Off the paint chart

Spring green is a colour!

And a wee splash of Lime Green too

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Some soft spring shades

Our Japanese Maple has relished the warm, calm conditions we have experienced this week and has responded by showing off its spring range of colours.  Enjoy!

What else might be there to photograph?

I’ve been down to the Forest and Bird Reserve at Pauatahanui in the past couple of weeks in the hope of seeing and getting some photos of the Pied Stilt chicks.

My last trip was fruitless in terms of the Pied Stilts.

Adult Pied Stilt

The family was feeding in the water in a part of the pond that was inaccessible. It was only the swooping parent bird who was trying to drive us away that alerted us to their location.
We sat in the hide and patiently waited but the tidal flow was all wrong for any photos of the birds but I liked the colours that were showing in this salty water, marshy, tidal pond.

It is such a harsh looking environment but this reserve of extensive wetlands is critical to so much of our natural environment in New Zealand.

Wordless Wednesday

Well almost Wordless Wednesday……Summer temperatures, blue sky intensity, autumn russets.

Another walk by the Pauatahanui Inlet

The long spell of unbroken summer weather continues on here and earlier in the week I went for a walk along the Inlet on the Camborne Walkway.

I began my walk with this view ahead of me.

The boatsheds are a colourful and eclectic group of buildings. Each has a different character which makes it a very interesting place to wander by.

And between each boatshed is a glimpse of the stunning Inlet on a stunning day.

There are creative additions on almost all the sheds.

A finial to keep away any witches that might be lurking.

Colours to surprise you and which match the heat of the day.

Nautical settings with summer flowers.

And all the time the slap, lap, slap, lap of the water beneath the sheds and around the posts.

This dachsund does not usually swim but this morning he was happy to stand, tummy deep in the warm water

As we both looked out over the view

The colours of nature

Sometimes nature puts colours together in ways that totally surprise me.

This self sown Aquilegia or Granny’s bonnet is nestled up against this 30 year old azalea, providing an interesting colour contrast.

The other total surprise here is the vibrant and dramatic flowering of this azalea.

I have never seen it bloom with such abundance and intensity in the 24 years I have watched it. The only thing that has been done differently is that I have rinsed out the 2 litre milk bottles on the way to the recycling bin and this plant has been the recipient of these very watery dregs.

Other aquilegias are flowering nearby in several different colourings. They are beautifully delicate in shape and shade.

A pastel sky at sunset

The sky painters went to their pastel palette last evening to paint a sunset in tones of baby blue and pink for us to gaze at.

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In the fact the whole sky was encircled with colour. There was a soft, golden yellow off to the west but in other directions it was soft blues and pink tinged clouds.

I noticed that within a minute or two of capturing these photos all the colours were completely gone.

Friday wrap-up, a day late

Saturday 2nd July: Friday wrap-up, a day late.

So here are a few things that have happened today. It has been a good one.

 I realized that the very cold weather we have had this week is just the thing to stimulate my newly planted garlic bulbs.

 The coffee was good and hot at the café this morning

 A friend and I had a discussion about resilience which is a topic we are both interested in

 I walked around the lake near our shopping centre and enjoyed the winter light, the water, the birds and some stunning colours that surprised me in the depths of a steely, raw winter’s day

 Hot soup was just the right food for lunch

 I took some interesting photos on a walk near my home. I’ve included these two of a Melia tree near our local dairy. It looks so vastly different to the one in my garden.

 I completed my Garden Bird survey and was delighted by the number of chaffinchs in the count this year

 I did a guided meditation as the light of the day faded

 Everyone enjoyed their hot roast dinner

 There was some humorous television to watch in the evening.

And I found a new blog which I will be following closely with great interest. I’d encourage you to have a look:-)