Siblings – From Boys to Men

February 19, 2015February 22, 2015 / El Rolyat / 4 Comments

Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Kahil Gibran – On Children

For more photos of siblings visit Nancy Merrill Photography

Just an Afternoon Walk

February 14, 2015February 14, 2015 / El Rolyat / 11 Comments

The Daily Post Weekly Photo challenge.

This week, share an image of symmetry

Piet usually takes the big dogs with him when he goes around the lands every morning. They run in front of the bakkie, occasionally darting off after smells into the long grass on the edge of the fields. Sometimes they come back with an unfortunate field mouse hanging from their smiling, panting jaws.

Yesterday we had to be in town early to collect a parcel at the bus stop, so the dogs missed out. By evening they were stir crazy, agitating for something to do, for some excitement and fun. So I grabbed my camera and took them for a walk.

Although they have very different personalities the black sisters tend to do things together – here it looked like they were marching, their legs moving in perfect unison as they trotted towards the two tanks (and the water!) up ahead.

Two black dogs, two sets of tracks, two water tanks

The dogs suddenly caught the scent of a field mouse, right in the middle of the groundnut field and then the fun began! Pouncing like foxes they snorted and yapped and dug, their tails waging above the plants like flags. Tikkie was in there too but he is short and I lost sight of him – although I could hear his excited barks and growls.

Tails (almost) symmetrically curved

Yin and Yang in symmetry

When we got back home and I showed my photos to Piet we got into (a little bit of) trouble – Piet doesn’t allow the dogs to dig for mice in the fields because they cause too much damage and he said they should have known better.

However, the look of delight on Spud’s face made it worth while.

Sit Down and Tell Me a Story

February 12, 2015February 12, 2015 / El Rolyat / Leave a comment

Cee's Black and White Photo Challenge: Open Topic

Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge: Tables and Chairs

(Not So) Wordless Wednesday: Which Way Namibia?

February 12, 2015February 12, 2015 / El Rolyat / 6 Comments

I meant to publish this post yesterday (Wordless Wednesday). However, after a series of thunderstorms our internet connection has been intermittent (as has our electricity supply!) so I didn’t manage to get away with being lazy and saying nothing about the photos.

These pictures continue with my Namibia theme and I thought them quite fitting for this week’s Which Way Photo Challenge.

2015 #6

Let’s Go Fly a Kite

February 10, 2015 / El Rolyat / 7 Comments

With tuppence for paper and strings, You can have your own set of wings, With your feet on the ground, You’re a bird in a flight, With your fist holding tight, To the string of your kite. Oh, oh, oh! Let’s go fly a kite, Up to the highest height! Let’s go fly a kite and send it soaring, Up through the atmosphere, Up where the air is clear, Oh, let’s go fly a kite!

Parcels With a Difference

February 9, 2015 / El Rolyat / 4 Comments

Around here it is the norm for most stores to have a parcel counter outside the shop where you drop off any parcels or shopping bags you may be carrying before you enter to do your shopping. You are given a ticket for your goods and when you have finished your business inside you produce your ticket and get your bags back.

I wasn’t sure if this shopper was dropping off or collecting her chicken.

2015 #5

A Fire Rainbow Evening

February 8, 2015 / El Rolyat / 2 Comments

Apparently fire rainbows (fancy name circumhorizontal arc or lower symmetric 46 degree plate arc) are rarely seen, which is a pity because this natural phenomenon is incredibly beautiful, almost ethereal.

Two main things have to happen for a fire rainbow to occur. The sun has to reach at least 58 degrees in the sky and cirrus clouds have to be present. In addition, fire rainbows only occur between 55 degrees N and 55 degrees S, so if you live above or below those latitudes you would have to travel to see one.

Cirrus clouds are fine, feathery clouds that occur at high altitudes where it is very cold. So cold that these clouds are actually made of ice crystals. These ice crystals act as prisms and when sunlight shines through them the light is refracted (or bent) and rainbows are formed in the clouds.

This afternoon the sun reached the perfect height, there were plenty of clouds and I was in just the right place to witness one of Nature’s miracles.

As a bonus I’m including this remarkable photo that Piet took on New Years Eve a few years ago.

It’s All About Scale

February 7, 2015 / El Rolyat / 14 Comments

One of the (many) things that struck me about Namibia was the size of the landscape. Everything towers or is vast and after a while you begin to realise how small we all are in the general scheme of things.

This Land: Namibia

February 7, 2015February 7, 2015 / El Rolyat / 13 Comments

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge for this week asks us to find a theme in the second and third verses of Woody Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land”.

In 1999 my family and I went on a camping trip to Namibia. Three weeks and seven thousand kilometers later I was convinced that country is one of the most beautiful places on Earth, and I’ve selected a few of the pictures I took for my contribution.

NOTE: These are scanned copies of photos I took with my ancient Canon A1, before I owned a digital camera (had they even been invented then?). Unfortunately the quality is not great (and I am completely clueless when it comes to picture enhancing programs like Photoshop) but hopefully you will get an idea of the grandeur and beauty from the few I have chosen for this post.

As I was walking that ribbon of highway

I saw above me that endless skyway

I saw below me that golden valley

This land was made for you and me

I’ve roamed and I’ve rambled and I followed my footsteps

To the sparkling sands of her diamond deserts

And all around me a voice was sounding

This land was made for you and me

Photo a Week Challenge: Flare!

February 2, 2015February 2, 2015 / El Rolyat / 13 Comments

I love taking pictures of sunsets. Every evening here is breathtaking and I have hundreds (possibly thousands?) of sunset pictures filed away in my not-so-organised filing system. So when I saw this week’s A Photo a Week Challenge: Flare I knew I would be able find something suitable. The problem was choosing just one photo!

I took this photo of a flock of African Open-billed Storks (Anastomus lamelligerous) a few years ago, while bobbing about in a boat on the Zambezi River – just above the Victoria Falls.

African Open-billed Storks

I'll Give You a Letter For That

Formerly known as Far Out in Africa. This is where I document life as experienced by me