Weather-wise Cape Town and surrounds have experienced an unusual winter so far this year. Bitterly cold days with rain crashing down and once even a light fall of snow on Table Mountain (!!), have been followed by four or five days of sunny 25 degree C heat, making sitting out in the sun at sidewalk coffee shops a pleasure once again.
The nights are still pretty cold with heavy condensation tracing delicate patterns on windowpanes ...
... and dew dripping from the deck railings.
A mass display of Scabious outside the Harold Porter Botanic Gardens later that day.
An ugly name ( it puts me in mind of a skin disease?) for an exquisite little flower.
A belated birthday tea and, yes, the chocolate cake was mine and I finished every crumb, making up for the calories later with an exhausting hike.
Later in the afternoon, trying to get to grips with my beautiful new 190XPROB tripod legs and 496RC2 compact ball head, photographing the dinosaur ridges of a striking aloe plant. One of the joys of this birthday present from my darling husband is the absolute reliability of the tripod compared to my old one, which was inclined to pull in one of its legs and start a slow and potentially dangerous collapse. The middle column of the tripod can also be pulled out and reversed to a horizontal or diagonal position, making shooting macro a much easier task.
The cycle of life - the faded bloom of yesterday, the full blown flower of today and the promise of the blossoms of tomorrow.
