His Holiness the Dalai Lama

Lions welcome

Exploring a new walking area in Tokai (a southern suburb of Cape Town) I encountered a remarkable sign at the entrance of a private estate. It read:"Private property. Trespassers will be prosecuted. Lions welcome".
That area is part of the Table Mountain National Park and Lupa and I have walked there several times. Fascinating is that over many hectares all the (non-indigenous) trees of the former tree plantation have been cut down, with the result that the world famous South African Fynbos is reappearing again after only one year.
For the first time in my life I saw many Geranium plants that are higher than I am.

Cup of Mighty Leaf

Since her operation Eva and a cup of coffee do not agree anymore. For that reason she ordered some tea in our favourite coffee shop called "Tashas".
Again I want to share with you the text that accompanies the pouch:
"Magic of the Mighty Leaf.
Since ancient times, a freshly brewed pot filled with whole tea leaves has been revered as the richest in character. Today we proudly continue the tradition. Our handcrafted silken biodegradable pouches are packed with our artisan blends of whole tea leaves, fruits, herbs, spices and flavors too big for ordinary tea bags. Enjoy the liberation of pure tea goodness and rediscover the pleasure of the way tea was naturally meant to be."
Woaw.
That is what I call good marketing, using food for thought as a way of promoting an article.

Dalai Lama

While Eva was having a physio treatment I was reading a South African magazine called Odyssey in the waiting room.
There I found the following quote from the Dalai Lama.
His Holiness was asked: "What surprises you most about humanity?"
He answered:
"What surprises me most is Man.
Because he sacrifices his health in order to make money.
Then he sacrifices his money to recuperate his health.
Then he is so anxious about the future that he does not enjoy the present.
And as a result he doesn't live in the present or the future.
And he lives as if he is never going to die,
and then he dies, having never really lived."

With love and blessings to you all.

Bruno

Cava went flying

MY dog, MY wife, MY children, MY grandchildren; I OWN a dog...
These are words we use almost every day.
Just as if we can OWN a wife, a child or a dog for that matter.
Have you ever thought about what it really means when you speak about "owning" a dog?
Do you really think that a dog can be your property, just as if (s)he is a fridge, a car or a television set?
A while ago I read a German book about communicating with dogs and I liked it when the author did not use the word "Besitzer" (owner) when writing but "Bezugsperson" (the person to whom the dog relates most closely). In English we can imagine that we use the word dog - "carer" instead of dog owner.
I like that because when a dog is willing to live with me then I am more than willing to take care of the dog.
Cava was a dog I cared for and he has been one of my best teachers. He was not a big dog and he was not a dog of a breed with a reputation (like German Shepherd or Doberman or Pit Bull or whatever). But he had a lot of charisma and he was a natural born leader. He showed me how he clearly was the leader of our pack simply with his energy, his presence, his behaviour and his body language.
He did not have to shout. He was not nervous. He did not use violence. He was definitely not human. Whenever I copied him when dealing with so-called "difficult" dogs, it worked.
He was a dog and I accepted him as a dog.
I never owned him.
Cava is gone now for he was very ill and suffering.
We took the decision to have him put to sleep and made an appointment with the nearest vet in Wynberg.
Cava left us for the eternal hunting fields at 11 o'clock on Friday 11th of the 11th month of the year 2011.
Half an hour later having a cup of coffee at Tashas while overlooking the Table mountain in Cape Town, Eva and I saw a small, white cloud in the blue sky. We very clearly saw that the cloud represented Cava's head, his body, his tail and his four long legs.
He was flying away.
Five years ago when Chica was put to sleep I was literally devastated. Today I know that while I cried for Chica I also cried for myself. A lot of my sadness was self pity.
When Cava left us I felt much more balanced that 5 years ago. He showed me how he dealt with dying. Dying was something as natural as living for him. Our other dog Lupa was present when we put Cava to sleep but she certainly was not devastated.
Dying is as natural as living.
It must not necessarily be a very sad event.
Cava is not suffering anymore. He is now hunting in the skies.

With love and blessings

Bruno

Cava and Lupa visiting Groot Constantia

Dear friends,

There is a national monument in one of the suburbs of Cape Town that is called "Groot Constantia". It is the place where the very first wine was made in the Cape in the year 1657 and today it is still a wine farm.
I love to walk with the dogs on the estate because of the wide open spaces, the magnificent view overlooking the Table mountain and the Ocean and the presence of the many birds. On the estate they have what is called a "dam" which is a huge pond or small lake where hundreds of big birds are living. I have seen Guinea Fowl, Ibis Hadedas, geese, ducks and many other birds. For the first time of my life I saw geese that can sit on tree branches. It is quite dangerous to walk underneath them because they are producing impressive droppings.
The estate is much, much bigger than the small vineyards in la Comunidad de Valencia. The rows of vines are planted wider apart, allowing the use of much bigger tractors, and the grapes are grown on a higher level making the cutting during the harvest easier for human backs. Compared to the heavy red earth in Jalon the Groot Constantia vines are growing in something I would call a rather sandy soil.

Four seasons.
People here are saying that it is normal to have 4 seasons in one day. It means for instance that I get up at 6.00 am and wear my heavy duty jacket during the walk with the dogs while rain is pouring down. A few hours later the sun is shining and when there is no wind I can wear shorts. For our afternoon walk I have to change shorts for long trousers and in the evening I even have to wear a sweater at home because it is that cold outside.

Labels
It is so easy to buy organic food here. When I spoke about organic food in Jalon, people looked at me as if I was E.T. Here it is considered as normal.
It is my pleasure to copy the texts of some labels.
My Dad's Honey
Every morning our bees rush out and collect nectar to make this extraordinary honey. We would like to thank every single bee involved. My Dad's Honey is harvested exclusively from our own hives.
(Underneath the text is the logotype of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, confirming that the honey is "Badger Friendly")
Woolworths Organic Cheddar
Produced from cows that roam free and graze in organic pastures.
My hats
I clearly remember that many friends were sort of jealous of my beautiful hats.
It was pure delight for me to visit the shop called Union Cape Market, where Eva bought me a present. It was....a new hat, because she does not like the old ones with the sweat stains.
Read what the label says about my new "Rogue" hat.
"One of my mates asked me to design a hat for him to wear in the bush. He said that there was nothing he'd seen in the shops that was "right". I asked him what was "right".
"Leather", he said, "all leather and it must be the right colour. It must have a wide curved brim with a stiffener around the edge to keep the shape even if I drive over it."
So we stitched it double in case he does.
"Shape", he said. "Get the shape right and call it "Rogue" and I'll be your first customer".
So we did and he was.....
I see him often and he still wears that hat. He designed your hat - we only make him.

But for me the most amazing thing is how the shops in the nearest shopping centre (remember how I compared it with the horror story in Ondara?) called "The Constantia Village" present themselves. Here we go:
Down-to-Earth-Store.
This store is being environmentally friendly by:
recycling
using energy efficient lighting
providing eco-friendly shopping bags
stocking organic products
selling eco-friendly products
stocking locally made products
offering products made from recycled or reused materials
staff walking, cycling or using public transport to get to work
supporting fair trade principles
using green cleaning products
switching off all lighting after hours.
For more info go to www.constantiavillage.co.za

Most famous Belgian.
By the way I suppose you have noticed that a picture of the most famous Belgian was on the front page of Time Magazine of October 31, 2011.
Do you know his name?

Lovely greetings from Bruno in Wynberg