ALL CREATURES FEATHERED, FURRY AND FEROCIOUS
Despite the scorching South African summer we have plunged into, our homestead is filled with bird song. Throughout the day you can hear the call of the birds, broken only by the buzzing of the bees in the blossoming fruit trees.
The busy little weaver birds are constructing their tree top nests in our Karee Bome as well as the thorn tree hanging over our dam. Indigenous to South Africa the willowy Karee Boom - otherwise known as Searsia pendulina - is very hardy and quite drought resistent. It has proven this fact in the recent years as it continues to flourish with its dense crown of green. The African masked weavers love the tree and our cats also love that the weavers make their homes in the Karee Boom.
The frantically working feathered architects inspired me to enter the weekly Combination Photography Contest held by @papa-pepper. And I WON! https://steemit.com/contest/@papa-pepper/papa-pepper-s-combination-photography-contest-week-50
Although it is slightly bittersweet. The little architect abandoned his woven home after two days of desperately singing for a lady love. She never fell for the sweet nothings he was trilling. And he has already chalked up another two nests to his resume. Perhaps it is due to the more dangerous residents in the Karee Boom that puts off potential birdie wives. Last month I entered this nasty beauty into the Combination Contest. No, for those like me who see everything in terms of "tarantula" and "broom", this is not a dangerous spider. This is our Western Cape Rain Spider.
Though they can (but seldom do) bite, they are not venomous. Female rain spiders are very aggressive in protecting their young. I was not too enthusiastic in getting too close to test how aggressive (or .... umm .... non-venomous) they are in protecting their tree! Trees are not their natural habitat but this large rain spider made for a stunning photo opportunity.
Admittedly I don't run screaming when I see spiders. Snakes however. Now they have my respect. And fear. And we have far, far too many of them on our homestead. For me; I think I'll stick to photographing the busy little weavers and listening to their sweet songs.
Congratulations on winning papa-pepper's photo contest! So cool :)
I love these weavers and their nests!! Never seen nests like that ... so very ingenious :) and the birds are awfully cute too! There's a beautiful yellow bird here, I don't know what they are, but the color is so vibrant! Every time try to take a photo of them though, they fly away very quickly. Maybe it's Buddy :) ... and now little Wolfie has her eye out on them too haha
Such a tricky thing having the cats. You don't want to deny them but they can be so cruel. We have a couple more than two cats (and kittens born yesterday) so there are always little birdies destined to be a meal. Thanks for the enthusiasm. I'm excited about the win. It's a fun contest
howdy there buckaroo! well there ya go again...giving us National Geographic quality photos! lol. Hey that spider looked like a pretty good sized one. I don't mind them but like you said, snakes creep me out.
wonderful post and photos but those cats really get up in those trees and catch those birds?
You say the sweetest things @janton. The artist eye runs in the family. My grandfather was one of South Africa's top photographers. I don't have a fancy camera but I've always "seen" the world through a camera lens. And yes. Our cats really will get up there for a bird snack
howdy buckaroo! oh how interesting..do you have the camera he used or know what one it was? It would be interesting to see the difference in equipment to today's high tech stuff.
Well, I cannot believe what I see. Nature in all power, you can enjoy the birds song while watching their life and habits. Beautiful!
Indeed! Powerful nature
Yes, powerful and beautiful, when you have time and pleasure to look at it.
That was a very nice read and great pictures! Thank you for the share! I learned something too. I didn't know that the male weaver makes a home and sings until a female comes along. Very cool!
Happy to share. Thanks for your interest @buysoaphere! Interesting name. I'm assuming you are a soap maker? I've been planning on writing a goats milk soap post....one day. As you follow me you'll meet my precious 4 legged kids
Yes Ma'am! I'm a soap maker indeed! I haven't shared any of my recipes in social media, but I'm thinking about it. Making soap is a lot of fun, and people love the results! I can't wait to see your goat's milk soap post! Please tag me when you write it if you don't mind! By the way, I haven't used goat's milk in soap yet, but people do like goat's milk soap! Do you sell yours?
You must do some posts! I think you'll get a lot of interest. Especially if you use the right tags. Yes, I sell my goats milk soaps and shampoo bars. I have a natural range as well as the usual yoghurt and cheeses which I make with my goats nutritious milk. I look forward to reading your posts @buysoaphere
Congratulations on your winning @pappa-pepper 's contest! I can see why you won - beautiful photography! Was that with a smart phone or do you have a fancy camera? Wonderful to watch the birds but you got to kind of feel for the little guy going to all that work and to no avail.
We are down to one cat now from 6 but he's a good hunter and we often find feathers around from his meal of a bird. He catches a lot of mice too so I can't complain - he is doing his job keeping the rodents down on the homestead.
Thanks for sharing this bit of Africa! I love reading (and seeing) about things going on in other parts of the world.
Thank you @porters. I also love learning about other parts of the world. That's of the great sides to Steemit. We also had 6 cats. Then a neighbour driving way too fast killed one of our cats. And a cobra got another cat. But my one little girl cat had kittens a couple days ago. She's a good hunter so I guess the rodents (and hopefully snakes)better beware! My camera is a lovely Canon. Takes beautiful photos. Not top of the range with all the lenses but definitely ideal for the amateur!
Yike! Cobras! We are so fortunate to have no venomous snakes here, only the harmless garter snakes.
I heard it was suppose to be good luck to have a cobra live under your deck or other parts of the house. Do you consider that to be lucky? It sure wasn't for that cat! How do you deal with poisonous snakes and spiders with your little boy? I imagine you have to teach them young of the dangers.
I too, have a simple Canon camera for my photos. I still have to learn more about using all the features but it is sure fun to play with trying different shots.
@porters it is a scary reality. We do teach them young but you know what children are like. And he's only 15 months so he doesn't understand yet. It frightens me. The local people are very superstitious. They believe that if you kill a snake then it's partner will come and bite you.
Oh that must be very scary and you must keep a very watchful eye on him. That's kind of crazy the superstitions. I guess none of them eat snake meat then?
Wow this is what you call nature at it's best ❤
To beautiful to be true
Harmony and beauty of nature indeed!
That's true :) Am glad you are still posting a lot about nature :)
Beautiful bird!
As for the spider...when they are small that is not too bad but one THAT size, well no thanks!
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OH MY FREAKING GIDDY AUNT!!! THAT SPIDER HAS ME SHIVERING! I love the notepaper context, that's hilarious.
What amazing nests those guys build, and your photography is amazing!!!
Our wattles (acacia) are pretty drought hardy too.
HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA
You are so mean full stop next thing you are going to be hiding a spider in your comments... just because because I had a spider in one of my posts doesn't mean you have to torture me back ha ha ha ha. Seriously though do you pick those babies up and take them to school? Do they do the shopping for you ? milk the goats ? Do the kids ride them to school ?
You got some great shots of the birds. I am looking at that spider and thinking how glad I am that he don't live here.
Winter is coming here. There will be frost this week and soon the snows will come. So this is the time of year spiders like to sneak inside.
Hope your babies are doing well. Will leave your tab open so I remember to scroll backward in case there are new pics.
Babies are flourishing @headchange! I need to do a post update on the kids. I didn't even post about the last girl who kidded. And she is my favourite!
On thank you!! I think if I had that going on at my house I would never take time to be on Steemit. How do you pull yourself away from that cuteness.
Right!??? What am I thinking sitting here? Gotta go.....