Sunshine bug

This bright little bug is the perfect "good morning" advertisement!

Happy new week to all of you!

Tiny wonders

These are less than 1/4in (0.5cm) across. I don't have the faintest idea of how they are called and whether this plant serves any health- or food-related purposes.

Aren't they beautiful regardless? Yet another reminder to us to be on the lookout for beauty, no matter the size. And then, don't forget to enjoy it to the fullest!

Rewards for getting up early

All the promises of yesterday...

... were in full bloom this morning!

Water lilies too were at their best at 5.45am.

Enjoy all the little things that can brighten your day!

Once upon a Sunday morning in cattle country

All of a sudden, my yard becomes a bullfighting pen!

Who says living in the bush is dull? Certainly not me!

Bush flora

My theme today is the early rainy season flora. Living in the savanna doesn't mean that it's dry grass as far as the eye can see. This early May, we've had several big rains already, the baobab trees are green and a lot of flowers pop up everywhere.

This one is funny because you see a stalk one evening, and the flower opens all of a sudden the next morning. They seem to appear from nowhere and disappear as fast as they appeared. The other peculiarity is that they  are never in groups, but rather few and far apart (I would say about 20-25 per acre only).

On the contrary, this one comes in clusters, and graces wet and waterlogged places. It's also quite short-lived though.

I never knew what in French is called (probably not a scientific name) "mother-in-law's tongue" because it's so long and pointed did flower at all, and that the flower would look like this!

Waterlilies are also one of these flowers that you only find open early in the morning, and close when the sun starts shining in earnest. A reward for those who get up early!

These clusters of papyruses in the middle of the pond are huge. I think each stalk is about 1.20m / 4ft high, maybe more.

 

They are very interesting up close too:

Lastly, something I don't have the faintest clue what it can possibly be, but I found it interesting anyway:

More later about the flora in my corner of the bush! I hope you enjoyed looking at the pictures as much as I enjoyed discovering these plants and taking these few mementos.

Bush love

Today I decided to cross the road in front of my house for the first time (surprising, isn't it?) and, only a few meters farther, beyond a raised bank, I discovered a beautiful pond, complete with water lilies;

giant papyruses (more than 1.20m/4ft high);

and all sorts of water plants I haven't been able to identify yet.

I love life in my corner of the bush!

Statuesque cattle

There is more to Baboonland than baboons only. These days, I'm loving cattle. They cross my property, graze and provide me with manure. And they are beautiful.

This is what I see from the large windows and porch south of my house. It feels so right to live there. I can't wait to move permanently!