Another day under lockdown

The beginning of week 48. In 32 more days, South Africans will have spent one year under some form of lockdown.
A silly joke:
     Time flies like the wind
     Fruit flies like bananas….

News blues…

(c) Covid-19 dashboard

  
Vaccination rollout begins in SA 
US state by state vaccination rollout 

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Healthy planet, anyone?

New ideas and innovations in the fight against microplastics:

Microplastics have been found in rain, Arctic ice cores, inside the fish we eat, as well as in fruit and vegetables. New research suggests 136,000 tons of microplastics are ejected from the ocean each year, ending up in the air we breathe. They are in human placentas, our wastewater, and our drinking water. All plastic waste, regardless of size, is detrimental to the environment, but microplastics pose a special challenge given their minuscule size (some are 150 times smaller than a human hair) and ability to enter the food chain.

Read, “Magnets, vacuums and tiny nets: the new fight against microplastics” >> 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

One of the pleasures of this time of year in KZN – late summer – is the blossoming coral shrub in the garden. The shrub variety sprawls so I trim back the thorny limbs and cut off the blossoms to display in my bedroom. 
More than 100 species of Erythrina trees and shrubs  – aka coral– aka lucky bean tree, gewone koraalboom (Afrikaans) umsinsi (Zulu) – grow around the world.

A decorative tree, it is also an important ecosystem component, providing food and shelter for a variety of birds, animals and insects. Many birds and insects feed on the nectar. Vervet monkeys eat the flower buds. Kudu, klipspringer, black rhino and baboons graze on the leaves. Black rhinos, elephants and baboons eat the bark. Bush pigs eat the roots, and the brown-headed parrot eats and disperses the seed. Birds such as barbets and woodpeckers nest in the trunks of dead trees, and swarms of bees often inhabit hollow trunks. Erythrina lysistemon is also widely used and enjoyed by mankind. They have been regarded as royal trees, and were planted on the graves of Zulu chiefs. They were planted as living fences around kraals, homesteads and waterholes.
As the photo shows, it produces stunning flowers. It also produces pea-like pods that twist into sculptural shapes to eject the black and red seeds. 
I gather both pods and seeds and sprinkle them with scented oils to create aromatic mini sculptures.

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My mother, still weak, was nevertheless brighter yesterday during my visit. She follows what I’m saying – updates on the dogs and the (slow but steady) trickle of potential house buyers (no firm offers yet) – but still cannot clearly articulate her comments.