Come rain, come snow..

Hello there!

Welcome back to Bella’s Blog. Thank you for popping in.

It sure is hot here in the Karoo during February. While deciding which farm dam to go and splish splash around in, I have been day dreaming about my very first snow adventure on Groenvlei Farm. On September the 8th, 2018, Groenvlei Farm turned into a Winter Wonderland, with thick layers of snow covering every inch of the farm. My playground was covered in white fluff!

My humans did not anticipate the snow, and were surprised to find the guest house fully booked for the weekend, after having endured a bitterly cold couple of weeks. Lucky for me, I have bounds of energy to keep me warm. Upon arrival, our guests lit a roaring fire inside their unit and opened up a tasty bottle of red wine, as the humans call it. With the cold weather narrowing in, I was off adventure duty for the day. However, the small humans still needed protecting, and so I was given the important task of supervising the board games. No puzzle piece was left un turned, and to the humans dislike, no fire log was left untouched. In exchange for guarding the little humans, the guests often allow me to sit in front of the fire with them. Oh it was so cosy! Once all my little humans were nestled in bed with their heater blankets, I left the adults to enjoy their wine, games and their books. Did you know, Groenvlei Farm Guest House has over 500 exciting books in our bookshelves all of which are just waiting to be read. Apparently these are not for chewing!

Then came the excitement… The snow day! When mom opened the front door early on Saturday morning, there was a blanket of snow covering the lawn, the tennis court, the trees, the fences, and even my favourite American aloes. Oh the excitement! Where to even begin my sniffles. First things first, a taste to see if the white fluff is edible for the little humans. Once this has been verified, a test needs to be done to determine if it is soft enough to roll in. Check. Now time to visit my guests. Run, run, run. Down to the guest house, back up to my humans, down again to the little humans. Luckily my guests are up early, and are eager for an adventure. As professional farm explorer, it is my duty to lead the guests safely through the snow. Once the little humans are dressed warmly we venture off into the white fluff, throwing snowballs, taking mesmerizing photographs, and absorbing the winter wonderland. While on our walk we head up to my favourite dam, which to my disappointment is not frozen enough to walk over. Definitely no splish splash’s today! Our walk continues to the work room, where the guests find some old pallets. It is not long before the kids have us sledding down the hill behind the main house. I have been chosen as the sled guide – ensuring that no one falls off their pallet sled.

By this stage we are all tired, and we retire to the guest house to light a warm fire and drink some piping hot coffee on the stoep. Although it is freezing outside, the view is incredibly beautiful and the guests choose to drink their warm drinks on the stoep, under a cosy blanket. While the guests are enjoying their coffee, the little humans are building me a snow friend – or a snowman as the humans like to call it. As Groenvlei Farm offers cosy family accommodation, there were a few families gathered at Groenvlei to enjoy the snow – apparently these humans saw the snow coming on their weather apps! By now a few guests have gathered around the front of the guest house to build Mr Snowman. I, of course, am supervising this important task from inside the guest house – in front of the fireplace! Be sure to check out our Facebook page to see my snow video that made an appearance on to Snow Report SA.

Keep an eye out on your weather apps, and hopefully we will see you at Groenvlei for some fun in the snow.

Until next time!

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In the name of love

Hello again!

Welcome back to Bella’s Blog. The adventure continues right here on this page.

Now that you know more about my daily activities as a professional farm explorer, let me tell you a bit about all the things I love most about life on Groenvlei Farm – you know, being the month of St Valentine and all! From long walks in the veld, sunset drives up the mountains, to work time with dad, there sure is lots to love about Groenvlei.

Groenvlei Farm has many enticing hiking trails, all of which have panoramic views that will leave you speechless, or so the humans say ( I much prefer the exciting sniffles I get to encounter on these hiking trails). Groenvlei has several hiking trails, ranging from an easy 1-hour hike to a tougher 6-hour hike. The best part about this is that people of all ages and fitness levels can join me for a hike. Just imagine – 6 hours of breathtaking scenery and fresh Karoo air.

As professional farm explorer on Groenvlei, I am the ideal hiking partner, I just LOVE hiking with our guests. The hiking trail I love the most is our Muishoek hiking trail. This hiking trail runs past our fountain dam which supplies my favourite bathing furrow with water. This particular hiking trail offers panoramic mountain views while walking through an array of trees. The best part of this hike is that you can swim in the fountain dam to cool off! What could be more exciting than diving into fresh farm water after playing in the leaves – I mean, hiking through the trees. If this hiking trail doesn’t excite you then don’t you worry – we have plenty more to choose from!

Aside from long sniffles in the veld, and our beautiful hiking trails, I absolutely love sunset drives to the veld. Golden hour is my favourite hour! Lucky for me, Groenvlei is situated in the Karoo, which means that sunset drives fall right in the middle of golden hour. Now, when I say golden hour, imagine this – Breathtaking golden rays sneaking through the various mountains on Groenvlei, making their way across the veld, and through river beds. According to the humans, this is ideal for sundowners – why they would want to sit still instead of exploring all the sniffles in the veld, I don’t know. The best part about golden hour is that guests can enjoy it too! I just love driving out with guests to enjoy a Karoo veld sunset.

The thing that I love most of all, is work time with dad. Visiting the sheep and cattle, helping dad fix things, chasing the tractor through the lucerne fields (just to make sure the human driving the tractor is not slacking), bringing food to Mrs Pig, and supervising my friends’ bottle feeding the lawnmowers – calves, as the humans call them. Oh, let’s not forget about shearing season! I just love to watch the fashion show during the shearing season. From woolly haired-monsters to neatly sheared sheep models, the transformation is just so exciting, and fascinating too.

Do you want to know what I love most about this? Guests can join us too. Being a working sheep and cattle farm, my humans invite guests to walk around or drive to the veld to learn the ins and outs of working life on Groenvlei. I sure can’t wait to show you all the best spots for sniffles. As resident tour guide, I promise to explore all the farm activities with you – from collecting and tagging sheep in the morning, to bottle feeding the baby cows in the afternoon. If you visit us during shearing season, you can even help me judge the shearing fashion show, our shearing shed is well equipped for humans as well as sheep models, and my staff will gladly answer any questions you have about the process!

I can’t wait to see you at Groenvlei to experience the things I love with me, and hopefully, you will love them just as much as I do! Time for me to retire to the Lucerne field – Friday, where are you?

Until next time!

**Come see for yourself why I love our fountain dam hiking trail!**

**Come experience the fascinating work side of Groenvlei with me!**

The Adventure Begins

Thanks for popping in!

Hello world!
Welcome to my very first blog – all about my exciting adventures on a Karoo farm. I am Bella, and this is Bella’s Blog.
I am a long-legged, vivacious adventure seeker (also sometimes referred to as Bella the Bulldozer. Ugh, parents!). As a professional farm explorer, I hope to entice you with the magical stories of Country life in the Karoo.
Now that I have introduced myself, let me tell you a bit about my playground – Groenvlei Farm. Our farm is situated in the midst of the Karoo, 65 km outside of the historical town of Graaff Reinet.
Daily exploring activities start with helping Dad round up the sheep for stock work in the mornings – before it gets too hot, you know, as the Karoo tends to do! Then, we hop on the bakkie and we are off to the veld to check windmills and dams. While dad is busy with this, I usually take on the very important task of stock taking. Saying hello to my favourite cattle is an important part of the day. Phew, but now I am a tired pupper. The drives in and out of the veld are mesmerizing! Wind blowing through my hair (ears if you must know), and breathtaking scenery of mountains and valleys.
After lunch it is very important to check on the guests down in the guest house – please note snacks are always welcome. At this point my favourite guests are waiting for me to take them exploring. Oh how I love to show them our beautiful hiking trails and walking paths, of which we have MANY! On hot summer days we walk down to the dam for a swim – a swim with a view of the mountain, might I add! After some adventuring we head on back to the guest house for a nap on the porch (for some reason the humans have not cottoned on to this, and choose to sit up right in their chairs). By this time we have been joined by Charlie, one of Groenvlei’s resident Kitty’s. Charlie and I sit with the humans on one of the guest house porches, enjoying a peaceful view of the mountains, or the guest house garden.
Later I usually head on home, as it is time for my evening walk with mom (most importantly, time for dinner). Mom and I usually go for a beautiful evening walk amongst the American Aloe’s (of which there are plenty in the Karoo). My last task for the day as professional farm explorer, is to check on our favourite dam near the house. Water levels are best checked by means of chasing the geese, followed by a gentle swim back to mom waiting patiently on the land. Water levels checked, large stick in mouth, and it is time to head home. Our walk home includes a beautiful farm sunset. Believe me, you have not seen a sunset until you have seen a Karoo sunset!
Now I really am a tired pupper, and it is time to retire for the day. Luckily, being situated in the Karoo, Groenvlei is peaceful and calming. When darkness falls and I have ensured my humans are safe in their home, I am blessed with the view of a million stars!
That is it for now!
Tune in for next weeks post.
Until then,
Bella!!