My sad story. There is a pair of cranes that live near me. They had two babies earlier this year & every morning they would pass through my yard from the vacant block to the lake. One morning I heard them making the most awful loud noise, as only a sandhill crane can. Looking out the door, I saw two stray dogs chasing the adults through the neighbors yard. I ran out, yelling & waving my arms. The dogs stopped, looked at me for a moment then left. Obvious, the adults were trying to lead the dogs away from their young. A few minutes later the adults reappeared with only one baby. Obviously, the dogs had killed one. I have pictures I took the first time they came throught my yard with the babies. They were covered in their soft yellow down before any feathers appeared. It makes me so mad that people let their dogs run loose.

I realise the last post was a year ago - but what the heck... Just recently half-finished a major renovation of an old house (circa 1934) in Observatory, Johannesburg, and am now starting to get stuck into the landscaping. This is my third garden of sizeable proportions in the area - except that this time I decided to wipe the slate clean. Oh boy. Got the tree fellers in and ripped out all the old fruit trees, a very old Loquot and a couple of Australian Black Wattles (fiendish water thirsty weeds - good riddance) Anyhow - the terrain is terraced (located on the south side of the koppie) - but not too steep - so the ground is pretty well drained. Soil needs a lot of conditioning as it is mostly shale. Right now I've levelled the terrace closest to the house and in so doing got rid of most of the kikuyu lawn - easier said than done - noxious beast!!!! The big plan is to plant up an entire Highveld-like Savannah. But with a formal twist! And so to that end I've planted 9 Combretum Erythrophyllum trees like little soldiers and underplanted these with Sanseverias, asparagus, aloes (on the north side of the trees) - A. Chaubaudii/A. Forsteri + stunning new A. hybrids, Helichrysum Petiolare, Dierama Pendula, Grass aloes, crassulas, and GRASSES - oh several varieties - I cannot remember them all. One thing we in Johannesburg see a lot of is grasses - and I think that's why we don't pay too much attention. Pity we cannot buy most of these stunning varieties in the nurseries - but right now with the move towards indigenous landscaping, I feel it's about to change. Some of the large estate developments are showing the way with stunning results. Anyway - I'm grass hunting this Saturday, I've got access to a few lots past Fourways where I'll be digging up those yummy specimens for relocation to my backyard...... Piet Oudolf, eat your heart out!!!! Ha, I even rescued some beautiful grasses (it's now winter - so dried out and dormant!) off the top of a compost heap at my favourite indigenous nursery (with their permission of course) - yep - I think I'm totally hooked on grass. ha ha ha. Oh, and in-between the savannah I'm planning gravel footpaths and formal squares of different hedges, each at differing heights, to tame the wild and stand as silent sentinels of the bushveld. The real reason they're there is to pander to my obsession with pruning things - I figured it was better than punching walls - so I cut things. It keeps me calm. And the shrink agrees. On order is two large Aloe bainsii and 10 Cussonias to guard the pool. And more grasses.

Beautiful photos, everyone! I was about 13 or 14 here, as usual the tallest of the cousins.

Hi! I'm a lurker here because y'all have such wonderful ideas. kittypawz-WOW! You live across from the Priddy Fountain? I went to junior high and part of high school in Highland Park and used to drive past that thing (before it was rebuilt) all the time. oceanna-Your siding pics are too funny. My last home had a huge picture window in the dining room that was 6' from the neighbor's house (all brick). I finally built a trellis on the outside to grow vines over the window and block the view :) Here's what I see outside my windows now..