The Boi in one of his brief spells of wakefulness. Watching lens reviews can sometimes be useful. I discovered this ttartisan 50mm f1.2 is quite a bit less sharp and contrasty focused at its minimum distance at f1.2. So stopping down to f2 makes quite a big difference when focused close like this.
Bun’s current top-favourite spot. We call it her tube.
@jason66c at a show we went to for the day back on December 11. We gathered intel and experienced the rare Cape summer thunderstorm.
Bunday morning.
The Magician. @kanesnaps larking at the back of The Elephant’s Eye - against the mossy retina. It’s a tall, temple-like opening in the mountainside in Silvermine Nature Reserve. The last time I was there, maybe when I was ten or twelve it seemed a Herculean feat to get there. Kane and I found it such a quick and gentle saunter that we went on to the Hout Bay overlook - which seldom disappoints.
The place we live in faces the rising sun. So morning coffee-time is one of the sunniest of the day. Bun likes this part of the house where she can hang out on my loudspeakers or on the windowsill and watch other cats safe from bullying.
Leucodendrons, @kanesnaps tells me. A very pretty and delicate protea that looked quite spectacular in spring profusion, painting the entire mountainside yellow.
@kanesnaps and I went heroically up the mountain by a new route (for me) and found that rock that looks like a camel from certain angles. It was lovely up there, where the traffic noise suddenly disappears and you’re in this magic park in the sky filled with the astonishing diversity of plants in the fynbos botanical region. Kane almost got bitten by a very unfortunate young puff adder that had been run over (almost certainly by accident since it was so well camouflaged on the road - such that Kane nearly didn’t see it too). Luckily some guys working up there arrived in a truck and ended it’s suffering with a sharp spade since it was way too injured to possibly survive. ...
I feel like Observatory’s going through a bit of renaissance as covid winds down. @withoutaleaf got ice-cream from @_tapi_tapi - and it’s really good. Lots of African ingredients are used. It seems like not long ago tourists would struggle to find anything African to eat that was accessible to them in Cape Town. But now there’s a lot on offer. Can definitely recommend this place. Great, unique ice-cream and super friendly, informative people working there.
Doing some technical reading on the balcony with this chonky chap. It’s the first warm weather in a good long while and he’s here for it. 27 degrees according to the weather app. No doubt there’ll be plenty more cold weather ahead. But this is a nice break. I’ve had a nasty cold for a week. Did a great show on Friday @noongunbrewery in Muizenberg. Thank goodness we do a lot of instrumentals because I couldn’t croak a note.