Lofty ambitions

Our oversees travel plans had to be postponed for a second year running. The routine of spending the week in Cape Town and the weekend at Towerwater has been turned on its head. With me working from home three days a week, we can spend five days at Towerwater and two days at Elmwood.

Trips to Cape Town serve as an opportunity to buy items that are not readily available in Bonnievale and surrounds. Spending more time at Towerwater also brought home the reality that we have too many things cluttering up the loft space.

The death of so many people in our circle from Covid, made me realise that life is unpredictable and the time that one has available needs to be used to sort out as many projects as possible.

For me, one of those projects is reducing the items stored on the solder (loft). Over the years, what used to be a painter’s studio and music room, has become a storage space for unused furniture, carpets, prints, books, crockery, cutlery, bedding, research maps and more.

On one of my trips to the local recycling plants, I discovered to my horror that somebody had dumped several boxes of books in the skip for paper recycling. Some boxes had burst open on impact. The books were in good condition. Clearly from somebody’s library now no longer appreciated and valued. Perhaps it was from a deceased estate, or perhaps more people are busy decluttering their lives and living spaces.

I contemplated climbing into the skip and rescuing the books. I love books, but that day I was strong enough to turn my back on the temptation. Most of the books in the boxes and on the bookshelves in the loft, are already rescued books that now needs to be put up for adoption.

I bravely ventured up the soldertrap (loft stair) and decided to start with the surplus bedding. I made piles of the bedding that we haven’t used in a long time. I could give the bedding to people that needed it and that could use it instead of it lying on the loft tempting the fish moths.

After the bedding was successfully distributed to grateful recipients, I decided to move on to the books. I contemplated not opening the boxes and just loading them onto the bakkie and taking them to be recycled in the way I saw it done at the local recycling plant. I discovered that only a very brave version of me would be able to do that and he was not with me in the loft on that day.

I opened the first box. It was like seeing friends I have not seen for a long time. The third book that I took out of the box was “Music for chameleons” (a collection of short stories and conversational portraits) by Truman Capote. The changing light and the chill in the air alerted me to the late afternoon that would soon turn into evening. I looked up and at my feet was the open box of books half-forgotten while I became engrossed in reading one of the “Conversational Portraits” with the title “A Beautiful Child”, in which Capote recalls an encounter with Marilyn Monroe.

Truman Capote dancing with Marilyn Monroe in 1955 - Bettmann Archive

I realised at this rate I will read more than I will recycle. My lofty ambitions to clear the loft will probably take longer than planned. For now, clearing the loft is like traveling through our Towerwater history. With linen telling the story of the different stages of the restoration of Towerwater. I also had to say goodbye to some linen inherited from my mom, but I realised she would have preferred for it to be used and enjoyed.

Memories of loved ones are not in the material things they leave behind. By letting go of it I did not let go of the memories in my heart and it somehow made me feel lighter.

I replaced my flight to Portugal with a trip up the flight of stairs to the loft. En-route, I discovered more about myself than I expected. Perhaps the restrictions on overseas travel is not such a bad thing after all.

Feathered nests and falling leaves

The colder weather does not seem to slow down bird activity in the garden. With winter settling in, the trees have lost almost all their leaves except for the oak near the cottage. Never one to drop its leaves until there are signs of new leaves appearing on its branches, it still has a healthy covering although all are brown at this stage.

The Sunbird at its nest

The other trees having lost their leaves, have exposed all the nests that were built in them over the past year. The oak tree nearest the cottage still provides a privacy covering of monotone-coloured leaves around the nests. Perhaps that is why a Sunbird has decided to build its nest in the tree. Watching it weaving its nest, I could not help comparing this rather messy nest with the nest of the Weaver bird in the neighbour’s palm tree.

The Weaver bird weaving his nest

The Sunbird nest is being built on the same principles, but the Weaver bird has done a lot more precision weaving on its nest.

A Cape Canary in the Lindheimeri

I have noticed a lot more Cape Canaries in the garden of late. If they are not feasting on the closed flowers of the Lindheimeri, they are sitting in the oak singing their beautiful song. I walked out one morning to find eight of them in the oak tree in the parking area. I tried to photograph them but by the time I had the correct lens on the camera, they were all gone except for one. 

A Cape Canary

On many mornings, I find two African Hoopoes feeding on worms in the lawn. How they know where the worms are, I don’t know. However, they stick their long beaks into the lawn and pull out the surprised wriggly worm every time.

The African Hoepoo feeding on the lawn

The Bokmakierie is back in the orchard. Whenever I hear him, it is as if my heart wants to burst because he chose our enchanted garden to come and be gorgeous. His song can make me stop at what I am doing and listen before I venture into the garden to catch a glimpse of him.

The Bokmakierie singing his song

Catching a glimpse of the Amethyst Sunbird high up in the oak is like enjoying the presence of a beautiful purple jewel before he flies off to another magical place.

The Amethyst Sunbird

The Cape Robin cannot resist venturing into the lounge/library area when the top of the front stable door is open. He normally sits on the rim of the Murano glass bowl looking through the room. On the mornings that he ventures deeper into the room, and I find him sitting amongst the framed photographs like an unframed photograph, we avoid the room until he flies out again. Cleaning his “visite card” from the glassware and photographs is a small sacrifice. The trust the birds have, that we mean them no harm, makes me feel so much a part of the garden ecosystem.

The Olive Thrush

Whenever I encounter the Wagtails, Olive Thrushes and Cape Robins on the lawn, I take an alternative route so as not to disturb them. Lately they do not even move to a safe distance when I come out of the door. Clearly expecting me to keep out of their way.

The Robin taking a bath

The Olive Thrushes leave no leaf unturned in their foraging on the lawn. Although it is colder, the birds still enjoy the birdbath. I often find the Cape Robins and Cape Canaries taking a bath.

The Fiscal Flycatcher, less aggressive than his Shrike look-alike  

The Fiscal Shrike, although not well-liked by the other birds, stands his ground and is a frequent visitor. He commands respect by aggression. Many times, have I seen that he would snatch an insect from a Wagtail or Cape Robin if he feels that the insect in question is meant for his appetite.

A Laughing Dove

Unfortunately, on numerous mornings, I have found the remains of Laughing Doves on the lawn. Clearly victims of a neighbour’s trespassing cat. We try and keep our garden bird-friendly, but unfortunately, we have no control over the neighbouring cats roaming our garden. It surprises me that the doves get caught because they are normally cautious but unfortunately also very clumsy.

Swee Waxbills on the lawn

The birds love the garden and make full use of the many tree canopies to build and feather their nests. I also enjoy the brief visits of other birds like the Pied Barbet and Swee Waxbills, although I can do without the destructive habits of the Mousebirds.

Trying to capture a Pied Barbet through the bathroom window

The Towerwater winter garden comes alive with the falling of leaves and the feathering of nests. Nature is in harmony with the greeting of leaves on beds of mushrooms and the promise of new families to be raised in freshly feathered nests in the new season to come.

Wrapped up landscapes

During the easing of the pandemic lockdowns, we are traveling a lot more in and around our valley. The first sense that one gets that our world has changed, is our personal interaction with other people, whether it is in a formal or informal setting.

One cannot help but feel isolated and disconnected on a human level with people that one interacts with daily. Social distancing and masks only amplify these feelings.

I find comfort in familiar landscapes and driving around our valley. I know what to expect beyond a bend or over a hill. Somehow, during the pandemic this has also changed. Former landscapes that once brought pleasure to the eye have become hostile and unfamiliar.

Gone are the green fields and orchards that hugged the feet of the Langeberg mountains, the soft natural hills and mountain slopes. All the natural veld and former open vineyards are being replaced by vast citrus orchards under shade netting. As if somebody has placed a giant mask on the landscape. A masked landscape that seems hostile in its fake whiteness.

The landscapes alongside the R60 between Worcester and Robertson and Robertson and Swellendam, are changing on a weekly basis. Here especially, more and more shade nets are being erected. Hills and valleys that once were covered in Karroid broken veld, “karoo veld dotted with dwarf trees and shrubs, and including varying amounts of grass and succulents” (Acocks, J. P. H. 1953, Veld Types of South Africa), are now covered with high poles, in turn covered with white shade netting. This, for me, is agriculture disregarding the natural environment instead of striving to work in harmony with it.

In her 1990 thesis, “The Natural vegetation of the Robertson Karoo: an evaluation of its conservation status”, Julia C. Wood identified 61 threatened plants in the Robertson Karoo. One wonders how many of the 8 endangered, 20 rare, and 8 vulnerable plant species have been affected, where vast pieces of natural veld have been turned into shade net covered citrus orchards the produce of which is destined for export.

The R60 is not the only route affected. Most Western Cape agricultural areas are affected. According to an article in “Farmers Weekly” in October 2020, “In the Western Cape alone, the area under shade nets increased from 559ha in 2013 to 3 092ha by the end of January this year, according to the Western Cape Department of Agriculture. The total area under tunnels and shade nets in the province increased from 2 814ha in 2017/2018 to 5 906ha at the end of January.” This ‘celebratory’ achievement was on figures available up to January 2020. Since then, it is clearly evident that further growth has been exponential.

Are we the consumer to blame for this trend? Orchards need this level of protection to produce unnaturally perfect looking fruit. Overseas consumers of our export fruit apparently do not care about the impact on our natural landscape and resources. As long as the fruit is of a supernatural quality, ever increasing profit margins are guaranteed. 

My other concern is the impact the covered orchards will have on biodiversity and the ecosystem of the area. The cleaning of vast areas of natural vegetation impacts on the foraging habitat of wild bees and natural pollinators. The removal of hundreds of hectares of natural veld not only affects bees but a wider ecosystem of lizards, mice, tortoises, snakes, the Robertson dwarf chameleon, porcupines, rabbits and so on. The number of insects affected is too large to name in one blog. One insect that is endemic to the Robertson Karoo veld is the Worcester copper butterfly (Aloeides lutescens).

There is enough information of the impact on bees inside these controlled areas to make one very concerned about these agricultural practices. Bees need the sun to navigate. Even if a farmer adds two meters to the top of the nets covering the orchard to overcome pollination problems, the bees will still become disorientated. With the declining bee population in the world and the importance of bees in food production, one would have hoped that environmentally friendly farming practices would become a priority.

One must wonder if, and how, all the polyester, polyethylene shade netting will be recycled. It is well documented that Polyethylene is not only bad for the environment but is potentially toxic to humans. I cannot help but fear for the future of the natural landscapes in this valley. Are we heading for a landscape resembling the greenhouse choked agricultural landscapes of Almería in Spain? Where groundwater is being polluted with fertilisers and pesticides and some 30 000 tons of plastic waste is created each year.

The greenhouses of El Ejido Almeria Spain - Wikipedia

According to the Bureau for Food and Agriculture Policy (BFAP) the citrus industry generates an average export revenue of R6,2 billion a year. It is a lucrative business. Given human nature and the power of money and greed, I will probably have to make peace with the disappearing landscape of this valley, but it does not mean that I have to like it. 

I doubt whether there will be any poetry and songs written about the "beauty" of these plastic wrapped landscapes in the future. Where will the landscapes be that inspired artists like Jan Ernst Abraham Volschenk, poets like Leipoldt and singers like David Kramer?

Langeberg Mountains , 1925 - Jan Ernst Abraham Volschenk (South African, 1853–1936)

What once was a source of inspiration has become a culturally dead space and general eyesore.

Morning Sunshine(District Robertson), 1922 - J. E. A. Volschenk (South African, 1853–1936)

The familiar green citrus orchards covered with yellow and orange fruit alongside roads snaking through the valley will soon be a fond memory. Replaced by ghosts of orchards behind veils of shade netting.

A rare view of a natural citrus orchard

I am grateful for the wine farmers in the valley who seem to have established a balance between nature and farming. We can be proud that 90% of South Africa’s wine industry adheres to environmentally friendly farming practices, according to the WWF. At least the valley will not be robbed of its green patchwork of vineyards, just yet.

Sources:

The Natural vegetation of the Robertson Karoo: an evaluation of its conservation status - Julia C. Wood, May 1990

Commercial pollination of deciduous fruit - Mike Allsopp, 2005

Netted crop covers reduce honeybee foraging activity and colony strength in a mass flowering crop - researchgate.net, April 2019 

The costs and pitfalls of buying nets - Farmers Weekly, 8 October 2020

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intensive_farming_in_Almeria

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robertson_Karoo 

Art: 

Langeberg Mountains , 1925 - Jan Ernst Abraham Volschenk (South African, 1853–1936) - Artnet

Morning Sunshine(District Robertson), 1922 - J. E. A. Volschenk (South African, 1853–1936) Mutual Art