After a week in Cape Town we returned May 6th, with me dutifully compiling the staff wages in the bouncing car, missing packet after packet and cursing colourfully as I retrieved the notes and placed them into the patiently waiting envelope. In my defence I was fast getting used to the road and the uneven surface, and I was beginning to master the art of lining up the notes and the sachets.

Kai greeted me with a huge yelp of excitement, as I opened the car door. There was a nasty scratch on his nose and I had to wonder what he’d been up to in our absence.
The kittens had all grown and bounced around us like fluffy balls of joy.

Ray and Elaine Vincent’s brother and sister in law, arrived for Saturday evening, and left again on Sunday early in the morning. It was Mothers Day, and we had made arrangements to have lunch in Robertson with Albert. Tentative arrangements were to meet at Bon Courage, but upon our arrival…it was closed…BUGGER! So we agreed to lunch at Albert’s home instead. Driving along the road, to Robertson we detoured via excelsior Wine Farm, and I was blown away by the view of paradise right in our own backyard. Horses grazed peacefully in the surrounding meadows and the vineyards boasted vines almost ready to explode from their winter silence into the lush green foliage that would hide the precious harvest contained within bursting berries in just a few months. Other wine farms and horse stud farms displayed similarly deceptive camouflage and yet Winter has its own beauty in the valley, in varying monotones.

We had already collected 22 tons of dried grape mulch to be bedded down at the roots of the vineyards and used as fertilizer for the vines. We collect both pips and stems.

Monday morning Piet came by with a seriously infected hand. It clearly needed an antibiotic, which he of course refused, only allowing me to apply an antibiotic cream and plaster to his grubby, gnarled hand. He swallowed a couple of painkillers before heading out to work.

I started out the week by ordering some herbs and managed to arrange for their delivery within the week. In our isolated neck of the woods a courier service is certainly the most cost effective way to get what we need.

Stephen got to work organising the beds and the soil, and I ordered bags so that each little seedling can be planted in a plastic bag and sold individually later on.

All our female labourers were out picking naartjies at Van Zyl’s farm. When there is nothing to do on our own farms, we are all happy as a community, for them to work on adjacent farms, with the consent of the farmer on whose farm they reside. Vince was clearing the field adjacent to the main store, to plant winter oats. Oats pretty much do their own thing and need little water to sustain them. Great idea from a neighbour.. plant oats when the sun is setting, leave open let the dew moisten the seed, and then close over first thing in the morning! This also stops the birds from eating all the seed!


Today, the 11th of May, the morning began with a beautiful thick mist. It took until about 11.00 a.m for it to lift. We went for a walk, the dogs, and Nuts, my beloved cat… not able to see much with the heavy fog but we could hear so much in the silence of the fog! Listening to the droplets fall was amazing. By now we have a ritual. Dress warmly in the morning, peel off by lunchtime, then dress warmly again late afternoon.

Just before noon, Vince walked in with Koos. We are getting our first cows along with a calf, only 2 weeks old! Two of the cows are pregnant and will give birth in about two months. The two men need to go to Swellendam to get the assorted medicines they will need to combat various indigenous threats and parasites. Vince looks like a kid who’s just been given an entire packet of sweets. He’s always wanted cattle. I must admit I grinned at him in his wellies and shorts…A farmer indeed!

I offered to do the trip to Swellendam to fetch the mootie, while he waited for his beloved cows to arrive. It was a fabulous trip through the mountains, stunning views, different vegetations, and farming. Swellendam is a historic farming town about 50km’s from our farm. It’s beautiful and has B&B’s from one end of the main street to the other. A really superb little ‘dorp’.

Went to the SSK and paid R 1250 for the anti parasite mootie to combat the ticks in our region, mostly found when the cattle graze along the river’s edge. I got home just as the truck was leaving and there they were! Eight of varying colours, ages and sizes. We named the very pregnant one Bella (Isabella). All she did was eat and eat and eat. We gave them plenty of Lucerne and thankfully Koos arrived as if he had been sent for! He kindly assisted us and showed me how to inject the mootie. The calf is beautiful…( I secretly named her Moo) Doi is delighted. These are his babies now and he proudly assured me that he would look after our new herd as if they were his own. I too walked them to their new camp once we had injected them. I was most proud of our new herbivores. The satisfaction and glee on V’s face too were expressions I would remember forever. Kai watched, and kept a close eye but George barked and scared them. So he went to play in the vine wood piled high for winter fires, sniffing out mice, rats and perhaps even snakes! Later that afternoon, I took another walk to the kraal and was pleased to see that they had settled and were grazing peacefully.

First thing the next morning, I had to go and see how our new family were settling.. all good. Sadly we have to go back to Cape Town next Monday, so will miss our novel kin. Happily however my herbs arrived at 10- 2- 7 on Thursday morning, via courier, (Smitties) R43! Driving to Cape Town and back would have cost me R400 in petrol alone!

May 21th ...Friday spent the day transferring 250 rosemary, and 225 thyme seedlings into black bags and supports. Dawid the bee man, arrived to clear the hives of their bounty of honey.
Saturday morning I took a walk to see how the cows were doing. Kai ran under the barbed fencing in his haste to join me, and then it happened. He ripped his back paw open to the bone on the barbed fence as he streaked through it and the blood just poured out. I immediately called out to him and when he came running over, I realised that this needed emergency treatment. I ran into the house, called the vet in Robertson, and was told to bring him in immediately. Robertson is about 30 km’s away, so I need to move quickly. He was attended to immediately and spent a few hours there, undergoing some serious repair to his seriously damaged foot. He came out of the surgery rather woozy, and I brought him home (R700 less!) with a tightly bandaged foot, and a recommendation not to get his foot wet at all! We put plastic shopping bags around his foot, and hoped for the best. Being an active dog, this was going to prove to be a real challenge! Woolies bags were pretty solid, as well as the Parmalat ones! So made sure we used those. Shame he was in some serious discomfort and was quiet the whole weekend. We had a relaxed weekend. Most of the farmers were otherwise occupied so we landed up just having our neighbours Jurie/Helen. Helen arrived with a jar of homemade processed cheese, superb!

Back to C.T. on the Monday a.m. without Kai but Liesie promised to keep an eye on him. My stomach knotted. I loathe leaving a sick animal unattended to. But all went well, and he literally came unglued when we came home on the Friday with Andrea, his best friend! It had been a hectic week in C.T. out every night, dinners, friends, and then full shopping days.