, northern South America, and (as the variety C. pentandra var. guineensis) to tropical west Africa. The word is also used for the fibre obtained from its seed pods. The tree is also known as the Java cotton, Java kapok, or ceiba. It is a sacred symbol in Maya mythology.
The tree grows to 60-70 m (200-230 ft) tall and has a very substantial trunk up to 3 m (10 ft) in diameter with buttresses. The trunk and many of the larger branches are densely crowded with very large, robust simple thorns. The leaves are compound of 5 to 9 leaflets, each up to 20 cm (8 in) and palm like. Adult trees produce several hundred 15 cm (6 in) seed pods. The pods contain seeds surrounded by a fluffy, yellowish fiber that is a mix of lignin and cellulose.


Uses


The fibre is light, very buoyant, resilient, highly flammable and resistant to water. The process of harvesting and separating the fibre is labour-intensive and manual. It cannot be spun but is used as an alternative to down as filling in mattresses, pillows, upholstery, teddy bears, zafus and for insulation. It was previously much used in life jackets and similar devices. The fibre has been largely replaced by man-made materials. The seeds produce an oil used locally in soap and that can be used as fertilizer.
In Southeast Asian countries kapok has larger seed pods and the fibre which is highly flammable is used as a fuel in fire pistons.


Ceiba pentandra bark decoction has been used as a diuretic, aphrodisiac, and to treat headache, as well as type II diabetes.

Frogs - Isn't he a cutie? Guttural Toad (Amietophrynus gutturalis) Bufonidae

Amphibians are the most primitive class of land-living vertebrates being the first vertebrate animals to inhabit the land. Nevertheless, despite adopting a life on land, amphibians remain dependant on moist or aquatic habitats, particularly for breeding. They are also the only vertebrates which go through metamorphosis, with their gill-breathing and mostly aquatic young developing into adults with lungs, thus enabling them to survive out of water. The class Amphibia, which comprises more than 4700 species, is represented in South Africa by the order Anura, a group of tailless amphibians commonly referred to as frogs. One of the interesting characteristics of frogs is their call. Each species has its own distinctive mating call which the males use to attract females to breeding sites, and as frogs are generally more often heard than seen, this is a useful means of identifying species.
Owing to the semi-aquatic life-cycle of most species, and their semi-permeable skins, amphibians are especially vulnerable to pollutants and other environmental stresses. Consequently they can be regarded as useful environmental bio-monitors, and may serve as an early-warning alarm system indicating changes in the environment and potential threats to other organisms, including Homo sapiens. Frogs form the prey of various birds, mammals, reptiles, fish and even other frogs, and contribute to the control of insect pests and other invertebrates which they consume in large numbers.

I wonder if you kiss him if he turns into a prince? LOL!!

Butterfly rescue - Garden Acraea (Acraea horta) Nymphalidae

Why does it seems as if I am always rescuing things.I found this beautiful little butterfly drowning in the pool and fished him out. You can see his wet wing still sticking to my finger.
I put him on the lawn to dry out and soon the sun had warmed his wings enough for him to lift them up but he was exhausted and lay there for a long time.
Soon he was stirring around and I picked him up and put him on the branch of a tree, he sat there for a while, then flew off.
The end third of their wings are transparent.

Another spectacular sunset

Due west of us lies the desert and at this time of year, there is a lot of dust in the air. Because of this, our sunsets are even more spectacular than our sunrises and there is usually this huge ball of fire in the sky just before it sets.

Beautiful nursery

As you have probably noticed already, I love stolling through the nurseries to see what they have on display. They sometimes give one such great ideas for the garden and this place has very beautiful ones. I am going to let the pictures speak for themselves.

Roses 4

Today is officially the 1st of spring for us so I thought some beautiful roses would be the ideal thing to start off the season.

Potter Wasp (Afreumenes aethiopicus) Vespidae

 The females build one-celled spherical mud pots resembling urns, with a lip around the entrance, attached to rock faces, buildings or trees. After completion and sealing, no more mud is applied and the lip left intact.