A Folksong for the Berg River

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As I walk along the Berg River I always wonder why so few people do that...is it really nicer to walk through a busy touristy type of place in preference to experiencing this pure, honest earthy national treasure called Bokkom Lane ? The boats have two-stroke engines nowadays, but I am happy to report that even though some of them really "cowboy" it over the estuary, the birds are totally unperturbed. The pelicans, flamingoes and waders go about their business, while the gulls would optimistically follow...hoping for a morsel of fish.

I want to take you back in time when a little sailing cutter called "Die Alibama" would hitch a ride on a gentle breeze upriver to collect cut reeds which were used for roofing and for matting of beds. In our colourfully expressive Afrikaans language, in which some words are derived from the Malay culture and language, it would be called dekriet and matjiesgoed. The boat would return to Cape Town and feed the busy industry where a new bed was made for every Malay bride to be presented to her all made up, shiny, frilly and lacy, on her wedding day.

And here is where the famous song "Daar kom die Alibama" finds its origin. It refers to the cutter which brought in the bedding material to make the rietkooi (reed bed). This song is the main song on festivals like "Tweede Nuwejaar". (I tell all about the Minstrel Carnival on Tweede Nuwejaar in an earlier blog). No Minstrel Carnival will pass without the Alibama and the beds being remembered in song. I wonder if the thousands of singers pouring down Adderley Street in Cape Town know the role of the Berg River in their favourite song?

Post # 100!! Art Blogging is Tops!

This is my hundredth post. I have not completed a painting as I am working on a commission and the sketches took some planning. One of them will be finished for the next blog. They are all about the people of the West Coast and what they do. I think I will call the set:Folks and Fish

I love art blogging! Art blogging is Tops! In no other way would one be so committed to paint year in, year out and that without a sense of rushing. (One or two exhibitions a year make up for the rushing part!) My nicest surprises as a new art blogger were when I featured on other art or travel blogs.

1. South African Blog of 2009 winner PORTFOLIO gave me a short feature in November: Marie Theron-Documenting the Real West Coast in Paint and Words .
2. This was followed by another article on PORTFOLIO in December: 10 Questions for West Coast Artist Marie Theron .
3. Here is an article Marie Theron-West Coast Artist which appeared on Bokkom.
4. In the beginning of 2010 Katherine Tyrrell started 'The Art of The Landscape' and bloggers were challenged to analyse their own paintings. I liked the idea and wrote: The Wheatfield and Why it was Successful. Katherine, a top 5 blogger in the UK placed me in an article: Self-Critique Marie Theron.
5. What a lovely surprise it was when 'Art with Liz' made special mention of my work on the West Coast in the post Bergriver, Velddrif.
6. Friendly Liz visited me at home in April where we shared sherry and a fire and chatted up a storm. She wrote: Velddrif in April. I featured in many of the comments from her friends too! Bloggers are so kind!
7. Paying my regular online visit to Postcards from the Hammer, Catherine Jeffrey's blog, I was very thrilled to find my name in the post Yonge Street Patterns 2, Toronto, Ontario.

My husband once teased that bloggers give each other a warm feeling! Exactly!

The Berg River Estuary at Velddrif

Does this wading stilt know what is real and what is an illusion as he hunts for small frogs, insect larvae, molluscs and shellfish? The river flows restlessly behind his island, but there is hardly a ripple in the soft blue mirror in front. Around him, inter-tidal mudflats and salt marshes, some parts murky and others shining like metal! "Stilt" is surely the best name for Himantopus himantopus, or as he is called in Afrikaans: "Rooipoot-elsie". Using his long stilt-like legs he can wade in different depths of water up to his so-called knees and never needs to swim. In flight these long legs extend well beyond the tail.

There is a wonderful atmospheric bird hide on the Berg River estuary at Velddrif and more than 200 species can be viewed here. Besides the black-winged stilts there are amazing spoonbills, pelicans, flamingos, moorhens, Caspian terns and kingfisher. I always visit places on midday, thus I only saw flamingos in the distance resting under the bridge. A week later Liz photographed swarms of them at sunrise, so visit her site to see more of our lovely river!

Something I love but do not understand is how migrating birds, dolphins, etc can do synchronized movements. Music in their heads, maybe? In my photo two egrets, Tweedledum and Tweedledee feed close to the bird hide!