Calm before the storm

We have been promised a 'weather bomb' in the coming hours, so I decided I should get out and walkabout this morning while I still could- so here are a few 'bits and pieces' from along Turitea Walkway.

We have a series of quite interesting drain covers here in Palmy, that show some of our native stream fauna and flora:- this 'brown mudfish' cover was over a storm water drain near the bridge where I parked.

Near the Turitea Stream they had been renewing a bit of the track where some of the path had slipped away into the stream- and I found the cut surface of this felled tree trunk quite beautiful.

I always love catching sight of the light on drops of water, and mostly I see it on spiderwebs or plants. But on the ground this morning I caught sight of a gleam from the ground at my feet, and there were droplets on some fallen cicada wings.

It was eerily calm this morning- definitely the calm before a storm. And in a more northerly direction looking towards the ranges, the sky definitely had that weird pre-storm appearance.

 But looking in a more southeast direction, the sky still looked more blue and less threatening...

 I am becoming very conscious these days that my 'training' time is drawing to a close, and in less than six weeks I will be heading off to France for some much more intensive walking. And somehow that makes me more conscious of 'local' signs here at home. When I walked in France and Spain last time, I became quite intrigued by taking photos of signs, so much so that I 'stopped myself' from taking such a 'ridiculous' number of them. But I actually really like looking at photos of signs later on- they tell such a very regional story. I will be sure to take plenty of them this time, without censoring myself!

As I neared Old West Rd and came to this pond, the whole scene looked so peaceful and calm in this direction, almost like a summer's day.

On the path heading down to the pond, I was intrigued by the shadows of the fenceposts, so took this photo. But once I downloaded it back at home, I realised this photo showed the steepness of the path very well. I have been struggling with how to show 'steepness' in photos, and perhaps this is the simple answer- to show the scene from the top rather than the bottom! Then I will be able to 'prove' to friends and family how 'arduous' parts of my walking was when I get home from France!

Summer has come to an end, and it seems like there are many spider-nests like this one on some bushes. I especially liked seeing this one today. The gorse bush with its sharp spines is an invader into our landscape that is not well loved. But it has been found to provide a 'nursery' for native plants re-establishing themselves- and here it allows a spider to make a 'nursery'. I find the contrast between the sharp spines and the nursery to be an appealing idea...

Well, those are a few tidbits from this morning's walk. Now I guess we will wait and see how bad the promised 'weather bomb' gets overnight and in the morning.

More draincovers

Andrew, my distant Scettrini rellie from Melbourne, directed people to this blog to look at some of the interesting draincovers we have in Palmy, so I thought I had better add another one....  This is an example of the 'artistic' series that I love finding: the giant umbrella sedge.

I seem to have eight different ones now. Four are of plants, and warn people not to connect stormwater to sewer drains, thus overloading the wastewater treatment plant. The other four are of our small native fish and warn that if you put anything toxic in the stormwater drains, it will go into streams- and might kill the fish etc.
But these interesting ones are the exception: most are more utilitarian, like the three below.  Firstly comes the fire hydrant cover.

And I have to show my ignorance here. I think the round one is stormwater. And I think the S on the other one might indicate something about the sewer..... but I might be quite wrong!

I am not sure how many more 'artistic' variants there are to be found. I will have to keep my eyes open when I am out cycling!

Addendum: Ahha- another one of the 'pretty' ones found when I cycled to the Esplanade for the 'Open Day'.

Pohutukawa in the Square

 It is still very muggy here, but this morning there was no rain and I headed off for a walk downtown. The pohutukawa around the city are coming into bloom in time for Christmas. These three photos were all taken around the Square- the top one by the Council buildings, the middle one by the ponds,

and the last shot near the Plaza corner, showing some of the ducks that have returned to the square now the breeding season is behind them.

And I saw another of these special stormwater drain covers, this one picturing inanga.

 I can't leave you without a couple of duck shots though.

 It was so humid, the ducks were just sitting there, so it was easy to sit on a nearby seat and take photos of them!

Mainly Square Reflections

Sunshine took me out walking this morning, and I was inspired by George to go looking for a few reflections, mainly around the Square. The first photo though is just fun. It looks a bit like this duck is eyeing up the lion behind itself, but I suspect it was more interested in making sure my motives were not nefarious...

Coleman Mall is looking especially pleasant at present, with a whole row of blossoming trees, (of which I am showing you just one- you'll have to visit soon yourself to see the rest.)

Now we get to the reflections. This one shows the City Library, formerly the DIC department store. It was transformed by the architect Ian Athfield, and is well worth lots of exploration inside, even if you have no intention of borrowing books.

I wonder if a certain supercilious Jafa TV presenter sees any irony in describing Palmie as boring, when on the same programme Auckland's inability to restore its own majestic St James Theatre is reported. This library is only one of our restored buildings: the magnificent Regent Theatre was also restored with a huge level of community support.

And now, a wee 'reflections' interruption to show Andrew my latest aducpas offering. I see I have discovered six draincovers in this series now- three fauna and three flora. I wonder how many there are....

And without further ado, on with the reflections. The only good thing about the oddity of this Auckland style skyscraper in our much more human-sized cityscape, is that you can watch the clouds pass by in its glass.

Maybe I have posted these trees reflected similarly on the blog before- but I can't find them..

 And it is interesting how many different reflections of the clocktower you can get, just by changing your angle a bit...

Finally, away from the Square now. There is a new modern building next to the Catholic Cathedral. The reflection shows quite a clash of eras and purposes....

By the way, I have added a new label, Palmy Pride. A certain segment of the media can't see past their noses when making pronouncements about 'boring-ness'. (Fortunately, we are not all obliged to live in the sprawling metroplis of Jafa Opinions.)

Normal Life Resumes...

Today dawned bright and sunny- a treat after the heavy rain we had on Monday. I had a physio appointment, so left home by foot in plenty of time, with my camera in my backpack to take some photos as I walked. It was just such a sunny morning that I had taken my camera out some two months ago, and ended up with a broken arm... I was keen not to repeat that part of the experience...

 

Not far from home, I noticed the shadow pattern made by the wrought iron gate that is part of the War Memorial Gate on Ruahine St, at Terrace End School. I loved the way the shadows and the moss sat together.

Right near the physio's clinic, there was a blossom tree, and the flowers looked magnificent against the blue of the sky- a great announcement that spring has definitely sprung. And there was more good cheer at my appointment: I really do have some useful fine motor movement now- quite a change from twelve days ago, and truly a credit to the skill and dedication of a wonderful physiotherapist.

After physio I continued walking to town, and saw two more of the 'interesting drain cover' series, and hereby present them for the edification of fellow members of aducpas- the non existent 'Australasian drain and utility cover, and plumbing appreciation society'. 

The breeze was blowing in the Square, filling the flags...

 

I had a hot chocolate, pretending I was in France, then walked on home again. About 6-7kms or so. Training for the next Camino maybe!!?

Addendum: I can now drive, as of yesterday afternoon. Short flat distances. If I use my splint. But had wee adventure with my splint this evening- searched to find it for an hour. Thought my new-found freedom was a 'goner'. Eventually found it. Velcro on splint had attached itself to velcro on raincoat, and both were hanging neatly together in the cupboard...