Winter is coming!

 

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

The first signs of winter are already showing amongst the bluegum trees on our smallholding (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa). Yellow grass, fallen leaves and longer shadows accompany me as I take my (now cold) early morning walks. The lizards and snakes have all but disappeared or only come out much later in the day as it warms up. Even the birds seem to be more quiet, preferring to sit in the top branches of some dead trees, basking in the early morning sun and warming up before taking on the day.

The beauties of Nature

Tasmanian bluegum (Eucalyptus globulus) - Acrylic on Art board canvas 

This large, straight-trunked tree grows to about 70m tall in open forests in south-eastern Tasmania, on Bass Strait islands and in parts of southern Victoria. Its common name comes from the waxy blue-green colour of its juvenile leaves. The plant’s cream-coloured flowers are a good source of nectar for bees and the resultant honey is dense and strongly flavoured. Here in South Africa, this bluegum is widely planted as forage for our honey bee populations.

ITEM ID : BeautiesOfNatureAncrylic

Early-morning Bluegums

Acrylic on Bockingford 300gsm 

The first light of day sweeps across some bluegums (Eucalyptus trees) in Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa.

Bluegums play in important part in South Africa's economy as they provide forage for our threatened honey bee population. 

ITEM ID : EarlyMorningBluegumsAcrylic

PRICE : R650.00 postage included in South Africa

Gums and bees - Botanical

W&N watercolour and ink on Bockingford 300gsm 
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Eucalyptus is the most widely planted hardwood genus in the world, covering more than 19 million hectares. South Africa relies heavily on plantations of exotic forestry species, particularly Eucalyptus, to meet its timber needs.

Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees and shrubs belonging to the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. There are no indigenous eucalypts in South Africa, but they play an important role in our ecology, especially to the Bee-keeping industry. Bee-keepers need a supply of forage (food) for their colonies throughout the year. Because Eucalyptus flower at various times of the year, they provide a constant and reliable flow of nectar and a source of pollen, making them essential to the bee-keeping industry.

South Africa’s honey bees are under threat. They face diminishing habitat and forage resources, attack by the Varroa mite pest and American Foul-brood disease, pollution from pesticides, and stress from being worked hard to provide a pollination service. For honey bee populations to withstand these stresses, a healthy diet is critical for a fully-functioning immune system.

So next time you drive past a Eucalyptus tree, give a thought to the important role this tree plays in our landscape.

You can purchase a framed print or other products at my RedBubble shop :

Bluegum bush at the dam

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

 
Not far from us is this dam with a lovely blue gum bush on one side. I used to sketch here often a few years ago, but now the dam wall is broken and there’s only a stream trickling through when it rains. A great loss to the environment, as it used to offer food and shelter for all sorts of wildlife from Egyptian Geese to a plethora of water birds and lots of small mammals. The price we pay for progress…

Early morning landscape - SOLD

"With each sunrise, we start anew"

"Early Morning Landscape" - watercolour on Moleskine 200gsm - Maree©
Size : 12" x 8" - unframed - SOLD

The sun rising gently behind our Blue Gum forest and, with some imagination, the fields are turned into a wonder-wetland.

This painting is one in a series of paintings done by painting directly onto the paper, no sketching done before-hand. Lately I have found that, unless I am doing something very detailed, like the feathers of a bird, I am eager to get the image onto paper or canvass and don't feel like restricting myself with pencil lines.

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Blue Gums & Black Wattles - Acrylic SOLD

God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease,

avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods.

But he cannot save them from fools.

- John Muir

"Blue Gum and Black Wattle trees" Acrylic on Bockingford 300gsm watercolour paper - Maree©
SIZE : 11" x 7.5" - unframed - SOLD

In this painting I experimented with acrylics on a good, thick Bockingford watercolour paper and decided I just LOVE how the acrylics feel on the paper. It's amazing! I think I'm falling more and more in love with this versatile medium.

These trees are on our smallholding and although we are trying to get rid of all the Black Wattles, they spring up faster than you try to eradicate them. The problem is that they produce a huge amount of seeds, which can grow in the most arid and infertile of soils. Even worse, these seeds can live up to a 90 years. And after a first clean-up, even though you have removed hundreds of trees, millions of young seedling appear. It's basically fighting a losing battle. These evergreen trees were originally imported from Australia for our tanning industry.

Now the touchy subject: chemicals. One simply cannot get rid of Black Wattles unless you use a good herbicide. Cutting a black wattle and hoping it will die, is wishful thinking. We do not use any chemicals at all, with the result that we have an on-going battle, but which provides employment opportunities as we hire several casual workers every year to do another clean-up.

The spreading growing habit of the Black Wattle

The flowers of the Black Wattle also causes great outbreaks of hay fever among hay fever sufferers during spring.

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Sunset through the Blue Gums (SOLD)

"Know what you want to do, hold the thought firmly, and do every day what should be done, and every sunset will see you that much nearer the goal."

- Elbert Hubbard

"Sunset through the Blue gums" - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm
Size : 12" x 8.5" - unframed SOLD

The smallholding across the road from us faces West and the setting sun made a spectacular show through the blue gum trees the other evening.

PRAYER OF THE WOODS

(A poem fastened to trees in the Portuguese forests for more than a 1,000 years)

Ye who pass by and would raise your hand against me,

listen to me before you harm me.

I am the heat of your heart on the cold winter nights,

The friendly shade screening you from summer sun,

And my fruits are refreshing draughts,

Quenching your thirst as you journey on.

I am the beam that holds your house,

The board of your table,

The bed on which you lie,

The timber that builds your boat.

I am the handle of your hoe,

The door of your homestead,

The wood of your cradle,

And the shell of your coffin.

I am the bread of kindness and the flower of beauty.

Ye who pass by, listen to my prayer:

HARM ME NOT.

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Sunrise through the Blue Gums (SOLD)

“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”

- Martin Luther

"Sunrise through the Blue gums" - watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - Maree©
Size 9" x 12" - SOLD

The sun rising through our Blue gum forest on Sunday morning - the flowers are a wish for the New Year!

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