Bye, bye Barbet

This morning the juvenile Crested Barbet in the nesting log
in our garden said "Goodbye".
Not only to us, but to its parents as well...
I saw this departure as analogy for parents,
both human and animal who have to bid their
offspring "Farewell" at some point.

I have been watching the youngster for the past few days,
and I was hoping that I would be there to see it leave.
As a parent, I thought of when my daughter left home.
First to go and study in Paris, France
and then to go and live and work in Cape Town.
Was this Barbet ready to spread its wings?
I waited with baited breath

There was a lot of uncertainty as to how it might play out.
It appeared and disappeared back into the log more than once.
As if trying to make up it's mind.

Each time it came to the entrance,
it would "expose" more of itself.

Much like a diver stepping up to the edge of the high board
in preparation for the launch

Almost out...
But not quite ready to go yet.

The last image that I have of parent and offspring.

My final image of the youngster,
just before it launched.
I was expecting it to hop onto a nearby branch,
however this was not to be.
Once out of the hole, it flew off immediately...

The parent arrived back with food,
to try to tempt junior out,
but it had already gone...

The Crested Barbet, 

(Trachyphonus vaillantii) 

('trachys'=rough, 'phone'=voice, sound') 

is a sub-Saharan bird in the Lybiidae family. 

Its specific name commemorates François Levaillant, 

a famed French naturalist.

A look inside confirmed that no-one was home...

A final meal that had not been eaten.
The parent birds returned from time to time "post departure"
seemingly distressed by the fact that their "baby" had gone.
I know that the human analogy is not quite the same.
Yes, our children leave home, but we as parents
hope that they will stay in contact.
In the wild, once the youngsters are gone,
the parents move on to the next brood.

The nesting log is now vacant,
but I can still hear the adult Barbets calling...
I do hope that they will continue to use this log
for further generations.
And that the youngster will have a happy and fulfilling life.

Size is not everything...

Load shedding is no longer a laughing matter.

Especially for the older citizens of our country

for whom sitting in the darkness 

can be a daunting, if not downright scary, experience.

If you currently have electricity, then make yourself a cuppa

 while I share a story with you.

And in these times of doom and gloom, especially the latter,

given the current load shedding crisis,

one that has a happy ending.

To paraphrase Sophia (from the Golden Girls);

"Picture this, Johannesburg, 2020"...

Despite the promise to our President.

Eskom started with their planned/unplanned

load shedding/power outages/rolling blackouts earlier than expected.

But why were we surprised when the grid crashed almost as soon

as the New Year started.

You also have to wonder what will be disclosed following the sudden

resignation of the Eskom chairperson, Jabu Mabuza.

Add to that the fact that once AGAIN the government is looking

to constitute a new board!

And in the midst of all this, our erstwhile Minister of WTF,

Pravin Gordhan ( actually he is the Minister of Public Enterprises) 

says that all should be well

with the utility in the next year or two...

REALLY!!!

 For those who cannot afford the expense of a full solar system,

there is a more affordable alternative available.

A low-frequency pure sine wave inverter like this will power necessary equipment

in your house so that you won't have to sit in darkness.

This sort of set up will usually power a couple of lights,

a socket outlet for a phone charger as well as a TV. 

This 1kw system was recently installed by Solco Solar for a family member

for whom a full solar installation was not an option.

Installed in a few hours, it will give them peace of mind when the

power dies in their suburb.

Like most electronic equipment,

the inverter has a digital readout and should be mounted

in such a way that this can be easily accessed.

I think that the new owners are secretly waiting for load-shedding

to put their system to the test.

This particular system is paired with a 200amp deep cycle gel battery.

 which should offer about 6 hours, depending on the loading.

(i.e a TV and decoder would draw approximately 250w)

The battery normally takes about 4 hours to fully recharge.

Are YOU tired of living with this "will they, won't they"

type of statements on a daily basis?

Would you like to take back some control

 as to how much Eskom disrupts YOUR life?

Time to reclaim our power...

To quote William Johnsen;

"If it is to be,

it is up to me"

For more information on this type of installation.

contact Bernard Ridge and request a quote:

bernard@solcosolar.co.za

Visit the website:

https://solcosolar.co.za/

or have a look at their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/Solco-Solar-811551572577224/