blossoms...

Tomorrow, September 1st, marks the beginning of spring here in Southern Africa. It also marks the seventeenth anniversary of the birth of Joreth van der Merwe, but outside of Fraaiuitzicht, that has limited impact. Spring is definitely making an impact. The pink peach blossoms and white apricot blossoms are splashing color all over a still dull, brown landscape. Bees are busy with their God-given pollination duty and I look forward more every day to when those blossoms will become succulent fruit. This morning I happened to notice the blossoms in the early morning sun and decided to snap a picture quickly before getting into the car and heading to school. I will probably post more later on, but this is it for now.


Last night I tried to get a "head start" on spring and took a walk down to the fields barefoot. After pulling a few massive thorns out of my very soft, winter feet, I was beginning to wonder just how good of an idea it really was. I made it down to where SW was working on his crop irrigating system and I soon realized it was a not quite spring. The alfalfa that had just been sprayed was so cold my feet were hurting. When we headed back to the house, he had mercy on my stupidity and gave me his horse and he walked. I put my numb feet against the horse's warm belly and was able to warm them somewhat. I guess Winter still has a few kicks left in her.

This one is just for fun. An unimpressed Lala and my hat.

A trip up the "Cow's Nose..."

One of Africa's specialties is sunrises. I read a book where the lady called sunset over the high veld, "magic hour," but I think the true magic happens in the early morning. The only ones awake are the birds that chatter incessantly over their morning coffee. The lights of Maseru haven't yet yielded their nocturnal vigil to the morning sun and everything is just holding its breath for Daybreak to make her appearance.

A few weeks ago, S.W. van der Merwe and I decided we wanted to do something we had not done since Father's Day morning, 2008. Climb Bees Neus (meaning Cow's Nose) in the early morning before dawn and watch the sunrise. Chelsea Revell (a student staying on the farm for internship from Gordon College in Massachusetts) and Michelle Waterson (a coworker and best friend of my fiance) and Reuben Rodriguez(a student on internship from Penn View Bible College) joined us in the early morning hike. We walked in the early morning cold, but were soon warmed well enough by the exertion. Our coats-it soon turned out-were later at the top.




We made a fire and enjoyed a beautiful view, some hot coffee and friendship. The only thing that could have made things better is having Delani there. Sadly, she was at home in Graaff-Reinet and could not make it.

a field trip to the farm...

This past Friday I had the privilege of taking my students as well as Mr. Kolobe's Lower Learning Center fourth graders to Fraaiuitzicht Farm for a field trip. The fourth grade curriculum has a project that requires them to visit a farm and to see how it works and why it works the way it does and then to do an in-class, group project. I was quite excited about it since I live on said farm and enjoy farm work and appreciate the struggle that it is to be a small, family farmer like my friend S.W. So, since I had recently taken care of his cattle in the evenings while he was doing mission work in Zambia, I thought I had the leverage to ask him a favor. While riding on the combine with him the one evening after school, I asked him if he would be willing to play teacher and he acquiesced to my request.

So we loaded up the students and took them to the farm to get a taste of what being a farmer was like. They were thrilled to be in the great outdoors and just not to be at school in general. S.W. showed them what we fed them in the winter and how and why they were fed certain foods.





The day wrapped up with horse rides and weighing cattle. Joreth was kind enough to give them horse rides. This is Mammy with Joreth.