If you would not want it decorating your wedding hall, then please...

I love our beautiful country. I love the song of a bird, the blue, blue sky, the feel of the rain on my face and of the wind as it rushes by, the touch of a velvet rose, and the scent of the lilac tree, the eyes that I have been given so that I can see the color of butterfly wings, and ears that I can hear the magical sound of things. I love my life, my mind, my heart: I thank him reverently for all his creations, of which I’m a part. See My Heavenly Father Loves Me in Children's Songbook.

I have derived such delight from the things discussed in Doctrine and Covenants 59:16-20 -the fulness of the earth is ours, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which climbs upon the trees and walks upon the earth; and the herb, and the good things which come of the earth, whether for food or for raiment, or for houses, or for barns, or for orchards, or for gardens, or for vineyards; Yea, all things which come of the earth, in the season thereof, are made for the benefit and the use of man, both to please the eye and to gladden the heart; Yea, for food and for raiment, for taste and for smell, to strengthen the body and to enliven the soul. And it pleaseth God that he hath given all these things unto man; for unto this end were they made to be used, with judgment, not to excess, neither by extortion.

My eye has indeed been pleased and my heart has indeed been gladdened by the wonderful world - especially in the Cape that is so outstandingly fair.

And so I am truly saddened to see the litter and abuse - the lack of judgement, the excess, the extortion evident in the way that too many people treat our beautiful natural heritage, and our places of residence.

 

Some young men were really excited when I offered to decorate the hall for their wedding reception - then not quite so excited when I said that I would decorate it with chip packets, sweet wrappers and things that they seem to like having around. We were walking up Lion's Head and they had dropped these things by the wayside as they walked excitedly in the magnificent fynbos.

 My mother would very often quote 'The world needs street-sweepers. But, more importantly, it needs excellent street-sweepers.' I think that she originated that quote, or may have heard her mother say it... I have reflected on that a lot as an ecologist - even if every single person were careful to prevent the countryside becoming littered through his or her carelessness - now would that not be a blissful world? - the trees would continue to drop their leaves, and so the streets would need to be swept. But, what my mother was saying is to be excellent in whatever we do. It seems as though other people such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Warren Peterson have discussed similar concepts, like sweeping the streets as though you were Beethoven composing music. I think my mother would agree with that...

As long as that piece of litter is in your hands, you have control over it - but once you release it, you have given up any control and cannot guess where it might land, what hazards it might present to wildlife, and how it will cause our beautiful world to look neglected.

I wish that every single person would love his or her country, love his or her world. As I have pointed out in a previous blog, our own South African Constitution states that every citizen has equal rights, followed by the statement that every citizen has equal responsibilities. Under  section 3 Citizenship of Chapter 1 (3.2.a, 3.2.b)

(2) All citizens are ­

a.       equally entitled to the rights, privileges and benefits of citizenship; and

b.      equally subject to the duties and responsibilities of citizenship. 

I recall a quote that my sister shared with me when I was young. 'Men, like rivers, become crooked when they follow the path of least resistance.' This concept might be attributable to Henry David Thoreau. It is wonderful to see our landscapes from satellite imagery such as in Google Earth Pro. The scale is too small to see litter...

It is fascinating to see how crooked some rivers become - like the Sangussi River in Muanza, Mozambique.

I hope that each person who reads this blog will take this call to heart, and encourage every other person to keep our beautiful world free of litter. If you would not want it decorating your wedding hall, then please don't decorate our countryside, our neighbourhood, our school, or any place with it. Take it home and add organic matter to a compost heap, recycle what can be recycled, or put it carefully into a bin where it will be handled properly by the authorities. Please keep our beautiful world beautiful...

My birthday memories - 57 years old

Yesterday was the start of my 58th year on this beautiful planet, and more specifically in the Fair Cape.

Well, I awoke and got about my day. My family wished me well, and I was reminded of the special birthday present that Cindy (with a little help from Richard) has given me - she cleaned out the vegetable garden and planted some seeds so that I and we can enjoy a harvest at home. That does indeed give me good joy - the working in the cleaned garden, and the anticipation of the harvest.

After several hours at work one of my colleagues came in and wished me well. I had been with another colleague most of the day and he said 'Oh, is it your birthday? Well, you know me, I forget my own birthday!" So one person remembered my special day as I approach retirement - now 8 years to go!

Then home to what was to have been a special family supper, except that Sally has been really ill with a tummy bug and so Shelly invited Andrew P, Cindy, Richard and me for some Chinese spring rolls, sweet and sour chicken and beef chop suey. I enjoyed that! Andrew H was also ill with the tummy bug and did not join us, so it was Shelly, Joshua and Hannah hosting us.

Then off to home teaching - a visit scheduled for two weeks ago, then postponed to last week, and then while on our way there postponed again until this week - so I home taught on my birthday.

Home to my family, and giving some caring attention to Sally, then off to bed about 22:20.

I had received a few birthday wishes, some from my two university alumni offices, Internet service provider, retailers, and so forth, but some from friends. Well, one SMS sent by a friend was sent 08:28 on 23 Feb. I have no reception in my office, so I did not receive the SMS.

This morning I was woken by my phone beeping.....

It beeps every five minutes after a reminder - or after receiving message. So I woke and think to myself that I must have missed my 04:50 reminder that wakes me to start my morning and do my exercises. So up I get, drink some water, wash my face, say my prayers, go to the toilet, and go and do my exercises. All the while I am feeling rather tired, and slightly nauseous as I was exercising, and I hoped it was not because I was brewing the tummy bug.

After doing my ecercises I am confused as to why Richard is not up and getting ready for his day. I run the water for my shaving, and go to the kitchen to get my breakfast. I look at the kitchen clock - it says 01:55 and I think it must not be working properly, except that it is ticking away as it ought to! I check other clocks, and they confirm that it is indeed nearly 02:00 in the morning. No wonder I am tired, and Richard is not up! Sensible him!

So, thanks for the birthday wishes, all of you! Even Gerald who sent it timeously and cannot be blamed for the foibles of modern technology that deliverd his message 18 hours later and got me up at well before the crack of dawn three time zones before mine!

I decided to not shave then, and went back to bed with an alarm set to wake me at 05:20 - after all, I had already done my exercises! Understandably, I am tired now, and looking forward to getting to bed after a long day, mostly in a meeting of the National Vegetation Map Committee.

May the remaining days of the years before retirement go well too! Maybe even better than this unusual start to my day.

My greetings to each of you - and may you have wonderful birthdays, remembered by loved ones, and hopefully not frustrated by the happenings caused by gremlins crawling around in the entrails of computers or alsewhere!

Really, I am serious when I say I have a wonderful life. Beautiful roses have thorns, but they are still a joy to smell and to behold.