A label rooted in this place

We hand-reared an abandoned baby who took our chicken offerings for six weeks, giving nothing in return, then flew away without a backward glance, just as he was meant to.

Today, the tree in front of the office and the telephone poles on the road to the main house are favourite places to look for an owl.

Her illustration appeared in one of our very early label proposals, just because. Once she was there, we couldn't take her out.

We decided she was the Golden Orb who drives Cassia crazy with her webs every morning. That is how the tradition of hiding critters across our labels began.

Every few seasons, the grass behind the office can be covered in golden webs and shining dew. The spiders seem to spin their silk afresh each evening. Hard workers, the lot of them.

They arrived through the culvert under Tygerberg Road and settled on the far bank of the dam not long after Cassia was built.

We first knew they had moved in when they killed Wheaty's precious black swans. Since then, we've had regular sightings from the Cassia deck.

One evening, an otter found its way into Bernhard's swimming pool, and Riley the Staffie went in after it. It was a near thing: the otter shot through the electric fence and out, swimming faster than most things run.

Peta, Bernhard's late wife, poured her creative energy into the Nitida brand. She drew our original labels and helped shape the parties, games and small details that made our club gatherings memorable.

The warthog was her favourite animal. After she passed away, we wanted to pay tribute to her love of the farm in the labels she had helped build.

So we include a warthog on every label, tucked away somewhere, even though it has never actually been seen on our farm. For a bit of fun, its backside appears on every back label too.

We brought fifty Koekoek chickens onto the farm to work as little “composting factories” in our permaculture garden. The idea was simple: let the chickens do some of the work while improving the soil.

One night, a genet found its way into the coop and killed thirty of them. But the genet wasn't the end of the story. A local two-legged predator developed a taste for chicken and returned night after night, leaving us with a broken coop and increasingly frantic birds.

Eventually, we gave up trying to keep chickens. The composting plan was sound; the reality, rather less so.

The lower dam in front of the office has its own regular visitors. Yellow-billed Ducks, Pekins and Muscovies paddle around together, often with ducklings following close behind. It's a favourite spot for a late-afternoon pause.

One pair once tried to raise their brood in the reeds of our natural swimming pool. Unfortunately for them, a young human had already decided that the pool belonged to him. They spent much of the season being chased around by their very determined, much larger neighbour.

There's also been some concern around the office that our Yellow-billed Ducks may be getting a little too friendly with the Mallards on the dam.

For all their comings and goings, the ducks have become part of the everyday scene at Nitida. The dam simply wouldn't be the same without them.

Only a small fraction of West Coast Renosterveld remains. Much of it has been lost to agriculture, which claimed the fertile soils on which this vegetation grows.

The natural green belts we have kept untouched at Nitida form part of what remains.

Renosterveld belongs to the Cape Floristic Region. It may look modest at first glance, but look closely and an extraordinary variety of plant life begins to emerge.

In a single square metre of our Renosterveld, close to a thousand individual bulbs can be found across a wide range of species. Many remain hidden for most of the year. Then spring arrives, and briefly, they are everywhere.

Renosterveld appears on every one of our hand-drawn Nitida labels — a reminder of the landscape around us, and the importance of keeping it.

The Cape Batis likes the trees and bushes around our office, particularly near the door. It is one of Bernhard's favourite birds.

You will often hear it before you see it. Its distinctive three-beat whistle carries with surprising force for such a small bird.

Its nest is a neat little cup woven from plant material and spider silk. One of our favourite nesting spots is a side branch of the tree beside the office door.

The first Cape Batis we found was sitting in plain sight, at eye level. Even so, it took us weeks to spot it. We had walked past it every day, unaware that it was there.

So, when you walk past the office, listen first. Then look carefully.

Cape Cobras sometimes come to our ponds for a drink. They are shy and wary of people, and given the chance, they will generally leave us alone.

We have had a couple find their way into the house over the years. During one encounter, a cobra passed within a foot of the cat, who stayed perfectly still throughout.

Another encounter was less peaceful. Two of our dogs attacked a cobra, with one distracting it from the front while the other went in from behind.

When we can, we arrange for cobras to be relocated. We suspect some of the ones we have moved have found their way straight back.

They may not be the visitors we hope to meet, but they are part of life on the farm. The best approach is to give them space and respect their place here.