The Fynbos Blog

The glimmering lights of Paarl

It’s been a busy week in Johannesburg and London and I returned home this morning a little bedraggled and the worse for wear off BA059. Peter points out that its not all because of work, I took advantage of a quieter week than usual in London to catch up with friends and family which was wonderful, but a very bumpy flight home and little sleep didn’t help today.

It’s hot in Paarl and I spent a quiet afternoon doing some work and catching up on emails in the shade of the big blue gums behind the house. This evening there is not a breath of wind, always rare on the mountain and the sky, the mountains are glowing in the light of the rising moon, nearly full.

I walked down to the dam wall in the stillness and all around the fiery necked nightjar and cape eagle owl called in the dusk. These are the sounds of the African night and I felt utterly at home. There is an autumn coolness in the air but the earth smells slightly burned and spicy from the heat of the day. The lights of Paarl glow down in the valley with Paarl rock silhouetted against the setting sky. The moon rises over the house, reflected in the still waters of the dam.

An almost full moon rises behind the house