FRIENDS OF DIE OOG
December 2019

Hello Everyone,

Well here we are at the end of another year, can you believe that it is only two weeks away from Christmas!

 

The new website is up and running, thanks Anneliese, Brett and Patrick who worked so hard with the team to make this happen. Please visit it at www.dieoog.org.za

As we look back on the year that was, a couple of the highlights that stand out are the fact that we had fairly good rains and our little dam has a decent amount of water in it at the moment. Hopefully we will still have some water at the end of summer.

Those who attended the AGM will remember that our guest speaker Dr Justine Ewart-Smith the specialist on groundwater and the effects of well points and boreholes, made the comment that the rainfall that we get on top of Table Mountain takes about three years to filter down through the Fractured Granitic Aquifer that Die Oog lies on, so we still have to see the effect of this year’s rainfall.

The other highlight is that we had an excellent hatch of Toadlets!

We were alerted to this initially by the Shaw’s who live next to Die Oog, as they had a lot of toadlets coming into their home during the heavy rain in October.
After the rain stopped, they found the entire garden covered in a carpet of tiny toadlets all working their way up to the road.
This is the first time in about the 9 years that they have lived here that they have ever seen this phenomenon of such a mass of toadlets.

An interesting point to note is that this was on the 25th October and not at the end of December as we normally expect them to make an appearance.

A highlight for us also, is to see how the collaboration between the City Council and the Friends Group has resulted in Die Oog looking quite smart with a new entrance way and signboard as well as being kept neat and tidy. Thanks to Anne and Luyanda, two hardworking ladies from FODO and CCC.

The Yellow bill ducks while coming and going since the water started filling up have not stayed put but we do at least get to see them from time to time.

One of the lows unfortunately is that we had somebody use a crowbar to bend open the lid of the donations moneybox and help themselves to the proceeds.

We are in the process of rebuilding the lid to try and make it as difficult as possible to have this happen again and by the time this newsletter goes out this should have been completed.

Please do keep an eye open on your walks past and through Die Oog and if you notice any suspicious looking situations, do let BKM know as they work quite closely with us.

For those who have not yet renewed their membership, please will you do so as we rely heavily on your subs and donations. There are also notelets available for sale.

From all of us on the committee of the Friends of Die Oog, may you and your loved ones have a Blessed Christmas and a happy and healthy year to come.