Most of my life is spent surrounded by large swathes of nature. It’s easy here on the south coast of Africa. There is ocean to the south and masses of sparsely inhabited land to the north. To the sides is a thin slither of populated territory all along the coastline. So nature predominates.
Sunrise on the south coast of Africa
As a result it is easy to find regular scenes of nature looking attractive in various lighting and setting, as the time of day and year shift the light to create ever new images and impressions. The original Impressionist artists of the late 1800s deliberately went into nature to capture the impressions left by the light upon the landscape.
Seal playing at the shoreline
The south of France was a primary place for them to paint their oil upon canvas works of art, which are famous today in the world’s finest galleries. Curiously, the location where I live is called the Mediterranean climate region, precisely because it has the same climate as the south of France. As a result the lighting and impressions here are enough to interest any Impressionist artist, despite the gap of over 100 years between us or the distance of 1000 miles.
A lone fisherman with his net on the deserted shoreline
But I am not only talking about rare lighting encounters in my selection of nature at her rarest today. I am also sharing with you some of the other rare findings that I encountered on the paths that I wonder through the local landscape. From an odd random Butternut washed up in the waves, like a cornucopia from the sea, all the way to a rare seal swimming right at the sandy shoreline just meters from me – all of these are particularly rare and odd sights and impressions of nature for us to consider.
Have you ever seen a butternut washed up by the sea?
Funnily enough, even encountering a lone human on the otherwise often deserted stretch of coastline is a rare event in my world. Sometimes I wonder along the shoreline without another human in sight, depending on which beach I’m exploring. Such is the vast and empty space of the African continent. So this one lone fisherman with his net – perhaps following in the footsteps of the seal attracted by the shoals of fish – is a rare anomaly and not the norm.
The scenes of Africa, much like India, where cows and bulls roam freely sometimes
Another rare sight, though not too rare here in Africa, is that of two random cows or bulls, grazing on the side of the gravel road unattended. They may have taken themselves for a stroll to seek out greener pastures. And why not? The world is our field of activity for us to explore as we see fit. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence after all.
Rainbow of light, nature putting on a show
Now the rainbow is another seldom seen, and yet not entirely unusual sighting, from nature. Their is nothing odd, merely that it is actually quite rare. Consider how many days a year you might see a rainbow. Maybe 10? That’s a random ballpark figure. I doubt anyone has kept count. So when I do see nature displaying her rainbow prism, I really appreciate it.
Impressive food from the forest, if you can verify if they are edible
Last but not least is this fine discovery of fungi in the pine forest nearby. It’s not unusual either but it does appear to be a rare item, one that may even be edible. I’m no expert so perhaps you can let me know if these mushrooms are edible or not. I may have just found a food supplement for my paltry pantry. Nature provides in interesting ways sometimes. We all forage for food, like the seal, the bulls and the fisherman with his net. And sometimes we are food, like the butternut, another bit of food provided randomly by nature in today’s photographs.
(photos my own)