22nd December 2007

One of the white lilies we transplanted has righted itself, and is standing upright already so – fingers crossed – we may have succeeded with at least some of the new plants in our balcony flowerbeds.

It rained heavily this morning, which will do wonders for the newly transplanted flowers (all the plants seem to react more to the rain, than they do to artificial watering, which is interesting – perhaps the moisture content in the air is as important as the amount of water actually seeping into the ground?).

Click to enlarge: Village Weavers & Bulbul at birdbath The birds have taken like fish to water to the new birdbath flowerbed layout, particularly with the sudden appearance of extra “ready-made” trees. The adult Glossy Starlings were feeding their chicks with bread from the bird table. It was interesting to see the adults dipping some of the old dry bits of bread into the water to soften them up before feeding the chicks. It was also amusing to see the chicks, who seemed perfectly capable of picking up the bread for themselves when the parents were nowhere in sight, suddenly start begging when the parents returned.

Glossy Starling feeding one of its chicks [left] at the birdbath (click any image to enlarge) The Village Weavers males were there in force today too (squabbling amongst themselves). The females were not to be seen: I think they’re sitting on the nests, and only come off once in a while to feed themselves.

More flowers are blossoming today, including the Euphorbia in our garden, up next to the stocky Baobab at the top of our driveway. The Four O’Clock Flowers down near the well are flowering in great profusion. We saw some bees on them today (normally they are smothered with bees, but this year, the bees have been scarce). The Peaceful Place is also dotted with delicate white flowers, and the riverbank is decorated with yet more different blossoms. Other plants are fruiting, seeding and podding, like the Bauhinia with its green pea-like pods. The “seagrass /cabbage” leaves are continuing to turn yellow and curl up, all across the property. Soon the leaves will be no more, and the spider-bulbs they leave behind in the soil will wait patiently for the next rains and the next cycle of growth…

Euphorbia flowering (click to enlarge any image)
Four o'Clock Flowers
White flowers in The Peaceful Place
Bauhinia pods

I love the days preceding full moon, when the moon rises before sunset, while the sky is still blue. Today, the moon looked beautiful like this, floating in its blue sky and reflecting like a jewel in the river below.

View more Kenyan wild flower photos...
View more images of indigenous plants and flowers in our garden & flowerbeds...
View shots of Kulafumbi - the land, the sky, the moon, the sun - through the seasons...
View more pictures from our birdbath...