Rising Stars and the Cradle of Human Kind

The Cradle of Human Kind Landscape

On the 10^th of September 2015 the world was introduced to a new species of human relative, named Homo Naledi. 

The skull with reconstructions

Naledi means star in Sotho. The fossil skeletons were found in the Dinaledi Chamber of the Rising Star Cave system in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site.

Some of the fossils found in the cave

The fossils were revealed for the first time during an international launch at the Maropeng Visitor’s Centre in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site and will be on show until 11 October 2015.

We find the study of human ancestry very interesting and decided that the opportunity to see the fossils on display is too good an opportunity to waste. On Saturday we set out for the Maropeng visitor centre for a completely new experience.

Entrance to the Maropeng exhibition Centre

The back of the Maropeng exhibition Centre with viewing deck and restaurant

The queues to see the fossils did not faze us and we were rather impressed with the interest that this find is enjoying locally. It was both exciting and a privilege to be in the cradle of human kind.

The cover of the October issue of National Geographic

 It is amazing to think that we all share a common ancestry yet the world is rife with conflict and hatred because people perceive each other as different.

“H. naledi was much closer in appearance to Homo species such as H. erectus than to australopithecines, such as Lucy. But it possesses enough traits shared with no other member of our genus, which is what warrants a new species name.”

Source: http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/150910-human-evolution-change/

A Visit to a Rose Farm

I could not visit Pretoria and leave without a visit to Ludwig’s Rose Farm, the source of the bulk of our roses in the rosarium.

A sea of roses

Rows and rows of roses

On Saturday we went to visit the origins of human kind and on Sunday it felt like we were visiting the origin of all roses.

More roses on their way to different nurseries 

The size of the rose farm is mind-blowing and one can scarcely imagine so many roses in one place what to say of the variety of roses.

The shop part of the farm

To see so many healthy roses made me homesick for Towerwater’s rosarium. The weather on the Highveld is so amazing. The roses were being watered with overhead irrigation and there was no sign of disease. In the Cape we take a lot of precaution not to get water on the leaves but in Pretoria the weather is so dry that the water on the leaves evaporates in no time leaving no possibility of diseases taking hold.

With the sea of roses imprinted on my mind’s eye it was difficult not to look forward to going home to Towerwater.

The green rose

Hunting for Heirlooms

The Antique and collectibles fair at the Voortrekker monument is always a treat and the large number of exhibitors requires that one put aside most of your day to browse and hunt through the tables and stalls filled with heirlooms.

Garden Tools

As with the ‘boeremark’, this fair is like a Cape Town fair on steroids. In Gauteng it seems a case of “Go big or go home”.

A small section of the huge fair

Keith found an Alfred Meakin coffee set that he liked while I got stuck into buying rare books.

A well loved Teddy Bear

There were some antiques that we hardly see in Cape Town and which definitely needs some exploring. Being without the bakkie inhibited my buying ability because I did not like the idea of trying to fly home with some precious antiques and risking their being damaged en route.

The Stanley Mitre Box Saw that impressed Keith

I was happy with my new additions to the Towerwater library and Keith was satisfied with his addition to the civilized practice of fine coffee drinking after suppers at Towerwater.

Limoncello infused with Rose Geranium

I decided to play with the new batch of Limoncello and infuse it with Rose Geranium. The result was a Limoncello with subtle botanical and rose-scented notes.

Limoncello infused with Rose Geranium

Chilled or served on crushed iced it will be a most enjoyable drink on those warm summer afternoons. Rose Geranium has relaxant, anti-depressant and antiseptic properties. Lemon peel has blood pressure regulating, bone strengthening, strong anti-depressant and cholesterol decreasing properties.

Limoncello

Limoncello and citrus blossoms

The Rose Geranium infused Limoncello should leave you chilled, relaxed and feeling much healthier. Medicine has never tasted this good.

Last year, I discarded the used peels but this year I am keeping them infused in vodka and Limoncello and I will use them as an edible garnish in a Limoncello cocktail or I will add them to a lemon cake for tea.

Lemon peel in vodka and Limoncello

To have organic lemons where one can use the whole fruit without worrying about pesticides and other chemicals is such a luxury.

Colour coding a vegetable garden

I spent the weekend planning the vegetable garden, building supports and structures for tomatoes, runner beans and cucumbers.  I built a prototype of the cages I need for the tomatoes as well as the trellis for the runner beans and cucumbers. The instructions, I noted in the gardening journal for Shawn as a guide that will enable him to replicate them while the seedlings are still small.

Vegetable beds 

Support for the tomato plants

With 10 different tomatoes I had to keep track of which seeds I sowed where so as to enable the colour coding of the tomato beds. I made a frame that I placed in the vegetable bed and marked every box with the type of seeds that I sowed in each.

The frame for the tomato seeds

I discovered that I mostly bought black and green tomato seed. Some of the tomatoes I sowed are Black Krim, Black Seaman, Green Zebra, Green Giant, Green Grape and Black Cephus. It will be interesting with the chocolate and yellow bell peppers. The red sunflowers I sowed in one of the herb beds.

Orange and red beetroot

Yellow, purple and orange carrots

Egyptian white garlic

With the vegetable garden being quite full, the harvesting and planting of the different crops needs to be finely timed so as to ensure that the new seedlings have an empty bed prepared and waiting when they are ready to be transplanted.

The naartjie tree covered in blossoms

The Naartjie tree is covered in blossoms promising a good crop this season as if trying to make up for the loss of the last crop.

Strawberry flowers and fruit

The Strawberries are covered in flowers and tiny fruit. Nothing says summer quite like a bed of Strawberries. The garden is ‘happening’ and it feels like I am in heaven with so many surprises in stall for the spring and summer table.

Memories of Autumn in Spring

The garden is a confusion of seasons at the moment. With the oaks starting to drop their brown marcescent leaves the lawn resembles an autumn scene. The oak near the cottage is covered in brown leaves with bright green leaves starting to appear from the tips of branches. Behind them the quince hedge is covered in big open pale pink blossoms embracing spring while the oaks are still apparently embracing autumn.

Autumn leaves on  a spring lawn

In the orchard the tiny peaches and apricots prompted me to hang up the fruit fly bait stations. The bait stations are meant to reduce the exotic and invasive fruit fly population in the garden. The female fruit fly needs to feed on protein before reproduction and is attracted to the bait station that consists of protein hydrolysate, plant extracts and a toxicant. She feeds from the bait station and dies. In the absence of females, the male fruit flies leave the area in search of females.

The quince hedge

Quince blossoms

The bait stations remove the need for a spraying programme that leaves a potentially toxic residue on the fruit. The bait station approach will assist in ensuring that the fruit we pick for eating and preserving is organic.

The rosarium in spring

Vibrant rose plants

The rose garden is building up to a spectacular display with the leaves in luminous shades of green and red. The anticipation is getting too much for me. Some selected rose cuttings have been transplanted after rooting into black bags and if all 52 rose plants survive I might struggle to find homes for them all.

Rose plants 

Hello Clivia

The first Clivia flower has appeared and I cannot wait for the rest to start flowering. I am suffering from Clivia envy because my neighbour’s Clivia is glowing orange from across the road.

The Clivia garden accross the road

Spring is seriously moving into the garden but I think autumn might stay for another cup of tea before he goes. Luckily winter did not waste time and left rather abruptly.

The green lavender in flower

White Merlot and Rooibos infused Vermouth

Driving through the town of Robertson I noticed a sign from a local Cellar advertising their white merlot. I am curious by nature and the ‘strange and new’ in particular captures my imagination.  Advertising white merlot was like waving a red flag at a bull for me.  With this in mind some weeks later, I decided to stop at a local wine shop and investigate.

Towerwater Lunch

I expected to find a white wine but discovered that it was more like a pinkish straw colour. Walking through the wine shop I noticed a bottle of Rooibos infused African Ruby Vermouth. Personally, I prefer extra dry vermouth but I was curious about the indigenous botanical infusion of Rooibos in this vermouth.

White Merlot

I went home with my bottles of white merlot and a bottle of African Ruby Vermouth for some experimentation.

Pea and Purple Broccoli Salad

For lunch I made a pea and purple broccoli salad and served it with coppa ham from the free range pig farm nestled against the Langeberg Mountains on the edge of the valley. I stuffed the coppa with wild rocket flower mustard that had quite a bite to it despite the flowers looking so soft and gentle.

Coppa stuffed with wild rocket flower mustard

The white merlot was citrusy and clearly a summer wine but it complemented my lunch very well.  I could satisfy my curiosity in the best possible of settings on a balmy Saturday afternoon.

The African Ruby Vermouth is a Cape West Coast product from the heart of Rooibos country.  The vermouth is too sweet for my taste but I made a cocktail of the rooibos infused vermouth adding gin, bitters and a squirt of lemon zest. 

Rooibos infused African Ruby Vermouth

Karoo Sunset

I called it Karoo Sunset because it reminded me of those red sunsets over the Klein Karoo town of Calitzdorp.  

Springbok Carpaccio with fresh pea and mint mayonnaise

The canapés were springbok carpaccio with a fresh pea and mint mayonnaise.  I decided on the springbok just to play with the Karoo theme. 

Towerwater sundowners

The springbok complemented  the Karoo Sunset and I enjoyed a well-deserved sun-downer after a busy day.