The wind is making its presence known – tree limbs sway back and forth, almost like they’re communicating with each other. The fresh air makes breathing a pleasure. Looking out my window there is a sensation of deep peace. It’s a perfect rain and the drought will be relieved at last. Later on the sun is out again.....how blessed can we be....

And then just when we thought things couldn’t get better these little wonders appeared......were they also ecstatic about the rain....was there the prospects of an abundance of food.....not sure, but they are not often seen on Cluny. This little tortoise (photo attached) appeared out of nowhere and seemed very fiesty when approached. He spent some time in the sun and after a while, slowly moved back to his safe little haven in the long grass.

Then someone very unusaul made a gratious entry at the top of our Farm near the dam....a Leguaan (Likkewaan / Lizzard) (photo attached) that was more than a meter long, and was slowly making his way around the house, lingering for quite some time – long enough to allow one of our staff to take a picture, before disappearing in the “wild” again. I had to read up about him and share, since I found it very fascinating. It is said that they average at about one and a half metres but can grow to be longer. Their tails tend to be just a little bit longer than their bodies and they are the second longest lizard species in Southern Africa. They feed on small insects, animals and eggs. For their lairs they will make use of abandoned burrows, holes in large trees or large cracks in rock formations. In these they will hibernate through the winter.

If they are threatened they will attempt to defend themselves by puffing out their throats, hissing loudly and even biting. They are not venomous but their mouths are filled with bacteria that could cause some nasty infections.

While they can commonly be found lounging on rocks on a warm summer day, they are very likely to be found clinging to many a rough surface such as exposed brick, trees and chicken wire.

How fortunate are we to have seen these beautiful creatures on our Farm!!