The Cry of the Hoopoe…

Not everyone shares an enthusiasm for endless music running through the days like gently flowing water, but for us, this makes our home complete. Over time other natural songs joined in this rhythm of our life and even now, the absence of them leaves deep spaces in the harmony of the day. 

... Welcome to this article. Please go to Wildmoz to see all our new articles on African Folktales as they appear. We are publishing all our African Folktales in their full version in e-books for readers, PDFs, etc. as well as in hard copies. Keep a look out for these wonderful little stories for children and adults alike at Wildmoz.com. Collect for yourself a set of twelve, in the format of your choice…

 

Cave Paintings, Megaliths and other Mysteries

In Art history, the definition of prehistoric art is that which was created in pre-literate times when man kept history alive by oral tradition. Record keeping was limited to visual traces left behind in the form of cave paintings, megalithic constructions, standing stones and other prehistoric mementos.  Every continent and many islands have their own special reminders...

...Welcome to this post. Please go to Wildmoz to see all our new articles on wildlife as they appear. We are also publishing all our African Folktales in their full version in e-books for readers, PDFs, etc. as well as in ... Welcome to this post. Please go to Wildmoz to see all our new articles on wildlife as they appear. We are also publishing all our African Folktales in their full version in e-books for readers, PDFs, etc. as well as in hard copies. 

Keep a look out for these wonderful little stories for children and adults alike at Wildmoz.com. Collect for yourself a set of twelve, in the format of your choice, as and when they are available...

Eleven Lessons from Noah - The First Animal Rescue

Whenever, Wherever...

This simple message from the story of Noah was doing the rounds of e-mails at the beginning of the year.  Given the nature of Sunshine and Shadow, visitors here may enjoy it.  The origins of this are ‘lost-in-the-mists-of-time’; if you know where it originated, please let me know, I’d like to complement the author and give credits.

Welcome to this post. Please go to Wildmoz to see all our new articles on wildlife as they appear. We are also publishing all our African Folktales in their full version in e-books for readers, PDFs, etc. as well as in ... Welcome to this post. Please go to Wildmoz to see all our new articles on wildlife as they appear. We are also publishing all our African Folktales in their full version in e-books for readers, PDFs, etc. as well as in hard copies. 

Keep a look out for these wonderful little stories for children and adults alike at Wildmoz.com. Collect for yourself a set of twelve, in the format of your choice, as and when they are available... 

 

Ten Favourite Smells...

“It was very pleasant to savour its aroma, for smells have the power to evoke the past, bringing back sounds and even other smells that have no match in the present.”

                      "Like Water for Chocolate" ― Laura Esquivel

I love the smell of fragrant flowers, baking cinnamon buns, that sweet clean scent of a just bathed baby.  Funny, isn’t it how good smells are a big element in our sensation of comfort?

There’s so much of the pleasure lost today – fruit that’s been irradiated and in cold storage for weeks doesn’t have that intense, fruity aroma of a vine ripened, sun warmed granadilla.  And let’s not talk about those perfect, beautiful tunnel grown flowers with no smell at all… so disappointing, they may as well be plastic.  

Of all the five senses, smell is most linked to our memories, our past; but best smells do change, our “noses” develop, and our olfactory abilities can be trained.  I have many, much-loved scents although I don’t know when or how they all became so special, but pleasant smells are very personal and we all have our picks. The following ten in no particular order, are my favourites …

• Freshly baked bread
• Frangipani Flowers (Plumeria)
• Lavender and beeswax wood polish
• Approaching summer storms (smell of rain)
• A bowl of freshly picked, sun ripened lemons
• Roses – (preferable dark red Damask roses)
• Vanilla
• Fresh brewed coffee
• Eucalyptus (Blue Gum)
• Ripe Cantaloupe (Rock melon, Spanspek)  

These are mine. What have I left out?  What are your favourites?

Kalahari Dreaming…

I never knew my father; his shadowy presence prowled around the edges of my consciousness. Once or twice, we met.  Central to the plot of my own existence...

... Welcome. Please go to Wildmoz to see all our new articles on Africa as and when they appear. For more, we are publishing all our African Folktales in their full version in e-books for readers, PDFs, etc. as well as in hard copies. Keep a look out for these wonderful little stories for children and adults alike at Wildmoz.com. Collect for yourself a set of twelve, in the format of your choice...

Lake Nyasa

Image courtesy of Wikipedia

Famous...what good is that?

My father was a writer… He was famous – in an obscure way – although better known for other things. His are not the best or greatest works I’ve ever read, although some of his books are considered classics.  But as I said, he was famous for other things…

... Welcome to this folktale. Please go to Wildmoz to see all our new articles on African Folktales as they appear. We are publishing all our African Folktales in their full version in e-books for readers, PDFs, etc. as well as in hard copies. Keep a look out for these wonderful little stories for children and adults alike at Wildmoz.com. Collect for yourself a set of twelve, in the format of your choice...

A Whole New Year…

After an unusually full holiday season, the beaches and the roads are emptying as the holidaying multitudes head back to daily routine and into the promise of the New Year. 

Marking one of the highlights of the season; this short hiatus between the old and new; the past year can be weighed by the entries in its diary, lending impetus to change and growth. I so love this time of year with all the reflections on the year just gone and the potential of the year unfolding before me.  I love the new diary in my hands; the blank pages thrill me with anticipation and as I transfer important dates and anniversaries, I find wonderful surprises, accomplishments forgotten in the bustle of the busy year just gone. 

One New Year’s Eve, in Scotland; I think 2008, I was sent a quote (see below) that has impacted on me ever since… The simple thought that potential could exist in my life was a 180 degree shift from where I had been and opened a whole new world of opportunity. Everything, anything became possible and as the reality sank in I was freed from a lifetime of self-contempt and all the damaging emotions that come with being in that place.  I still walk through the rooms, planning improvements, contemplating changes…But now it is with a pleasurable anticipation... 

“We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room-by-room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives... not looking for flaws, but for potential.”

~ Ellen Goodman

Food for Thought...

                                      High-tech tomatoes.

                                                Mysterious milk.  

                                                          Supersquash.  

                                                             Are we supposed to eat this stuff?  

                                                                      Or is it going to eat us? 

                                                                                                 Annita Manning

Is It or Isn't It?

When I asked in my last post if this blog was schizophrenic, it was an honest question. I so love writing! Well I better, I sure am doing a lot of it. Even when my thoughts are all over the place, there are words inside trying to get out. Then thinking about the original purpose of all these words (ancient family history), I woke up! My problem isn’t so much the content; I’ll get it together eventually. No, the real problem here is organization!  Hmm, a re-occurring issue?   As soon as time allows, the category labels must be tamed. 

So organized, so peaceful looking*

Here on the west coast, the weather, having been cool to the point of cold right through spring suddenly zoomed up to HOT yesterday. Sheesh, summer had arrived and was beating everyone up! Not for long. Opening the door to the garden this morning early, I was met with a blast of cold wind…I guess summer didn’t like his welcome…

Out in the bay, bulk carriers, the size of a small country, bounced around on the choppy water.  Birds, landing for a drink, were up-ended into the birdbath by the gusts… Who knew? Did it ever occur to you that this can happen to birds? Fortunately, the birdbath is pretty shallow.  Everything was back on track  by noon time, (no, the birds straightened up fine in no time), hazy sunshine was evident again, the wind was down and regular scheduling had been resumed…
 

*Painting by Carl Larsson-courtesy of Wikipedia 

 

Nothing a Cookie Can't Fix...

In the greater scheme of things, being busy ranks pretty high on my list of priorities. Now that I’m up to my ponytail in our website projects and gainful employment has suddenly arrived, the rhythm of work is becoming addictive. Along with a renewed sense of purpose, I’ve discovered a craving for research (or knowledge)? What…ever… But this brings me to the point of this post.  Looking back over old entries, life has moved on in many ways and the old categories just don’t all seem to fit; does this make my blog schizophrenic? 

...Welcome to this post. Please go to Wildmoz to see all our new articles on wildlife as they appear. We are also publishing all our African Folktales in their full version in e-books for readers, PDFs, etc. as well as in ... Welcome to this post. Please go to Wildmoz to see all our new articles on wildlife as they appear. We are also publishing all our African Folktales in their full version in e-books for readers, PDFs, etc. as well as in hard copies. 

Keep a look out for these wonderful little stories for children and adults alike at Wildmoz.com. Collect for yourself a set of twelve, in the format of your choice, as and when they are available...