Springtime In Africa

Pictured here are tulips that Reenie would plant each Fall at our American home. They came forth as promised each Spring in radiant color and signaled to us the end of another Winter and the bursting forth of Springtime.

South Africa does not have to endure the harsh Winters that we do in Pennsylvania, but the Spring is just as welcome here in that it is an abundance of flora that we have never before seen. Since you folks back in the states are getting ready to feel the 'bite' of another Winter, we thought this post might brighten your spirits...

Here is one of several available colors of the Bird of Paradise

This is Yesterday, Today and Forever. An interesting plant, in that the blossoms begin as white, go to pink and then purple .

I wish I knew this ones name, but it is arrayed in fine detail and the tree is quite large and full of these red blossoms.

Baboons Tail grows on the hillsides. They burn off the brush on these hillsides in the fall, and then in the Spring- back pops the green leaf followed by the small flowers.

This is a multi colored vine that is a member of the fuschia family and puts off a wonderful fragrance

Again, I never got the name, but this one has the trunk of a maple tree and the vegetation of a cactus.

This one is a 'succulent plant' known as Donkey Ears. It is as soft as velvet and appears to be something between a cabbage and a cactus.

Another one of natures exclamation points that looks something like an azalea bloom, but each blossom is about 3" across

These are almost tropical. The plant was twenty feet tall, covered in these blossoms and if you could bottle the perfume they put off you would be a millionare.

This area is known for the beautiful Jacaranda trees. These are very large trees, comparable to the oak, and for 3-4 weeks are covered in a lavender bouquet of blossoms

Here is a view of the Jacaranda trees from the office where we work everyday.

With the return of Spring here, comes the return of birdlife from the North. Here is a

Lilac Breasted Roller. Just incredible colors!

Here is a picture of an African Ibis, known around here as a Hahdidah. He is feeding on

worms and grubs amidst the Agapanthus blooms

Pictured here are the beautiful Flamboyant trees found only in Zimbabwe. They are a rich scarlet red and orange combo.

As an aside, here are some of the balancing rocks in Harare, Zimbabwe. There are dozens like this one that have been balanced on one another for ages.

One more example of nature's marvels. These rocks sitting on top are the size of our Chevy Tahoe
!

This is the road that we work off of covered in lavender Jacaranda blossoms. Truly South Africa is a paradise of color and fragrance during this opening of the Spring season.

"It is only in exceptional minds that we realize how wonderful are the commonest experiences in life. It seems to me sometimes that these experiences have an "inner" side, as well as the outer side we normally perceive. At such moments one suddenly sees everything with new eyes; one feels on the brink of some great revelation. It is as if we caught a glimpse of some incredibly beautiful world that lies silently about us all the time."

J.W. Sullivan



Stay well...