Day 58 - Skipper

Lockdown Day 58 - Early this morning there was a buzz in the air, not an excitement feeling type of buzz but a buzzing noise. It started from afar but eventually got closer and closer forcing us out of a lovely sleepin.

The buzzing noise was from Skipper and his team from City Parks busy cutting a fire break along the properties a joining the green belt. 

Okay I give you that it is not so green, more of a brown colour. Winter is coming and along with the cold comes fire season when velt fires are a constant threat. By cutting a firebreak you firstly make a barrier of sorts and at the same time reduce the fuel load next to the properties.

Brambles Stop the City of Joburg

It has been nearly 2 weeks since the sewerage blockage was reported to the City of Johannesburg, and still it is overflowing into a stream which then flows into a small river that flows over a huge waterfall into the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens. Even its neighbouring city, Mogale City has put them to shame, as another much larger leak was reported late last Sunday upstream from this leak, and it was unblocked within the hour, and fully repaired the very next morning.

The reason Joburg Water has given why they can't fix the blocked drain is that it is inaccessible due to thick brambles as seen above. Yes believe me somewhere in the middle of this mess is a sewer that is spewing up raw sewerage. So for 2 weeks the City Parks, who are more than capable in clearing out the brambles have not come to clear away the brambles which are enjoying the lush nutrient rich sewerage while the Sanitation Department of Joburg Water just idly sit by and watch the brambles grow.

Sorry for by dumping the blame on these 2 departments of the City of Joburg (excuse the pun) but we can't allow for raw sewerage to flow unabated for 2 weeks into a national treasure like the Botanical Gardens. Is it a lack of resources, man-power or budget that is stopping them from fixing the damaged infrastructure. Surely it is not the brambles that are stopping the City of Joburg from doing their job.

Tree Down

Monday morning...

A quiet start but is it the quiet before the storm? I hope not as I have already being through some stormy waters and I was not walking on water nor treading water but barely keeping my head above the wild waters.

I had to slip out to get a new water bowl for the dogs as River Song decided to put a hole in the side of the old water bowl. On the way to the shops I found my way blocked by City Parks cutting down a old dead tree. It wasn't long and the tree was removed but nearly the overhead fibre cables where broken as the re-invoiced fibre casings somehow held up the dead tree for a while.