Recently, I was driving between Worcester and Grabow. My companion in the car marveled at the nartjie orchards we were driving past. The trees were heavily hung with fruit, which he pointed out. I too looked at the trees, but I said to him, I do not see nartjies, I see marmalade. We continued on, and soon got to the road over Theewaterskloof dam and I pointed out how very full the dam was. Companion looked out the window and said, he does not see a dam, he sees fishing. I guess I asked for that one. But what I did not ask for, was the events of the past two weeks.

For some reason these past two weeks, I just felt rather overwhelmed at times with all the problems that I was being surrounded with. And not even a single one of these problems were actually mine. Unlike Domino, who can’t miss an opportunity to share his varied problems with all of you, given half a chance, my problems-by-osmosis is not really worth a mention. What I will share with you though, is my philosophy. It goes like this: when life throws lemons at you, make marmalade. Or go shopping. Or surfing. What ever it is that takes you back to your happy place.

A pivotal problem – one that does not belong to me, but it overwhelmed my space and sapped far too much of my joy, arrived on Sunday morning. It very nearly succeeded in derailing our plans for the day. We had been invited to join the Kiddos at Babylonstoren. I have heard quite a bit from various people about Babylonstoren over the past year. Some people cannot imagine a month without going there, others will tell you it is way overpriced and not worth the time. The online reviews said the same. Oh, gushed one person, we could not get ourselves to leave, while the next person said they would rather sunbathe in a blizzard before considering a trip there again. But, we had nothing to lose, right? So off we went.

Babylonstoren, like my Beautiful Beaumont, has a very long heritage. First established in 1692, its purpose was to grow produce for that first Spaza Shop, established by Jan van Riebeeck. The instruction: grow fruit and vegetables to supply to the ships that call in at the Cape. A bit of trivia here. The settlement at the Cape, was never intended or set up to be a colony. Its purpose was to be a halfway house, a place for ships to stop and replenish. No one was meant to settle there.

Today, the farm finds itself in rather creative hands. Google tells me that the garden is modeled on the famous Company’s Garden in Cape Town, and it provides a backdrop to everything that happens on the farm. It has a mini marathon worth of paths and walkways. I am not sure how much of this we walked, because we kept on going off in all sorts of directions to explore little hidden gardens. It is a fantastic place to learn about nature in a casual sort of way. Small fruit orchards, each with a sign naming the trees. This time of year, the fruit trees are in blossom. I rediscovered some of my lost-and-sapped joy in seeing what nectarine blossoms look like, as opposed to plum blossoms. The rather steep entrance fee does give you unlimited access for the next 12 months, and I will be back to see the various cultivars of fruit on the trees. That is of course, should I get to see fruit. You never know, I may only see jams, chutneys and compotes!

Getting to Babylonstoren, we were a bit delayed (by one of those problems that is none of my business), and we took the shortest route to get there. The trip back, Colin and I were both resembling fat and content barn mice, we took the slightly longer route. It was not meant to be that way. I guess we just took a wrong turn. But hey, when life puts you on a wrong route, turn it into a road trip. Our time was limited, and we had to get home for Colin to get ready for his dreaded pilgrimage up north. Last year, living in a small community, I used to love the alone time. Now with us living more secluded on the farm, I like it a little less. Fortunately, I was not left completely alone. I had a number of problems, none of them my own, to keep me company. One should not wish life or time away, so please understand when I say that I need this week to finish. And while we are at it, the next week as well.

One of the topics that came up in conversation over lunch on Sunday, was all the negativity we find ourselves surrounded with. Load shedding is at a point where I think our collective resolve may just snap. We are surrounded with the endless pea-shooting between various political parties and their comrades and stakeholders. From where I am sitting, I can’t help but to imagine how much better our world would be if all of us simply worked towards a common goal as opposed to tripping others up and amplifying their failures.

I want to imagine a world a world where all the people live for today. I want to imagine that there is nothing to kill or die for. I want to imagine a place where all the people live in peace. I want to imagine a place of no greed and hunger. A place where we all share this world. A place where we can live as one. Not my words. You all know who’s it is.

But just imagine.