Spring leaves

 

 

 

 

 

I do love spring, although it can be incredibly, annoyingly changeable!

It's so good to see our young trees getting their spring foliage (although 

they're getting buffeted by the wind out there today).

 

 

 

I love autumn even more, except for the horrible fact 

that it id followed by winter...

Early signs of spring...?

Our 3-year-old magnolia is covered with blooms this year.

Sadly we have had several storms recently 

which have left it rather battered.

At least Manu is enjoying the sunshine, after a long walk at the beach:

Spring, 2016

It's the 3rd of September - the third day of spring. Hoorah!

Last spring my newly planted magnolia tree had but one bloom on it - and that was quickly destroyed by strong winds.

This year, there are nine. Here are two of them, plus a guest appearance from Sammy:

Spring, really.

Monday morning. 

Clear, calm, sunny, beautiful. 

The kind of spring morning I have been bemoaning the lack of (see here).

Manu and I decided to check out the shore of the estuary

The tide was right out

 

On the way home we stopped at the strawberry place, 

and got a box of sweet, luscious berries, freshly picked an hour before.

Spring, so far...

In the Antipodes, a new season starts on the 1st of the relevant month, 

not the 21st as in the northern hemisphere. 

Therefore, in four days' time we shall be starting our 3rd month of spring. 

With luck, month 3 will be an improvement on September and October! 

We have had weeks and weeks of winds - cold, strong, nasty winds. And very little rain. 

You expect some windy days in spring, and also some gentle, life-giving rain. Hmmph!

There are a few small brave signs of the season, thankfully. Most of the earlier blossoms
and flowers were destroyed by the wind. Tattered freesias and ripped daffodils are not very attractive!

And to qualify for Carmi's Thematic Photographic 353, "Size Small",
here's a monarch from last summer.

Sunday Snapshot

See, it really is spring!

Today the rain stopped, and the sun came out :)

This post also fits into Thematic Photographic  #308 : Vegetation  (sorry it's late!)

Spring, Day One

In this part of the world, our seasons officially start on the first day of the relevant month, 

not on the 21st, which seems to be the case in the northern hemisphere.

Don't take any notice of the date on this post -  Sunday August 31st.  Blogger is American.  

Therefore today, September the 1st, is the first day of spring. 

Of course it's not spring-y weather; it's quite cold and very wet. 

So here's a shot from last spring:

Thematic Streetscapes

For Thematic Photographic 265, Carmi has set the theme of Streetscapes. To see his and other pictures on this intriguing theme, go here.

Last week in New Plymouth, I came across a lovely bed of poppies in the middle of a 

3-street intersection:

Two days earlier, in Wanganui on a quiet morning, this was the view:

What I saw on my holidays...

I saw...

trees dressed in their spring green:

a fascinating wind farm:

 

a desirable beachside residence:

gorgeous Botanical gardens:

pretty small towns:

intrepid surfers:

 an extremely cool footbridge:

and lots of baby ducks.

No doubt I shall expand further on these topics in future posts!

My best vacation is somewhere I could hide, 

somewhere warm and not a lot of people around. 

~Derek Jeter

ead more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/d/derekjeter559146.html#oxMpXJWMxgle2myu.99

My best vacation is somewhere I could hide, somewhere warm and not a lot of people around.
Derek Jeter
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/vacation.html#8832CVqEEu1RTzbR.99

My best vacation is somewhere I could hide, somewhere warm and not a lot of people around.
Derek Jeter
Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/vacation.html#8832CVqEEu1RTzbR.99

Spring, continued...

In the garden today:

a lovely pink rhododendron

 a pretty pink-and-white weigela

old roses on an old fence

 

 and an iris of a delicate apricot shade

Have a sunny Sunday, everyone!

TP 216: Colours of Autumn

Okay so Carmi is demonstrating hitherto unsuspected ingrained  hemisphereism 

and has designated the theme for this week as "fall colours". 

What to do? Go back six months to autumn?? 

Nooooo; that would mean living through that horrible winter all over again. 

No. Not gonna do it.

Autumn colours - red, yellow, orange... right? 

So today I stopped at the marina at Tauranga and looked for some autumn colours. 

I found yellow, and orange:

Must admit that I was a bit worried they were going to fall (*snicker*)

Looked around for some red:

More red here (nice blue, too)...

More autumnal tones:

Mine. Mine. Mine.

Love the trees until their leaves fall off, then encourage them to try again next year. 

~ Chad Sugg

 

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly 

about the earth seeking the successive autumns.

~ George Eliot

Not me, George baby.

You might think that the lowering grey sky in these pictures indeed meant cold, autumnal temperatures - not so; it was humid and warm, without a breath of wind.