Blue gums. The first light of day

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm 

The first light of day sweeps across some blue gums (Eucalyptus) on our smallholding (Tarlton, Gauteng, South Africa).

Barn Owl / Nonnetjie-Uil

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - ©Maree Clarkson


Barn Owl (Tyto alba)


Afrikaans : Nonnetjie-uil

Ghostly pale and (not) strictly nocturnal, Barn Owls (Tyto alba) are silent predators of the night world. Lanky, with a whitish face, chest, and belly, and buffy upperparts, this owl roosts in hidden, quiet places during the day. By night, they hunt on buoyant wingbeats in open fields and meadows. You can find them by listening for their eerie, raspy calls, quite unlike the hoots of other owls. Despite a worldwide distribution, Barn Owls are declining in parts of their range due to habitat loss. I for one, do not see them as often as I used to.

Once welcomed by farmers as one form of pest control, the population is now under threat from modern farming techniques, e.g. the destruction of hedgerows & meadowland, which affect their prey, the removal of old barns & buildings, which were their nesting places and the use of chemicals to control rodents.

The Owl Rescue Centre http://www.owlrescue911.webs.com/ is the only raptor centre in South Africa that primarily focus on owl species. They give all their time and attention to owl species because of the high mortality rate of owls in South Africa, making owls vulnerable to a decreasing population. They rehabilitate and release 200 – 250 Spotted Eagle Owls, 100 – 150 Barn Owls and 80 -100 other owl species each year. SHOULD YOU FIND AN OWL THAT YOU SUSPECT MIGHT BE INJURED, PLEASE CALL THEM ON
082 719 5463 (24/7 emergency line – South Africa)

T. alba is found almost anywhere in the world except polar and desert regions, Asia north of the Alpide belt, most of Indonesia, and the Pacific islands. However, they have been introduced to control rodents in the Hawaiian island of Kuai. ..........

Two Daisies

Acrylic on primed canvas panel – 9″ × 12″ - unframed

Two daisies from my garden in a blue bottle on my kitchen table.

Bright flowers, whose home is everywhere
Bold in maternal nature’s care
And all the long year through the heir
Of joy and sorrow,
Methinks that there abides in thee
Some concord with humanity,
Given to no other flower I see
The forest through.

- William Wordsworth, To the Daisy

ITEM ID : TwoDaisiesAcrylic

PRICE : R650.00 including postage in South Africa

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Where Creation keeps its own slow time

My mind is at ease in Africa 

Where the people still live close to the soil 

And the seasons mark my changing moods 

Where the markets hustle with trading 

And Creation keeps its own slow time 

© 2006 Wayne Visser – Extract from "I know a place in Africa"

W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - 8" x 12" - unframed

ITEM ID : WhereCreation
PRICE: R350.00 including postagein South Africa

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Petals fall

A rose is the visible result of an infinitude of complicated goings on in the bosom of the earth and in the air above, and similarly a work of art is the product of strange activities in the human mind. 

- Clive Bell 

 

Acrylics on canvas panel – 9″ × 12″ - unframed

Flower petals fall one by one

After the long day is done 

This flower has lived a good life 

With very little strife 

Memories of busy bees 

And images of little hands fingering it lovingly 

A lover’s purpose was in mind 

When it was picked from the vine 

Given to the one he loved 

As a token of all the things they’ve done 

Drooping low in the vase 

Is where it takes its resting place 

As its petals fall one by one 

One by one

- Bryanne Colver

ITEM ID : PetalsFall
PRICE : R350.00 including postage

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