Feathers Appear When Angels are Near # 1

March 20, 2025 / El Rolyat / 3 Comments

I was feeling mauldlin and a bit tearful yesterday after receiving sad news. Then a message arrived from my Mum and Dad.

It was at the bottom of the garden, placed precisely like that so I would notice it.

The feather belonged to a Schalows Turaco (Tauraco schalowi), which in the video you can hear in the background, chatting away to itself.

Lustre: A Haiku

February 12, 2025 / El Rolyat / 3 Comments

Sunset’s golden kiss,

Ripples dance in liquid fire,

Nature’s soft embrace.

Thanks to Moonwashed for this week’s prompt

A Promising Looking Sky

February 10, 2025 / El Rolyat / Leave a comment

”Clouds are the sky’s imagination”
– Terri Guillemets

A Bad Hair Day

May 28, 2024May 30, 2024 / El Rolyat / 4 Comments

Today’s bird of the week is the Great White Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus), a relatively new permanent resident along our part of the river since the establishment of a large commercial fish farm up river.

Come Tiptoe Through the Tulips with Me

July 22, 2023 / El Rolyat / Leave a comment

Do you think she thought we couldn’t spot her?

FOWC With Fandango – “size“

A Very Angry Chameleon

July 17, 2023 / El Rolyat / 4 Comments

This guy was definitely not a fan of mine!

Let me puff my chin up a bit to intimidate you!

Such language I’ve never heard!

After all that fuss, he seemed reluctant to leave my hand

“I’ve got my eyes on you!”

Flower of the Day – Pretty in Pink

July 9, 2023July 17, 2023 / El Rolyat / 2 Comments

As far as I can tell, there is only one Pink Jacaranda (Stereospermum kunthianum) in the park.

Each spring I keep a look out for it tucked away – inconspicuously for most of the rest of the year – in a small dip just as you enter through the east gate.

It hasn’t grown much over the years – I suspect it’s a favourite elephant snack – and it’s easy to miss.

CMR Blisterbeetle (*Hycleus* spp). Seems it’s not just elephants who love the sweet, juicy flowers. These little guys may look pretty, but touch them at your peril!

The Pink Jacaranda is not just a pretty face. According to Wikipedia it is traditionally used for a number of medical ailments, including pharyngeal affections, leprosy, subcutaneous parasitic infections and other skin afflictions, venereal diseases, diarrhoea, dysentery, and as antiemetics. However, WebMD cautions that there is no real evidence to support any claims of its efficacy for these condidtions.