Prickly flower

Quite a few of the succulents and cacti in my garden has been flowering lately being that time of the year.  This one doesn't have what I would call regulation thorns, but rather long spiny ones.  The little pink flower looked soft to the touch although I wasn't willing to venture a finger in between the spines to find out what it feels like.

Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium

A couple of weeks ago I went to watch the EP Kings play their last game of the season at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.  It was a promotion / relegation match against the Mpumalanga Pumas which the Kings unfortunately lost. But that's not what this post is about.

The Kings supporters came out in their thousands and just about filled up the 44000 seater stadium, the biggest crowd at the stadium since its completion in 2009.

At half time I took a walk outside to get a night shot of the roof structure of the stadium

A view of the stadium from across the North End Lake

Watsonia

One of the 52 species of Watsonia (Bugle Lily) that we find in southern Africa.  The Watsonia is a type of iris native to South Africa. The genus is named after Sir William Watson, an 18th century British botanist.  They are perennial herbs growing from corms and producing erect spikes of showy flowers, and are adapted to a Mediterranean-type climate.

Firefly's note: Thanks for the help Geoff.  I have changed the info. Shows my lack of knowledge as far as flowers go.

Observatory Museum

Every now and then I find a couple of photos on the archives that I haven't posted and today is no different.  The Observatory museum in Grahamstown is a fascinating place and contains the only Victorian Camera Obscura in the Southern Hemisphere.  The building was bought by Henry Galpin in 1859 and extensive changes were made to it, including the addition of the camera obscura.  Galpin operated his watchmaker and jeweller's shop from the building and usually used to camera obscura to look for his friend Dr William G Atherstone around town.  By the 1970's the building was falling apart before it was purchased by De Beers Consolidated Mines, restored and opened as a museum.

The Observatory Museum's clock tower

The back view of the building

Bonsai drops

Bonsai Show

A couple of weekends ago the Eastern Cape Bonsai Society (EPBS) had their annual Bonsai Show at the Walmer Town Hall in Port Elizabeth.  The EPBS was founded in 1969 and is having their 41st Anniversary this year.  For a couple of years now I have been threatening to get myself a bonsai tree and take it up as a hobby.  This year I will do it.  I have a small Spekboom tree in a pot and have decided to move it into a proper bonsai pot and start training it.  Here follows a couple of the pictures I took at the show.

 

Bonsai on display at the Eastern Province Bonsai Society's annual Bonsai Show

I love that some people create a scene around their tree and doesn't just have a tree in a pot.

My favorite bonsai are those that grow over a rock.  It takes a lot of time and effort to get it to this point, but its well worth it in the end.

 Another one of my favorites. Bonsai Hibiscus in bloom.
 

The view through a bonsai forest

Pin Cushion

Closeup of a Pin Cushion Protea