In Touch With Nature – South African Paintbrush Lily
Posted: October 28, 2026 Filed under: Africa, In Touch With Nature, Nature, Photography, Poetry | Tags: In Touch With Nature, Nature Photography, Poetry, Robbie Cheadle, South African Paintbrush Lily, Writing to be Read 2 Comments
TC and I went for a walk at a bird sanctuary a few weeks ago. We didn’t see much in the way of birds but we saw these amazing paintbrush lilies. They punctuate the veld like red exclamation marks and are quite a marvel to witness.
Striking Lily (American cinquain chain)
striking
indigenous
South African flower
head a dense cluster of tiny
bright blooms
***
orange
or red petals
and bright yellow anthers
resembling an artist’s paintbrush
fireworks
***
wavy
glossy-green leaves
may appear alongside
gorgeous florets, or afterwards
depends
***
mottled
purple-brown stalk
induced snake lily name
people believed spots attracted snakes
nonsense
***
first bloom
collected by
European botanists
included in publication
way back
***
berries
red and pretty
monkeys favourite food
but for humans, pets and livestock
toxic
About Robbie Cheadle
Roberta Eaton Cheadle, is a South African writer and poet specialising in historical, paranormal, and horror novels and short stories. She is an avid reader in these genres and her writing has been influenced by famous authors including Bram Stoker, Edgar Allan Poe, Amor Towles, Stephen Crane, Enrich Maria Remarque, George Orwell, Stephen King, and Colleen McCullough.
Roberta has two published novels and a collection of short stories and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories included in several anthologies. She is also a contributor to the Ask the Authors 2022 (WordCrafter Writing Reference series).
Roberta is also the author and illustrator of seventeen children’s books, illustrator to a further three children’s books, and the author and illustrator of four poetry books published under the name of Robbie Cheadle, and has poems and short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.
Roberta’s blog features discussions about classic books, book reviews, poetry, and photography. https://roberta-writes.com/.
Find Roberta Eaton Cheadle
Blog: https://wordpress.com/view/robertawrites235681907.wordpress.com
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/robbiecheadle.bsky.social
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertawrites
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Roberta-Eaton-Cheadle/e/B08RSNJQZ5
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This segment of “In Touch with Nature” is sponsored by DL Mullan and Undawnted.
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