Raindrops on Chaste trees

In the name of Allah the most gracious the most merciful. 

   

29 April 2015.

Raindrops on chaste trees and whiskers on Wolfie, whistling kettle tells me I must make tea, boxes with iris corms tied up with string. These are a few of my favourite things. Hey, waxing lyrical this morning.  Alhamdulilah, my son's operation was successful plates and screws and all and he is hungry, that says it all.

Early this morning was just so beautiful, light drizzles of rain, welcome chill in the air, frogs croaking in the garden. So I donned my gumboots and the cats and I were out. I survey the garden for interesting shots and the hues of autumn reds and copper attract me.









I run around the house remembering dishcloths on the line but they are already soaked. So I stand and peruse the fruit trees that have almost doubled in size. They stand forlorn and half naked with leaves turning brown and shedding but already new buds have developed for spring.



I am so upbeat because Abubakr and I have worked burning the midnight oil, fine tuning our online platforms and cropping pictures of each and every student to include with their membership invitations, they can change it later. Besides I don’t know hey, its April already and I am still a bit dof around the names of 65 students. Thank goodness for the camera. Ja, I take pics of their groups and factions so I know who is who (sheepishly).

Today is perfect to work in the garden, the soil is moist so no watering Shukran Allah. I have left seeding a bit late, preoccupied with a number of things besides lots of tasks that keep me indoors and glued to the monitor. I peep into the box of iris and ranuculus corms that I placed in sawdust and they are already sprouting. They are ready to be planted in the ground. Thinks they will find a good home in the Peace garden.

I rummage through the seeds I collected in the summer and look at my list. I have turnip and spinach seedlings to plant into beds. The garlic I planted late into pots can be transplanted. Alas the broad beans perished. But on the upside I have the following seeds that I will plant in trays or in situ today still, well maybe: Beetroot; Cabbage; Celery; Lettuce; Peas; Radish; Red and green Swiss chard.

I look forward to our workshop in the early afternoon when we’ll discuss what organic gardening is about and what it is not; natural methods of controlling pests and diseases; collecting clean seed; seeing the garden as an entire ecosystem (plants and animals that share the same resources and rely on each other); encouraging our best friends, the insects; collection points for recycling and water management. And by Friday we can have a planting bonanza – the compost has settled and half of the beds can be filled with new plants and seedlings.

Garden tools are so expensive but I managed to find a wheel barrow with hard wheel; a steel rake (secondhand for R70) ; garden gloves and a good spade and fork as well as a packet of bone meal from our small garden budget. The pink wheelbarrow still serves us well but is starting to tear.

Last week gourmet gardeners came to work with tackies but I am sure they learnt that lesson well and will get some gumboots. I might just reward them with a picnic when they’re done and who knows maybe we can learn to do a gumboot dance.

Students in gum boots with thick winter socks
Spading and planting and running amok
Cool autumn weather that makes my heart sing
These are a few of my favourite things.

 

When the dog bites, when the bee stings
When I'm feeling sad
I simply remember my favourite things
And then I don't feel so bad.

Plant food and do a gumboot dance to keep warm.

Have a wonderful day!

Yasmine

Be mindful and don't despair

In the name of Allah the most gracious, the most merciful.

 

27 April 2015.

Despairing is not good for the soul. Whether you can’t find a house to rent; going in for an operation to have screws and wires inserted in your ankle; can’t find a job or a bursary or have to receive treatment for an illness, it’s easy to slip into that mode.  One of the key things to do is to distract oneself from thoughts that cannot be helpful. It’s easy to give advice “think good thoughts, happy thoughts”. But it is both the mind and body that needs to be arrested from despondency. So I bake and I write and I work and I decide to polish the pots and cutlery. I organise my thoughts and revisit my tasks. And then I am out in the garden for solace in the beautiful fiesta of fuchsia, I keep an eye on the chrysalis still on the wall, I separate clumps of wild garlic and I plant turmeric - shukran to Adnaan who bought it at Soil for Life with talons.

What always helps me is knowing that Allah SWT will not give me more than I can bear. And over time I have found a hundred different ways to cope. I start with a thankful list and I write it by hand. There’s a certain kind of soothing when you clutch the pen as your hand glides over paper. I have done this countless times and every time I am surprised at all of the small things one has to be thankful for.

Like being thankful to family and friends who are actually there when they say they are. That your belly does not ache of hunger; that you have good health and most of your teeth; that there is a roof over your head; that you got invited and sponsored for a once in a lifetime educational trip; that your children are caring and amazing; that your husband takes the time to sit you down, make you a cup of tea and a warm hug and you’re good to go; that your cats mew, look you in the eye, jump up on your bed and make themselves comfortable at your back while you’re typing.

Be thankful that you have a few tins of groceries in your cupboard and two rolls of double ply and not a lot of dirty laundry and that food you got from your host at the wedding, will make your neighbour so happy when you share it. Be thankful that there is a last pound of butter in the fridge and the last bits of coconut to make hertsoggies and the last of the cocoa and milk to brew a pot. Be thankful if you can call a friend and ask for some seedlings and he rocks up with a tray of spinach and a tray of turnips, 400 of them.

Be mindful that despite everything that you are enduring there is someone in more pain, more hungry, more worried, more confused, more devastated by earthquakes and phenomena outside of their control, battling their demons and hopeful against all odds. Be mindful that a percentage of the world is at war and that someone lost a limb or daughter or a baby or a loved one or all of them at once. Think about those who have lost their sight or had their bodies put together with plates and wires and are in excruciating pain and those who have woken up from a stroke. Think about children and young women who have been abducted and there is no help coming. Or those who have tortured their souls with drugs.

But most of all just step outside and breath in deeply and appreciate the garden and the caterpillars  and the greenery and if you don’t have a garden then look up into the sky and contemplate your Lord. And if none of that works, well then I don’t know, hey. I am sitting here with those warmly baked hertsoggies and cocoa and grateful just to be alive and to be safe and loved and I send duahs for those who despair and also for those who need them for tomorrow's operation.

Plant food and don’t despair.

Later Yasmine.

Planting for winter

In the name of Allah, the most gracious, the most Merciful.

 

 

23 April 2015.

The cats mew at the door before dawn. I say shoosh go away, but I get up nonetheless. They bounce down the passage and wag their tails. I’d like to think they are happy to see me when I greet, but as they push their snouts into bowls, I know it’s not me.

The autumn morning is quite chill and I do reconnaissance to check for Stalker Cat. Satisfied that he is not around, I open the doors and let the cats out and go back inside.

Sorry for the lull in the conversation, have been so busy juggling. Our chances of finding a house look positive thank you Allah. I have become so disillusioned with the rudeness of agents never letting one know if you  were lucky just a “its taken!”- no “dear Yasmine, I regret to inform you that  the house you inquired about has been taken, better luck next time”. So much for good customer relations. We finally spoke to some people who are helpful in getting a place that is reasonably priced for good space. I am so hoping we get the one with the fireplace and an oven to bake all sorts of warm goodies for winter.

But enough, patience is all. I’ve really missed blogging and responding to those who ask what happened to the Schaapkraal diaries, so here goes. What have I been up to? Mentally rewinding…

Yesterday I took a red eye flight to OR and the Gautrain to Pretoria with a few colleagues almost a precursor to a trip we will be making as post grads to Oslo in the coming few weeks. We went to sort out Schengen visas and after on line applications scheduled staggered appointments. I laugh now, but filling in all the details of siblings and children when you come from a large family can be quite daunting ne. It was a lovely experience though – the Gautrain was efficient and comfortable but somehow I had visions of a bullet train whooshing us off to our destination in a whizz. It took us just over an hour from the airport. We are all excited for our trip - a conference on Learning outside the Formal Educational System and alternating between formal, informal and non-formal learning as well as some site visits.

While we waited at the Norwegian embassy some suggestions from others to visit the Palace and Art park. I am so going on a trip to see the fjords right? Maybe on Viking ship?

I have also been busy with researching new materials and creating "knowledge bags" for a post graduate course and it has been wonderful. All the things out there, from youTube videos and ebooks and articles and so much more. I am elated at all the MOOCS (Massive Open Online Courses (free online courses) check out https://www.mooc-list.com/ and https://www.class-central.com/report/ten-most-popular-moocs-april-2015/. And a particularly useful resource for teachers is the Educational Technology and Mobile Learning site.

I enjoy traipsing up to campus for seminars and meeting other post grad colleagues and have refined my methodological tools, and continue to gather data. Insha’Allah this too will come to an end.

I am excited about flipping our classes for this term and starting our stewardship module earlier this year. We use the blended learning approach but decided to create on line platforms in order that there are extra readings at learners fingertips; discussion board; online quizzes; online posting and submissions of assignments and above all to prepare students for 21st Century learning. 

Have been buying compost instead of making our own; tools and wheelbarrows and checking out which of Bob Flowerdew’s wonderful books are free resources for Gourmet garden factions. The Art and Creative expression faction started off with a bang and the IPSidedge Blog group are starting with a photographic workshop soon and already busy chatting to all and taking pics and will post soon insha’Allah.

Our IHYA group are enjoying their classes amidst shuffling their workload as teachers, parents and betrothals. We hope to have our Ghazali day soon and we are excited to take some time out watch educational videos/vimeos and discussion and meeting families. One of our teachers has offered their family space in the Faure Kramat area. Roadtrip!

 

As for progress with gardens. We have rebagged our propagated plants, fruit trees and so on for new projects this year and Sheikh Saaleem has offered us space at their family home till we can sort out iLABS offices. Shukran so much to the Peck family for use also of their borehole water to keep the plants happy.


I am happy to see that the asparagus has grown a metre in length with lots of new shoots; one red hot chilli; the date pips have developed into strong plants; the chrysalis still hangs silently on the wall; the curry leaf tree has lots of new plants that emerged at the base and ready for separation and the trailer is packed with lemon grass and chaste trees waiting to be transported to their new home. But wait, that’s not all the chaste trees are sporting their first round of berries!!!

During the end of term vacation, a few lecturers at IPSA took young leaders on a paintball excursion. I was so not looking forward to bruises so the rest of us played 30 seconds and dominoes and braaied. Let’s look at some pics…

 

 

So for tomorrow, we are donning our gumboots and spade in hand will start tilling new spaces and checking soil. We plan to create a peace corner with a swing and all. The beds will be resuscitated after we shift some of herbs and small date palms. We’ll plant strawberries on the edges of the beds so in September the strawberries will hang down. And then we’ll plant some spinach.

So have a beautiful end of week and Jumuah Mubarak, enjoy the long weekend!

Plant food and start planting for winter.

Yasmine

Ps. Planting for winter in the western Cape are the following vegetables:

Beetroot
Broad been
Cabbage
Carrot
Celery
Dwarf spinach
Endive
Garlic
Kohlrabi
Leek
Lettuce
Onion
Parsley
Parsnip
Peas
Radish
Swede turnip
Swiss chard
Turnips