Near Lake Ohau

I have  a feeling this yellow flowering plant is a pest plant a bit like those lupins in the same area.

Never the less lovely for tourists.

Note that clear air.

New Zealand Native Mistletoe

New Zealand native Mistletoe at Lake Ohau in November 2016
Info here : Mistletoe

Auckland west coast beach

Pohutukawa - The New Zealand Christmas tree

Pohutukawa trees at the Wenderholm Regional park  - my favourite of the 34 regional parks here in  Auckland.

Muriwai surf beach at low tide.

Blog Karts at Muriwai beach

(A Kiwi invention) 

Auckland from the War Memorial Museum in the Domain

Looking north, Sky Tower to the left, North Shore centre skyline  , Devonport to the right on skyline

Gardening part 2 - Diana's garden

Rhododendrons from my aunts garden, half an acre outside of Christchurch. Becoming very difficult to maintain, originally the dream garden of my uncle, but never the less still able to really turn on the colour this time of the year. Sadly she passed away on December 27th 2016.

Memory triggers

A few weeks back I happened to be in a church hall in Christchurch which was being used as a temporary Kindergarten post the Canterbury earthquake of 2011.
Its been  a very very long time since I was in this setting and I was struck by the comforting feeling of familiarity which had remained hidden in my subconscious ever since.

Children's art on the wall, tiny desks, tiny easels, water colours, pencils and a somewhat overwhelming feeling that not so much had changed.

I'm not publishing the children's work here without their  permission as this isn't a publicly available space however the pencil corner sums it up. The only difference being the felt pens that were not part of my growing up.

"Uncle Warwick's" Iris - gardening part 1

Gardening remains a big hobby with New Zealanders, perhaps not what it once was when every Kiwi family in the 1950's would have had almost their entire vegetable supply provided from the back yard.
Even when I was flatting in Wellington in the late 1970's my flatmate Andrew had most of the backyard of our tiny workman's cottage at the top of Tasman Street supplying our vegetables in the same way his dad had done.
Times have really changed with cheap vegetables available from the supermarket, diminishing property sizes and families setting their priorities differently the back garden and indeed the front flower gardens are not as I remember growing up. There is however the remaining older generation keeping up the standard.
These are somewhat sweeping generalisations.

Below an Iris from my Uncle Warwick's (92) garden. Warwick has very poor eyesight but still maintains his garden including vegetables, iris and clematis. It's a real credit to him.