{"id":14109,"date":"2020-11-13T08:52:47","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T06:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/calloffthesearch.com\/?p=14109"},"modified":"2020-11-13T09:52:11","modified_gmt":"2020-11-13T07:52:11","slug":"mother-nature-is-on-fire-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/calloffthesearch.com\/health\/mother-nature-is-on-fire-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Mother Nature is on fire again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Burn it to the ground, build it up. Forests flattened, earth scorched and then miraculous regrowth \u2026 nature’s way feels a bit like a metaphor for Covid-19 (she said, hoping for the miraculous).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lunching and larking about on a rooftop<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Last week Saturday we arrived home in the early afternoon (from a lovely day out with friends looking at art <\/a>and lunching at a restaurant <\/a>on a rooftop in Cape Town) to the horrible sight of plumes of smoke rising from the direction of Deer Park, a much-loved walking spot on the slopes of Table Mountain near our home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had walked there the evening before, as I do probably five out of every seven days. My dogs run and play as I am amble along in the dappled shade of dusty footpaths crossing burbling brooks. Every so often, I stop to admire a view of the city through a break in the trees and marvel at how close it is. Somehow it feels like I could reach out and touch it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the great things about living in Cape Town is that you are so close to nature, both beach and mountain, yet always within easy reach of a cappuccino or excellent theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The fire in Deer Park burned into the night, and homes in the neighbouring suburb were evacuated. That reminded me of the time I was evacuated from my home in the early hours one morning a decade or so ago when Devil\u2019s Peak was on fire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We all watched on Twitter, as we do, and answered messages from concerned friends. (Yes, we knew it was happening; No, we were not in any danger.) We thanked God for the firefighters … and then went to sleep to the sounds of a devilish wind that we knew was working against them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We woke in the morning to air heavy with the smell of burnt forest and a film of ash on everything. We were relieved to hear the fire had been extinguished in the night, but nervous of what damage had been done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are so many small animals in Deer Park. We have seen all sorts of little beasts, from butterflies to beetles, squirrels, tortoises, porcupines, even crabs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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http:\/\/www.urbancaracal.org\/meet-the-cats<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

There are certainly many more that see us. The one I long to see is the caracal or African lynx, die rooikat<\/em>, as it is known locally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also the many thousands of species of plants (that grow nowhere else on the planet) that were just starting to celebrate the end of Cape Town\u2019s dreadful drought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When it was safe to go to Deer Park again, I did, and was happy to find much of it still standing. A relief, but still some sadness for the many creatures that didn\u2019t make it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n