We made a visit to Hawkes Bay last weekend to visit my father in law before Xmas. Not only did we enjoy time with him and other family members we also found summer.
Spring here has been long, cloudy, cool, grey and windy. We know that Hawkes Bay experiences vastly different conditions thanks to a large mountain range that shelters it from the prevailing damp, howling winds and rain that come in off the Tasman Sea. It enjoys and thrives in the rain-shadow effect.
We rented a small, self contained cottage just outside the village we were visiting.
It is on a life-style block where the owners are growing and farming organically and also operating this commercial kitchen. Check out a great initiative here.
Look at who lived here:
Plymouth Rock Rooster
Look at the bounty of goodness that is so abundant in this part of my homeland.
Bounty awaiting in these Feijoa flowers.
The birds were doing their bit to pollinate these beauties that speak of heat and flavour and the traditional colours of the approaching Christmas day.
Beauty in tall, fragrant rose bushes.
You can see how dry it becomes here. Drought is common.
We had hot weather, intense blue skies which faded out to a hazy, pale blue as we left for home in the glare and brightness of the sunshine. But while there we had sat outdoors in the shade in calm conditions, we had strolled in the evening warmth and soaked up Vitamin D admiring gardens.
ordinarygoodness 
What a beautiful place. Many years ago, when I was in school, my class had penpals, and my penpal lived in Hawkes Bay 🙂
Thanks Judy. Hawkes Bay is very beautiful. I think fellow bloggers are like pen-pals in a way as we share something of our lives with each other. We stayed in Havelock North and visited nearby Hastings. Do you remember where your pen-pal lived?
No, just Hawkes Bay 🙂
OK. That covers a pretty large area. Some parts of HB receive more rain than here. How nice to have that link for you however.
Love the shadowed hills. So much beauty in these shots.
Thank you Juliet. The late sun really illuminated those hills for me:-) I am really enjoying exploring photography – a bonus that arisen from blogging!