Two Springs, Two Summers - What's Down the Road??

Oct. 16, 2006

Two Springs, Two Summers – What’s down the Road??

Our arrival here in South Africa has been confusing and comforting at the same time due to the familiarity of the climates to Los Angeles but the change in seasons and calendar. In July we arrived to late Winter after leaving Hawaii and Philadelphia Summer Weather. Plus, there is no central heating that we have seen anywhere in SA, even in tourist hotels. (Course our experience is very limited and confined to communities of Africans and Peace Corps training sites). So we are doubly blessed to now venture into true Spring with gorgeous wildflowers and green, green, everywhere on hillsides and previously golden fields now carpeted with soft luscious green carpet peppered with purple, blue, white and yellow wildflowers. We loved the March wildflowers in Palm Springs but they do not have the backdrop of Irish green and the fabulous skies of billowy thunderheads highlighted with pink and sunlight streams. Not to mention the ancient rock formations that look like Zulu heads and local kraals (small farms with rondavals and corrals) of the residents. Of course we cannot figure out (even after almost 3 months) which direction is west or east or north or south. As true Californians we are looking for the Pacific to give us a clue but it is nowhere in sight.
We planted a test garden last week in an abandoned garden site that stretches for at least an acre in front of our residence. It is the top of the ridge of our mountain and is bordered by beautiful cypress trees and ancient geological formation. The days have been warm and pleasant with daylight until after six so we have a few hours to turn up the fabulous dirt, weed, plant and water. This is more than entertainment as it is a long haul (80 km or 1 hour) with any produce in a parcel on your lap competing with 15 other passenger’s packages, baggage, and children for space to get from a grocery store up to our mountain home. Vryheid has two pleasant, well-stocked nurseries where we obtained seeds for lettuce, onions, cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, tomatoes, beans, carrots and even spring lettuce, thyme, basil and parsley. Yahoo!! I salivated over the small plant sections with healthy looking starter plants but Brendon reminded me about the difficulty in transporting the plants in the Kumbie so we settled for a vast selection of seeds. The soil here is fabulous; combined with the heavy doses of African sun and thunder storms this time of year. So, trial packs of cilantro from seeds provided by Peace Corps Volunteers in a nearby city have sprouted after only two weeks and look very healthy. Our test garden looked a little dry on Sunday but the Spring rains promise fresh vegetables and maybe some food to give away to the local. I am sympathetic with my neighbors in the tiny village 1 km straight down below as they have no access to fresh foods, produce, meat or luxuries of any kind unless they have the time, money and fortitude to travel the 80 km plus the 2 km on the dirt road to get to our community. So the answer is to get a community garden growing to provide fresh food for the local community and eliminate the transport problem. Some of the obstacles to getting the garden started are the lack of water for watering (if the rains fail), pestilences (many amazingly beautiful bugs, moths, beasts abound) and perserverance to bring the garden to fruition. Our interest is to provide some fresh food for the community and to engage the patients (and residents) in gardening tasks, if they are willing, and learn how to grow vegetables in SA.
We have some competitive interests in our evenings that detract from the vegetable garden including fabulous walks or runs on the dirt roads and trails in this area. Tonight, due to the thunderheads and ominous storms close by, we chose the main dirt road that leads from the paved road to the entry of the hospital First we go out of the gated entrance to the hospital (after greeting several patients in bathrobes lounging on the grounds) and meet the elementary and high school students looking for a little fun after a tough day in school. The local high school is also a renowned boarding school named after a Zulu Christian. The kids have little recreation opportunities but are offered an excellent education with no distractions from city life and an exposure to the natural wonders of the planet. They are friendly, silly and way too cool, just like teens from home. (On a run last Friday I raced four of them down a steep hill and of course they beat me out even in their flimsy flip flops). After passing the high school and primary school, we head up a raw stone road that appears to have been dynamited out of the rock to gain access to Mountain High. (Probably 80 years ago when the hospital was founded). We then huff and puff to the high plain, my favorite part of the walk. One side is a steep slope up to the top of the mountain covered by raw timbers and occasional goats and cattle. The other side of the road is a 1000 ft drop down to the tiny settlements of the village, forested canyons, forests and high and low mesas. The view is dizzy. After passing the ancient cement entrance pillars we walk up again to a beautiful meadow now covered with green fields and amazing wildflowers, mostly purple but some yellow and white. Cows and a few locals are usually spotted before we arrive at the dense evergreen forest which goes on for ½ mile before we reach the road. I keep looking in the heavy forest for Bambi but all that is spotted are the amazing four inch long green and brown crickets, some in mating positions on the road. Their bodies are large and look like they could be a delicious protein filled meal which we will keep in mind if the taxis fail us. I haven’t even describe the 300 odd varieties of birds in this area which are delights for the eyes and ears. Next time. Love to you all. bondo