Marlene Neumann spotted the sweetest sign of spring. One little weaver added bright yellow daisies to his nest.
East London, South Africa (04 September 2026) – There were nearly 70 weaver nests hanging from the trees above Marlene Neumann when one gave her reason to reach for her camera.
It had flowers. Bright yellow daisies, carefully worked into the nest among all the usual weaving.
Marlene, an East London fine art photographer of 44 years, had stopped outside for a moment and looked up when she noticed all the activity overhead.
Weavers were hard at work building their nests – already a lovely little sign that spring had made its way back. This one particular bird, it seemed, chose to colour outside of the lines. Against dozens of fairly similar nests hung his one, decorated with flowers.
Naturally, Marlene took photos! She later shared what she had spotted on social media, along with the message the scene had left her thinking about. The post struck a chord, reaching more than 2000 admirers and gaining over 430 shares.
“Today I stopped and looked up.
And there he was.
Amongst nearly 70 nests, all hanging from the trees, all looking much the same… this little weaver had decided to do things differently.
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His nest was filled with beautiful yellow flowers.
Not because he had to. Not because anyone told him to. Simply because he could.
And on this first day of spring, it felt like a beautiful message.
There has been so much devastation in our world. So much suffering, uncertainty and darkness.
And then this little bird appeared, reminding me that life is still here… creating, beginning again, bringing colour and beauty into the world.
Hope.
Yellow has always spoken to me of intuition, joy and stepping into our own personal power. And here was this tiny creature weaving it into his home with such precision and creativity.
Perhaps that is the invitation of spring…
To begin again. To look up. To notice the little miracles. To trust our intuition.
And to remember that we are not here to build our lives like everyone else.
We each have something unique to weave into this world.
A gift. A way of seeing. A way of loving. A light that belongs only to us.
So perhaps we should ask ourselves:
What is uniquely mine to weave into this world?
And then have the courage to weave it in.
Beautifully. Uniquely. And completely our own.
Because sometimes, in a world that feels so grey, all it takes is one little bird…
to remind us to bring back the yellow.”
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This Joburg Bookshop is Putting South African Storytellers and Readers First!It’s no surprise that Marlene found a bigger story in something she spotted through a lens.
Photography has been part of her life for more than four decades, and today she also teaches and mentors others through it. She is an author and philanthropist too, with four books behind her. Her latest, Walking Yourself Home: Remembering Who You Are, follows the same thread of looking a little deeper.
“My photography has always been a spiritual journey, a way of connecting deeply with nature, following intuition and seeing beyond what is immediately visible. Through my mentoring, I use photography as a way of helping people reconnect with themselves, their creativity and the world around them.” she tells us.
Good thing Marlene remembered to look up. Perhaps this is your sign to do the same!
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