19 September 2020

 

Hello summer! The first weeks of summer are pretty awkward for my poor neighbours, and any other garden observers, who need to shade their eyeballs from the pure luminescence of my shorts-clad legs, having had their fair share of sunlight and melatonin deprivation during the long winter months. A new garden observer has hatched and fledged since the last newsletter. Lemon Twist, the lemon tree baby dove, now makes his/her home in and around the rockery, probably in search of a pair of dove-sized sunglasses for when the sun-starved gardener makes an appearance. 

 

Last weekend saw baker Byron and I enjoying a well-deserved early anniversary retreat. Having a travel agent in the family sure comes in handy, especially when you have dietary requirements that not all establishments are able to meet. In swoops Marijke, and we were absolutely gobsmacked at the level of service, natural beauty, quality of food and overall romantic experience offered at Lethabo Estate. We loved that Lisa came to check in with us, we noticed eco-friendly efforts at every turn (for example, lavender grown everywhere to supply nectar for the bees, eco-friendly shower products and shower grey water leading out into the garden), we ate like kings and our beautiful accomodation was so private and secluded that we didn't need to see another human if we didn't want to. For one magical night, it was as if Corona was just a bad dream. Spotting a giant kingfisher and going for a walk with a herd of Nguni cows certainly didn't hurt either! Trust me when I say that you cannot underestimate the power of one night to reset, relax and remind you why you need not travel very far in this beautiful country to enjoy first class holiday facilities. Do yourself a favour and contact Marijke (https://www.travelcounsellors.co.za/marijke.davel) to let her find you a holiday to suit your needs.

 

In the past few weeks I've tried my hand at home-made business cards. Wanting to ensure that special Rooted Herbivores touch, I went the whole hog and shredded up some newspaper for recycling and added in some home-harvested seeds so that the card could be planted after use and help to grow a home garden. Do not be fooled by how easy Pinterest makes it look.. Covering myself and Arienne in a fair amount of paper pulp, uttering a few poorly disguised curse words in trying to get the pulp to come out perfectly smooth and the right size and then laying it out to dry, only to have my three dogs add their own artistic flair by walking muddy paw prints all over it, was not my idea of a successful art project. Much to Byron's protestations, I then inserted this less than perfect paper into my printer to add a professional looking logo and contact details. The first few pages sailed through and I resisted the urge to tell Byron "I told you so!" which was just as well, because after pages 3, 4 and 5 got stuck and bits of spongy stuff started coming out of the printer, it was me who had to swallow my words. Needless to say, we'll probably just disperse digital cards from now on! Or hand-written notes on the remnants of seed paper. 

 

And so we learn on this exciting journey! With the peaches getting bigger every day, we get ready to offer fresh peaches, chutneys and dessert peaches. The grapevine in Oupa (Sven)'s garden has started providing shade for veggies growing below and is boasting tiny little bunches of grapes. As the pecan nut harvest is dwindling, be sure to include unshelled or shelled pecans in your next order, as well as some delicious cinnamon or dark chocolate pecan nut butter to spread on our yummy fresh bread.

 

A day of gardening beckons! Until we chat again,

 

Claire

Nature lover

Unsuccessful paper maker

Printer destroyer