Devilspeak on The Singemonkey

January 31, 2023

Tue, 31 Jan 2023 16:38:13 +0000

Today marked two years of our weekly bird count at the Liesbeek Confluence. Terna has had me up for it at 6:30 this year - excruciating for me except that it’s close to the dawn and the light is beautiful. Also Ana had hot rooibos tea and it was a treat sitting on the grass with them and looking out at this familiar scene.

January 20, 2023

Fri, 20 Jan 2023 12:08:21 +0000

Another perfect day in Africa.

August 09, 2022

Tue, 09 Aug 2022 08:59:52 +0000

Before and after our 15 min bird count this morning. A year and a half and we’re still recording more species. Jane identified a Karoo Prinia calling on the far bank.

July 26, 2022

Tue, 26 Jul 2022 11:59:11 +0000

This scene again. It was a three kingfisher day today - Pied (which we see most days), Malachite (we see these little jewels maybe every three counts or so), and Giant (seen more rarely - although this lady has a fave spot in the willow so maybe we’ll see her again next week). This in a place that shills for the developers love to pretend is a ruined, lifeless dump.

July 19, 2022

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 20:56:26 +0000

Just after dawn at our bird count site on the confluence of the Liesbeek and Black Rivers. We’d just seen a Giant Kingfisher in the willow next to that date palm. The developers are flouting their court order to stop claiming they can just ignore it while they appeal. They seem confident that the courts will bow to their robber-baron capitalism destroying aboriginal heritage and sensitive environments. Let’s hope they’re wrong. People are getting pretty sick of these people ramping up their destruction just as we’re understanding how far it’s gone already.

June 26, 2022

Sun, 26 Jun 2022 09:28:59 +0000

I got to the mountain well early and got to see the first light hit Devil’s Peak. And yet I passed people coming down as I was going up. There’s a whole community of very fit people of all descriptions up there.

It’s nice being proper fit again. I think there’s a threshold of fitness beyond which most exercise becomes much more enjoyable - challenging rather than trying. But it’s not easy for most people to reach that in systems that relentlessly encourage sedentary living.

July 14, 2021

Wed, 14 Jul 2021 12:48:22 +0000

Another dawn by the Black River, looking to the confluence where the Liesbeek joins it. I’m still waiting for my new lenses because Fedex is a garbage company. Hopefully soon though. If I’d had the wide lens I could have included the full rainbow that went along with this scene.

July 06, 2021

Tue, 06 Jul 2021 11:44:27 +0000

No otters down by the river. But great flights of ibis - including two flocks of Glossy Ibis; about a dozen each.

Might be getting new lenses for the little XE1 today. Excited about that.

January 20, 2021

Wed, 20 Jan 2021 10:24:58 +0000

I’ve joined a tiny bird group to monitor the presence of birds where the Liesbeek River meets the Black River. Once a week we go out to this spot on the Black River in the morning and spend 5 minutes noting every species we can see and their numbers. Yesterday was a two kingfisher day with a trio of Pied Kingfishers fussing just on the right edge of the Liesbeek mouth and a Malachite Kingfisher I didn’t see (I was taking notes and, when I thought I saw it later, was asked if I wasn’t looking at a Morning Glory flower - I was 😂). Despite being an urban river system, it’s bursting with wildlife.

June 09, 2019

Sun, 09 Jun 2019 11:45:29 +0000

Quick food run for Mr Crumb who is hangry AF and attacking my feet up and down the stairs. This is #capewinter for you.

May 22, 2019

Wed, 22 May 2019 12:42:31 +0000

Devil’s Peak presiding over a beautiful city rife with blood and misery. Frankly the Devil has never been for blood and misery in this world. So it’s more an aspirational symbol for the city than anything else.

April 26, 2019

Fri, 26 Apr 2019 17:00:24 +0000

This is our last autumn in Ash Street. We’ve lived here since 2007. Without any plan in that regard we’ve both lived here longer than either of us has ever lived anywhere else. We’ll miss wonderful neighbours but it’ll be good to be moving… a full 3 or 4 blocks away.