Winter is here...

Inline Image For most of us, this is the season to rest a bit and spend time with our families infont of a warm fire place, eating soup with hot rolls, warm curries and drinking hot chocolate. For some a favourite season, for others not. Most butterflies are also taking a bit of a breather over this period.

LepSoc is growing

Did you know that the Society has got a total of 312 users on the website already!

It is wonderful to see how our small Society is growing and that more people are getting interested and facinated by the beauty of butterflies.

This is a photo taken by the Hardaker's, famous birders in South Africa and part of Birdlife SA group. They visited Uganda and took some photo's of this Protogoniomorpha temora in the Ruhija section of Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, Uganda.

SARS News

Congratulations goes out to the team that pushed SARS for our tax exemption not-for-profit organisation certificate. Sponsors and donators will now be able to deduct all their giving's to the Society from either their personal tax, or companies can deduct it from their tax as well! If anyone would like a copy of the certificate, please contact Steve Woodhall at steve.woodhall@sos.co.za.

So fellow members, this will be a good opportunity to go out there and get some sponsorship for the Conference, anything, from prizes for the photographical competition, to money donations to sponsor for the Conference and or the Society.

Gauteng Branch News

The last schedules trip for the Gauteng Branch was a trip to Venda. The trip was planned for the last weekend in April and a few members departed for the trip on the Friday.

It was an experience, in all senses and meanings of the word, from the accommodation, to the company and all the butterflies that we have seen.

It is now winter time and not much are flying at the moment. A good place to visit is the Walter Sisulu Botanical Gardens if you want to add to or improve on your photo collection. The succulent garden is starting to bloom, with some of the butterflies that enjoy the gardens then. They also have winter concerts where you can pack a basket and enjoy a picnic...

Please keep an eye out on the LepSoc Events Calendar for the next coming season's trip schedule!

KZN Branch News

The members in KZN have also been very busy and active.

A trip was organized to visit Vernon Crooks Nature Reserve again to see what else is flying a different time of the year.

The Nibela Peninsula seems to be a popular place to be visited by LepSoc members, and I wonder why! The varieties there are just to much too digest at once.

Western Cape News

The biggest news in the Western Cape at the moment is the Conference for this year that will be held at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens.

Andrew Morton and his team are hard at work organising the Conference. So start planning your trip in advance. The fees for the conference will be announced shortly, so watch this space...

If you have forgotten how much fun we had last year at the Conference, and for those that could not make it, read the article on our forum to remind you.

Edible "Tips"

I like winter, in the sense that one can catch up on other things in life as well, to keep a healthy balance, like spending time with family and good, warm food. I enjoy my soups in the winter, easy meal. But I also enjoy a home cooked meal, like this recipe that I came across for Slow-roasted lamb shank in a wine sauce...