Travelling Tuesday: Fires & Fowls

Happy Tuesday! I hope your week is going well so far. In our neck of the woods, more specifically in the Cape region, there are lots of fires going on… Apparently in at least seven different places at the moment. Don’t worry, none of them are very near us, and we live on a harbour, so I think we’re safe. But I was hoping to catch a few shots for you that might demonstrate the strange haziness floating around today.

Most of the fires burning right now are regular occurrences in this area. They clear the bush and open up seeds that give new fynbos the opportunity to grow. They do unfortunately also destroy homes and businesses in the process. (Some of our friends lost everything they owned, except their car and fortunately their dog, a few years ago when a fire on the nearby mountains sent an ember or two in the direction of their thatched roof.)

You’ve probably heard it pointed out before that some of the most amazing trees — like the ginormous sequoias on the west coast in the US, are the result of forest fires. The pods their seeds are held inside only open under immense pressure — the heat of a forest fire. I think that speaks volumes about life in general, but this is Travelling Tuesday, so I’ll keep it light and leave you to think about it.  On to the pictures.

You may recall the picture from our balcony, which I shared just after we moved in… (click here to see it — sorry, I couldn’t find it in my photo library!) This is the view from our balcony today:

You may also remember a picture of a fisherman, where you can see the mountains on the Cape peninsula in the distance:

This is the same spot today… The mountains have disappeared!

On my way to grab these TT shots to share with you, I discovered a guinea fowl Mom and Pops with their wee chicks and had to take photos. If you’re not familiar with guinea fowl, they’re a bit of a ninnymuggins type of bird (but don’t think I’m getting too proud — sheep are not very bright and the Lord compares us with sheep all the time!) They only fly for short distances, have a really awkward run, and are notoriously good at running out into the road to do damage to your car. If you want to try to eat one, you put it in a stewing pot with a brick, and let it stew and stew for ages. Then you take the guinea fowl out of the pot and eat the brick.

They’re not so pretty when they’re all growed up, but they are adorable as little chicks:

I rather like polka dots, so despite the funny blue heads, I still think the grown-ups are pretty. But mostly if admired from a distance. I kinda felt like this one was telling me to go away!

But they’re so cute I needed a few more shots!

Fire and fowl… That’s a slice of life ’round these parts today. 🙂 I hope things are well with you, and that the road rises to meet you wherever your journey takes you next!