In an attempt to search out colour in our constant parade of grey,gusty, damp days here is Pink from my garden.
Tiny pinks with weeds!
Dianthus that first came from my mother’s garden.
“Boiled sweet pink” climbing geranium
Pink Rock Rose, one of a mass of flowers.
First pink climbing rose
Pink climbing rose buds
Frothy pink flowering cherry blossom, always an October bloomer.
Our flowering Cherry Tree was a picture of “fire” this morning.
The leaves have been turning quite quickly in the past week but it had reached flame toned proportions this morning.
It is a breath catching picture directly out from our living area. A bright torch against the grey skies of the past days.
The weather forecasters have predicted a storm to hit this afternoon and they are on the money on this prediction.
The sky when I went out with the camera this morning was grey-blue with a foreboding look about it as the forces of nature slowly gathered.
As I type this post the wind is at gale force and the trees are bending deeply. I wonder what my “fiery” picture tree will look like tomorrow.
Our tall, beautiful, self sown flowering cherry tree has just one last leaf on it.
Despite being battered by many gale force winds this leaf is still on the tree as I type this post.
I’ve been considering possible metaphors around this leaf and a range come to my mind:
Do we cling on to something long after we should have let it go?
Do we hold on to beliefs or behaviours that no longer serve us?
Do we have utter determination in the face of great opposition and stand firm?
Do we like to have the final say, be the star of the finale?
Is life just puzzling and full of quirks?
Do we show great strength and grit in circumstances that are threatening and difficult?
Are we pioneers, forging new ways that have never been achieved before?
When conditions around us are inhospitable and life diminishing and we feel frail, drained, worn can we find inner strength, in reserves deep within us?
What does this last leaf offer you as a metaphor?
And another really amazing aspect contained in this photo is the evidence of next spring’s bubs, already formed, as the last leaf hangs, speaking of hope.
Today is the shortest day and many people have been celebrating this winter solstice, acknowledging the importance of the dark but anticipating the return of the light.
It continues to be a very testing year here in New Zealand, especially for the residents of Christchurch and surrounding areas.
While nature has been showing her hand dramatically in many ways, nature has also been kind to us here in “windy” Wellington. We have had an exceptionally long period of calm weather with temperatures being unseasonably warm and none of us have any complaints about those two features.
We have had a good many days of cloud this week and the daylight is very low. However from my living room window there is a flowering cherry tree which still has an abundance of leaves which have all turned into their autumn finery after some clear, chilly nights last week.
Set against the low light it is a beacon of colour and vibrancy to relish and to remind us that sun, light and heat will return in time.
My photos do not necessarily do it justice as it seems to glow to the naked eye.
ordinarygoodness 