Farewell to the Kammanassie and 2015!

It is not only the end of one of the most amazing and unexpected seasons ever in our lives, but also the end of 2015!! Tomorrow we are leaving St. Ancothesa farm and the stunning Kammanassie valley behind, with sadness but also peace of heart, knowing it is time to move on and that there is much still to come.

We love this place, and we love the people too - thanks and thoughts to all the neighbors; the Burgers, the Keysers, Hannes and his mom, the Esterhuizens, and the Minnies, de Jagers and Van Roon-Giffords in George as well as Apools and co.

Places in the valley...

Driving to Uniondale. 

Sunrise on our 'stoep'....

....and the view. 

The swimming spring dam. 

We took so many pictures when going on walks...

Uniondale's unique liquor store. 

Goodbye Kammanassie, and happy New Year!!

Friends and Explorations

We've had a lovely time recently as we had visitors - old friends from Potchefstroom stayed with us on the farm for a few days, and we showed them the Garden Route, with relaxed days on the farm in between.

The day after they arrived, we went to Victoria Bay - me and my friend got fried while swimming and were bonded by mutual redness the remainder of their stay. It was a proper hot beach day though, ice cream included. On the way back via Montagu Pass, we stopped for a relieving cold swim in the spring dam and a group photo. 

The Outeniqua Mountains. 

Cool off. 

A background doesn't get better. 

We showed them the little town of Uniondale, and visited people living on a very isolated farm near Haarlem. We also drove Prince Alfred Pass in the mist, and through the stunning Knysna Forest (we did this once before). 

Uniondale's church. 

Prince Alfred Pass in the mist.

Excellent marketing through curiosity. 

Pit stop. 

Symmetry.

We stopped at the 'Dal van Varings' (Valley of Ferns) and two big yellowwood trees. Cool, wet, misty and mysterious, the Peterse loved the forest.

Ferns. 

Farm Boys - A Trip Down Memory Lane

As our time on the farm runs out, we've been thinking and looking back to what we've done and learned. This post is dedicated to the gang of boys that has played and had fun here on the farm during our stay, who welcomed Theuns and Maarten (though shy at first), and made them temporary farm boys as well.

Every week (as far as needed/possible), Theuns and Maarten has looked after and played with Diesel on Thursdays and Fridays - we've all come to love him as a youngest brother. By all means the farthest thing from shy and quiet, Diesel, Theuns and Maarten has done everything from collecting straw for piglets, to reading, drawing, swimming, and building mudmen.

Winter floods and swimming - they were blue afterwards. 

Card-house smiles. 

Endless drawing (he makes them draw a picture then colors it in himself). 

'Working' getting straw for the piglets. 

Temporarily water drawing, with ice as a medium. 

Reading. 

We love you, Diesel. 

With plenty of hills and bikes available, racing downhill has been an adrenaline filled entertainment.

The boys are back in town...

Diesel brakes barefoot; not the others though. They aren't that tough. 

Sometimes, racing and swimming even got combined! Video - Diesel in action! 

Then there has been exploring and digging tunnels....

Friends, Mountains, and Stars

Recently we've had some friends come visit for a weekend - it was lovely seeing them again and we had a fun time showing them around the farm. In between the 'kuier', 'braai' (not barbecue) and eating, we went on some long walks, and because of the (wonderful) warm weather even had a surprise first-of-the-season swim!!

There was an incredible amount of flowers in the veld, but all different from what I documented in September. 

Smile! 

Break time. 

Proof for the first-of-the-season swim. 

I asked them to wave, but the result was better.  

From Kitten to Cat to Kittens!

Over the past year we had our first ever cat in the house (which has always been my dream)! Our dear little kitten Nassie is however not so little anymore - we've had a wonderful time so far being cat owners (or perhaps cat-owned is more accurate?), and once again observed how all animals have their own personality. We enjoy Nassie tremendously, even mom and dad (who has never even had a cat when they were children)! Her dainty manners, stately cleanliness and clear attitude of absolute royalty makes us all smile. For no reason we can see, she strictly prefers to sleep on Theuns' bed during the day, and likes her morning pet at 8:00am precisely, thank you. She knows exactly what she wants and what she doesn't want - and woe to the one who dares to cross her on a bad day.

So here's a few photos of the past year...

Tiny and adopted, last December. 

She went from baby kitten to playful kitten to know-it-all-but-not-really teenager with hormones...

 .....and now Nassie is a mother!

From 'Kammanassie' to 'Mammanassie'...

She delivered two kittens in the bathroom, and was purring most proudly for the next 2 hours.

 One day old. 

"A dog will flatter you but you have to flatter the cat." ~ George Mikes

Animals Farewell - Horses' New Home and Piglets Gone

Earlier in September, our 2 ponies Arend and Valk found a new home... Because we are only staying on the farm until the end of the year, we knew from the start we would have to sell them again. They taught us many lessons, and we have been blessed by the opportunity to have had horses and getting some valuable experience and life lessons.

What triggered the sale so soon though, was the planting of new orchards. Their camp (and grazing/food) next to our house is now a young fig orchard.

The new owners live on a farm in the Baviaans, and we are sure they will take good care of the ponies - so after having come to visit and see Arend and Valk once, the next step was to figure out the transporting business. 

After weighing Arend on the cattle scale, we determined that the 2 ponies together on a trailer would still be under the weight limit. Thus, the trailer it was! 

First, they tried coaxing Arend on, thinking that if they could get him on Valk would quickly follow. Unfortunately they had underestimated Arend's stubbornness. 

Tempting with treats...

He refused to budge.