The running has slowed down a bit after a little injury, but I’m sure it will get back on track (said with fingers crossed). A slow recovery jog after that revealed that while I’d been a lazy ‘injured’ runner, God had flicked the switch on the seasons already.
This was the end of July! Since when does spring start in July? I’m sure that climate change factors might explain the shift, but for now, I’m so happy to see the snake lilies (or paintbrush lilies) poking up their red and orange heads on bright green stems.
They look so excited to be finally breaking free from their deeply buried bulbs under the leaf litter. It reminds me of that Whack-a-mole game, except you don’t know where the bulbs are, so seeing a lily pop up from the bare earth is always a surprise. There’s even one or two buried right in the fork of a big old tree by the river.
The same week as the snake lilies, we had a baby brown house snake on the porch. Should we feel surprised? I’m sure the night adders will emerge soon as well.
In better news, the first swallow arrived today. They’re our little resident lesser striped swallow couples that nest all around the farmhouse each year. I love their sound filling the mornings and evenings in the spring and summer. They want the walls and the eaves. That means there’s still space for the amethyst sunbird couples to come back to their hanging wire fish nesting hideouts on the porch.
The male is already in all his full colour glory, in July, so I’m sure the nests will be babyfied very soon. He’s jet black with an emerald head patch and a bright lilac throat. Absolutely stunning when the sun hits him in the mornings as he’s sampling our pink hibiscus flowers. Nature really is art.
So, I guess spring has sprung in Oribi Gorge again. Let’s see what the new season holds, shall we?
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