TITBITS of ABERDEEN...

Hello again!!! I look soooo forward to blogging now that I have so many photographs to share with you all! Hubby and I have just returned from a day trip to Parys to fetch the bath I had re-enamelled. Its absolutely beautiful! What a transformation!!!

.......but first allow me to complete my story on our recent trip to the Karoo.

As I mentioned in earlier posts, we have an old historical property in Aberdeen which we are renovating, so that's the reason for our regular visits to the town.

The local Dutch Reformed Church in Aberdeen is famous for its architectural history and the steeple that lies at an 18degree angle. Like most towns and even cities, the church stands in the centre of the town and the rest of the community developed around them. Aberdeen is still one of the few "dorpies" that consists mostly of gravel roads with a tar road running through the centre of town, around the church and leading out the town. Most of the houses face the front street and people still pay about R22.00 a month for 'stoep tax'. The reason for this is that the front wall of the house is built on the boundary of the property and the verandah / 'stoep', coming off of this front wall, crosses the sidewalk / pavement to the edge of the storm water drain of the road. The verandah / stoep is therefore on the municipal property and is subject to 'stoep tax' / levy for its continued existence in this public area.

Note the gravel and  rather wide roads in this town.

See how close the verandah / 'stoep' is to the sidewalk. ......almost on the road.

The guest house - The Homestead here belonged to Simon van der Stel and was built in 1820.

Sunset from our house....

 Jetstream across the sky

You will often find pigs, goats, sheep and cattle walking through the streets!
 A common sight and they have 'right of way'.

A herder riding behind his small herd of cattle.

 Pagel House - front facade.

I just love watching the variety of birds who visit our bird feeder on a daily basis!
Here is a weaver and dove.

Some pics of succulents in our garden.

Lavender at the front door and it grows so well here!

I planted this lavender bush a few years ago and has now sown its own seed and we discovered lots of seedlings which I transplanted all over the garden. I was also able to give 10 small plants to our friends Linda and Tony Rowe who have also purchased a house around the corner from us. Much to their delight! I even planted them for Linda in a huge planter, which she will transplant on their next visit to their house. Happy happy!!

 Will find the botanical names of the plants below and post them for you.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a beautiful week!