Tree walk in Kirstenbosch ...

This morning Gigi and I led a 'tree walk' in Kirstenbosch National Botanic Garden to introduce members of the Western Cape Woodturning Association to some of our local trees. We stopped near the site of an old farmstead - you can see an Apple tree in full bloom behind the group







While showing the group a couple of old Spanish Chestnut trees we spotted a couple of pill bugs (Isopods). The spiky things around the pill bugs are the remains of the chestnut seed pods










Andi photographing pill bugs too













Taking a short snack break on the viewing platform












Restios - a type of Western Cape endemic reed




















On the forest floor we found this interesting specimen ...
This is the fruiting body of a fungus called Aseroe rubra.
It's apparently fungus from Australia - another Australian invasive in South Africa - enough already!

The 'chocolate' is foul smelling spore slime that attracts insects who then crawl/fly off and spread the spores.












Here you can see a couple of bugs crawling around in the spore slime

The common name is a stinkhorn















A side view of Aseroa rubra


















Introducing more trees - there are also many other interesting biological phenomena in the forest as you can gather from the pics in this post











Andi didn't think much of the seeds of the Turkey Berry (Cantheum inerme).

In Africaans the tree is known as 'Gewone Bokdrol' - literally translated 'Ordinary Goat droppings' after the appearance of the seeds








Here is Andi giving her professional opionion of the aesthetic merits of the Turkey Berry seeds












A spotted eagle owl sitting in a wild olive tree













The group watching the owl













Another view of the owl - AHV

A crazy ornithologist that I know delivered a scientific paper at a congress, commenting on numerous bird observations as AHV. During the question time one brave scientist decided to bare his ignorance and asked the meaning of AHV. The ornithologist explained that many of the observations were of birds rapidly flying away from him - Arse Hole View of course!




Andi chatting to the group about a couple of Hyobanche specimens that we visited. This is the group of plants that she studies and is the reason for her annual trips to South Africa - other than woodturning!









This is the Hyobanche sanguinea that was hiding under the bushes (Chrysanthemoides sp.) that Frank Maunder was pearing into in the previous picture. Hyobanche is a root parasite that grows primarily on the roots of Chrysanthemoides sp. as well as a few other species

This 'flower' is actually and inflorescence (and here) composed of numerous bracts and florets rather than being a flower in the true sense of the word










The Kirstenbosch Research Centre (left) and the Rufford Maurice Laing Centre for Biodiversity Conservation (right)











The cycad section just above the Dell













A beautiful Protea hybrid growing in Kirstenbosch


















Showing the beautiful spiral arrangement of the florets that make up this inflorescence











Thanks to Gigi who took many of the above pics while I was talking 'trees' to the group.

Andi's Birthday supper in Cape Town ...

Andi had dinner at Barristers in Newlands with her 'African' family.
From left to right: Dennis, Esprit (Andi's research assistant), Chris, Gigi, Andi and Nick.



Andi terrorising Nick ...



and Chris - who threatens resistance ...



but is instantly 'flashed' into submission!



Followed by Andi's victory celebration - Ice cream and real hot chocolate sauce



Hope you enjoyed your birthday Andi

Andi Wolfe arrived in Cape Town last night ...

Here is Andi and her student field assistent, Esprit Heestand, having supper at home last evening having just e-mailed their loved ones that all is well in Africa!



And this is a few moments ago. Andi and I are sitting up at Pearson house using the wireless network to write up our respective blogs



We are now off to dine at a good restaurant to celebrate Andi's birthday.

Ceramics SA Annual Exhibition ...

This evening Gigi and I attended the opening of the Ceramics SA Annual Exhibition at Artscape.

Some quite impressive pieces. I don't know the names of all the artists unfortunately. The degree to which ceramics and woodturning share forms, textures and inspiration is not surprising but quite clear in many of the pieces on display.

Big ironwood natural edge bowl 2 ...

Here is the big wild olive natural edge bowl that was the subject of the first post now almost completely finished.

Big ironwood natural edge bowl 1 ...

Today was a public holiday.
When I got into the workshop I felt very brave and mounted a large dry cracked ironwood bowl blank on the Stubby.



Before the hard work begins.



Turned the outside shape. That took a couple of hours!



This is the outside shape almost finished. A nice large spiggot turned so the blank can be reversed into the Axminster chuck.



The pith of the log is completely rotten and will result in large windows through the bowl.
I finished the day by reversing the blank and turning just beyond the depth of the wings.

Thanks to Gigi for taking the pics.

Solar eclipse in Cape Town ...

We had a 71% solar eclipse in Capetown at about 15h00 on 22 September.

I did not have anything to shield my eyes so I did not look at the sun.
However I went outside and looked at the shaddows under some trees that grow (imperceptably) in Dorp Street. Look at the shape of the shafts of sunlight on the tarmac. The gaps between the leaves act as pinholes, casting images of the partially obscurred sun on the ground.

A georgous spring day in Cape Town ...

Here is a pic I took on 22 September from the top of the building where I work in Cape Towm. It was an absolutely perfect spring day. This picture of Devil's Peak, left and Table Mountain is a panaorma comprising three separate images. Click on the picture below to enlarge it.



The Company Garden (green trees) can be seen at lower centre. This is where Jan van Riebeeck of the Dutch East India Company planted the first vegetable garden in 1652 shortly after he arrived in the Cape under the instruction to set up a victualing station for ships of the company plying the spice route to the Indies. The green roofed building is theCape Town High Court. My office looks out opposite the clock tower, bottom right. From my office window I get a view of the left half of the moutain just to the left of the concrete monstrosity behind the High Court!

The same day we had a 72% solar eclipse at about 15h000. See next post.

Burl walnut veneer core ...

About 4 years ago my brother-in-law, Hans Volkmann, gave me a 'log'. He had apparently bought it years before with the intention of sculpting it but had never done so. He could not tell me what sort of wood it was. It has been lying in my shed since then.

A couple of weeks ago I hauled out the lump from the bottom of the woodpile. It looked like a very dry burl. Indeed I suspected that it was walnut. I cut some of it up onto small bowl blanks and have since turned a couple of georgeous vessels from it. I'll post some pics soon. While I was busy with one piece on the lathe, Geoff Barton who runs theoffcuts section of Rare Woods stopped buy to deliver info to Gigi for the club newsletter. Looking at the impression of the drive dog on the end of the 'log' he confirmed my suspicion that the piece was actually the core of a log that had been used to make veneer. He confirmed later after conferring with the owner of Rare Woods, Rory Wood (yes believe it!) that it was walnut that Rory had imported about 25 years ago. ... and yes the wood is dry!

Last evening I took a couple of the vessels I had turned from the core to the show and tell at the club. I'll post pics of these georgeous vessels after I have photographed them tomorrow morning. Graeme Hill mentioned to me that Rory Wood had actually ordered 'walnut scraps' from an overseas supplier, expecting to receive scrap walnut planks. He was apparently surprised and dissapointed to receive these veneer cores. Never mind, I have put at least one of them to very good use 25 years later.



See the impression of the drive dog on this end of the 'log'



The wood has lots of character!

Global Warming ! ...

Global warming is essentially caused by the energy that is normally reflected back off the earth's surface being absorbed by the polluted atmosphere rather than passing through unpolluted air back into space. This is due to the recent dramatic increase in carbon dioxide and methane largely caused by the burning of fossil fuel, coal and oil.

On 12 Sept I flew up to a meeting in Pretoria. The following pics are just three of a series that I took as I flew back from Johannesburg to Cape Town. I was hoping to illustrate the improvement in air quality as we flew south, intending to use the pics in a schools presentation on Climate Change that I am preparing. I was not disappointed.



This first picture was taken shortly after we took off from Johannesburg (now Oliver Tambo) International Airport. You can just see the airport through the smog on this fine spring day!



This picture was taken about half way through the two hour flight over the southern Free State, just approaching the Great Karoo. The poluted air mass, left, that covers the northern half of the country where all our coal fired power stations are situated can be clearly seen. The cloudy area on the right of the picture was the extreme northern limit of the cleaner unpolluted southern ocean airmass.



This pic is taken about 18h00, two hours after the first picture. It shows the mountains about 60km north of Cape Town. Compare the great visibility through the atmosphere with the first picture.

Eish, Im glad to live in Cape Town.