The Community Nest Spiders are hard at work building their nests - I counted four new ones in the vicinity of the Rehabilitation Area - this one in a Cluster Spiderhead (Serruria glomerata) bush.
Dog poop continues to be a problem with dog owners not taking any responsibility for their dogs faeces that are festering all over the common. In this photo I counted seven separate piles in amongst the Green Satyr Orchids (Satyrium odorum) that are starting to come up now.
A budding Green Satyr Orchid.
Commonly known as Yellow Soldiers, this little Lachenalia reflexa is classified as Vulnerable on the Red List of South African Plants as it is "restricted to seasonally wet lowland soils and known from less than 10 locations. There is a continuing decline as a result of urban expansion, crop cultivation, livestock trampling and alien plant invasion."
What you can expect to see flowering on the Common in July
Babiana villosulaLachenalia reflexa
Leucadendron salignum
Metalasia densa
Muraltia spinosaOsteospermum moniliferum
Othonna filicaulis
Oxalis obtusa
Oxalis pes-caprae
Oxalis purpurea
Oxalis versicolor
Pauridia capensis (formerly Spiloxene)
Serrurua glomerata
Struthiola ciliata
Zantedeschia aethiopica
Tortoise Berry (Muraltia spinosa or Nylandtia spinosa - the experts don't seem to be too sure on which to choose!)
And keep a lookout for the Black Sparrowhawk chicks in the tree near the Soccer Club building. Photo above by Margaret Macivor.