Broadway Churches

When I walk to/from town I pass several churches en route down Broadway.

Here are a few views of the beautiful Catholic cathedral.

 You could spend many hours taking various angles of this church ;-)

 Here it is reflected in the windows of the new bank building next door.

This cross is on the wall of a Congregational church, attended mainly by Pacific Islanders as far as I can tell. The building is easy to walk by on a dull day, but the brick takes on lovely warm hue in the sunshine.

This is the Methodist church on Broadway: I love it when the red/orange bricks stand out against a blue sky.

And lastly, St Peter's Anglican Church, at the top end of the Broadway. It was getting late in the late autumn afternoon when I took this shot. The walls have quite a different look in the harsher light of summertime.

149: Riverside Walkers

A beautiful Sunday morning here today, and lots of people were out early walking along the riverside track. (I must admit that every time I was passed by someone walking swiftly by in a green Manawatu Striders shirt I felt ever so slightly guilty that I was just dawdling-taking-photos, but I tried not to let it get to me!!)

144: Night Lights

 

Playing around with the camera at the intersection outside my house

moving the camera deliberately on a very long exposure, trying to catch the lights of cars going past.

It was fun experimenting- and as we get closer to the shortest day, it was easy to do before even cooking dinner!

140: Shadow Tree

I loved the intensity of this tree shadow in the late afternoon light, cast against the Methodist Church in Broadway in Palmy. Another blue sky day- but this tree is looking very wintry already.

138: Three seasons

Quite suddenly, after the winds of recent days, more than a few deciduous trees are now quite bare, giving a wintry look to the surroundings. But, strangely, there are still a few roses in bloom, and in the background here, a tree still holds onto its autumnal leaves. 

137: Blue Collection

A 'blue' collection on my mantlepiece
and every object holds a memory that reminds me of a friend.
(I could never ever be a minimalist!)

Wellington Zoo

I had a visit to Wellington recently- to go and see the touring Andrew Lloyd Webber show- which was just superb. I am still singing Love Changes Everything...

 

I took the opportunity to do a few other things- eg visit the Wellington Zoo, and be a 'big kid' for a couple of hours. 

These monkeys were very entertaining to watch. One had obviously found a 'food tube' that the keepers must have hidden, and the others were trying their polite best to get some of the contents...

 This pelican seemed completely used to visitors snapping its portrait.

 This lion had been roaring loudly just before I reached its enclosure- then all went quiet and it appeared to be doing what lions do best- sleeping.

The giraffe was hanging about outside its night-cage while the keeper cleaned things out.

 It seemed to be awfully slobbery when its head came close...

At The Nest they operate behind glass and  you can ask questions of the assistant. Here they were putting a pin in the leg of a pukeko whose leg was broken.

 The most worrying adventure of the day was having to get from the Zoo to the waterfront area, find a park, and not be late for the Show at 1.30pm. I thought I had it all sussed with my GPS unit, but I must check its settings before I return to Wellington: it said it couldn't design me any route as it said there were carpooling lanes... However, I made it anyhow, and had time to visit my male friend overlooking the harbour.

There is always so much to see on the Wellington waterfront- I love the poetry in various spots. So long as it's a nice day, you could spend hours exploring here. I'll be back...

135: Mugs

Just as well I did some 'outdoor' things yesterday, as today has turned into an 'indoor' day- just right for a hot chocolate. I have an 'eclectic' collection of mugs perfect for such a thing as you can see- none of this minimalist white for me. Several were bought in Nelson on holiday. Some were gifts, including a couple given to me when I 'left' my old school. (Do I hear the sound of a boomerang swishing through the air?) And the front one with the cabbage tree on it was bought in Christchurch in January, when the pottery people were just recovering from the September earthquake.

134: Wellington Zoo

This morning I spent a couple of hours wandering in Wellington Zoo. One of this group of monkeys had found a blue plastic container that obviously held food- and it was not being shared, no way! Other monkeys looked on longingly- but the 'eater' had no sympathy for them at all...

132: Cyclamens

I live in a 'simple' ex-state house. Some people look at the outside of these homes and see them as boring boxes. But these homes were built in the 1940s of sturdy materials, and they were built for the light. In the colder months, the sunlight strikes into the kitchen first, then moves around into the lounge, and finally strikes the bedrooms in the afternoons.
It happened that the morning I looked at this house, early one June, the sun was streaming into the kitchen even more so than in this morning's photo. I loved the light, and promptly bought the house....

131: Morning Light

a school fitness trail, early morning

One  of the things I love about mornings in late autumn is the gentle quality of the light. And it is angled low, casting interesting shadows.

127: elephants at the library

 Mostly I hung about indoors today, organising genealogy info... but I had a brief trip to the Palmy Library, where these elephants hang out with a whale...

126: Victoria Avenue

I put up a photo of the view down Victoria Avenue just a few days ago,  but today it is looking even more autumnal. Soon those leaves will all have fallen.... but for now it was a glorious arcade of colour to drive through.

124: Autumn advances

After a swim I popped into the Esplanade for a short walk. Autumn is advancing and the deciduous trees are mostly laden with coloured leaves. A few trees though, like this large one near the playground, have already adopted their bare winter look.

123: Joseph St Kitchen

The sun has returned and it is like a summer's day today- t-shirt weather. I jumped on my cycle and went to a friend's "Joseph St Kitchen". Apart from his great hot chocolate and afghans, he has done fascinating things with the decor.  This is the view out one window, through some autumn grape vine leaves.

121: Garden animals

I wasn't sure what I was going to put here today. There was sunshine this morning, but it has morphed into a cloudy grey this afternoon. I took one photo, but didn't like the greyness. I know the next four months are going to be harder to take photos in with shorter, grey-er days...

But then I spotted a neighbour's cat on my shed. Grey. But perfect subject that sat still, staring at me as I began taking a few photos.

I could have stopped there: I had my 365 shot for the day. But next I spied this praying mantis as I headed back inside.

And since I can't decide which animal to give you, you are getting a double whammy today...