Here are some photos from time spent in nature last weekend and words of upliftment and encouragement.
All that you can see has its roots in the unseen.
Forms change; essence remains.
Every sight will vanish, however gorgeous.
Every word will fade, however sweet.
But be strong of heart!
Where they come from is everlasting.
And renewing. Rumi
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.
A frosty morning, then clouds but oh so little air movement across the Pauatahanui Inlet today.
Here are some of the views that greeted me as I went out and about this morning.
When the neighbour’s dog had barked non-stop for 50 minutes today I picked up my camera and headed to Pauatahanui for some peace and quiet and some fresh air.
Our long fine summer continues and the sky was intensely blue and cloudless.
My eye was caught by these skyscapes.
The church is St Albans, an Anglican church which dates back to the time of the early European settlement in the area. It is special to my family as two of my children have been married in this church.
I also took some more photos of the rosehips on show in the nearby Burial Ground but I will save those for another post.
Today I went back to the Pauatahanui Burial Ground to photograph the rose-hips.
I became aware of bird calls and across the skyline flew a flock of Canadian Geese. They headed out over the Pauatahanui Inlet.
For some reason they then looped back and headed straight over me in the rose garden.
In a remarkable turn of luck I snapped this photograph as they passed overhead.
My own personal fly-over certainly lifted my spirits for the day.
A change of scenery and some fresh air was needed today and we headed to Battle Hill, Pauatahanui.
It is a working farm, run by the Greater Wellington Regional Council but it is also a historic site and includes various areas of regeneration.
These lovely tree ferns (Pongas) were on the edge of a large area of regenerating native bush. I love tree ferns and enjoyed the light and the way the ferns shifted and moved in the breeze.
ordinarygoodness 