304: spiderweb in sunlight

I have taken photos of spiderwebs before, but usually outlined by raindrops. I was delighted to get this shot this afternoon, outlined by the sunlight.

Lagoon Babies

This post is dedicated to Jim Fowler, who would have told me off in no uncertain terms for talking about baby coots and cute ducklings!

This morning I took a spring walk beside the Lagoon. Quite a few ducklings were around- and I know Jim would have told me exactly which species these were.

But mainly today I spent my time watching four young coots on a nest, and their two parents who were feeding them.

 Here are three of the four young coot waiting for a parent to bring food.

 The fourth young coot was on top of the nest, next to two large eggs that seemed to have been abandoned. I wondered if they were swan eggs, but perhaps they could have been goose eggs.

Now two of the young coots are up on top of the nest, near the large eggs.

 Here is a parent returning to feed the young. (You can see this other shot of feeding on my 365 blog.)

 In this shot you can see that the baby coot already seems to have some sturdy legs and feet.

 Another feeding shot...

These young coot were venturing occasionally onto the water, but never far from the nest.

Wellington Adventure

In the recent school holidays I had a little adventure with my two young nieces. Here are just a few tidbits from the waterfront- such a great asset to be enjoyed by everyone these days.

 There are many and varied sculptures to see as you walk by.

 This was a view from Te Papa over part of the harbour and a nearby marina.

The girls were especially fascinated by the way this artist was making a sand sculpture for Diwali, in a tent next to Te Papa. We watched for ages, and they probably would have gladly stayed a lot longer watching him.

I know when a friend from Vancouver went walking in the city with me a while back,
she was fascinated by the buildings.

 A yacht in the harbour- and there were kayaks not far away from it.

Part of the mooring for a historic vessel being restored.

303: coot mealtime

Last weekend I spied some newly hatched coots at the Lagoon, hidden away on a nest in some rushes. This morning four young were outside on another nearby nest, and the parents were bringing them food. Ahhh it was lovely to watch!
(I think the large egg nearby might be an abandoned swan egg: another lady watching told me she had seen a swan on this nest last weekend.)

298: back to normal

The excitement of the Rugby World Cup has finished- the relaxation of the holidays is over- it's back to 'normal' today. But I have some nice bits and pieces to make a sandwich for lunch...

Queen - 'We Are The Champions'

294: ducklings

Love cruising in the hols! At the Esplanade today I saw some ducklings swimming in the pond- ahhh lovely springtime!

291: coot nesting

 Last year was the first year I discovered coots nesting at the Lagoon here in Palmy, then went back again in a few weeks to see their interesting young ones once they had hatched.  I remembered that today, when I spotted a few unexpected ducklings in the Square, so I decided to head off down to the Lagoon for a wander. Here is one of the Australasian coots I saw nesting, only a few metres from the lagoon edge.

290: sheep & lambs

This morning I headed up Kahuterawa Rd again for a walk, and saw these sheep and lambs along the way. After a late evening watching the excitement of an All Blacks victory over Oz, I found it took me the whole 4km of the uphill stretch to Green's Rd just to wake my body up properly!

287: Sculptured All Black

This statue - Solace in the Wind- by the sea near Te Papa in Wellington is usually naked- but he seems to have acquired some All Blacks clothes ahead of the RWC semi-finals...

286: rock climbers

I don't usually put many 'people' shots on here but here is one exception. Had a lovely little 'adventure' in downtown Wellington with my two nieces. What was one of their favourite activities? Climbing all over the three large rocks outside Te Papa. This beautiful specimen happens to have originated from Mt Egmont- it's andesite.

More from the Secret Garden

Back in March I posted some photos from my sister's garden: she has little hidden treasures all around the place. I was there again today, and have a few more treasures, (or different angles on treasures), to show you... Enjoy!

284: afternoon tree shadows

Afternoon tree shadows fall on the side of St Peter's Church, Terrace End.

283: stained glass detail

Detail in a stained glass window of the Annunciation
made by the South Island stained glass expert, Graham Stewart
in St Pat's -Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Palmerston North

Turitea Rd Walk

It was a nastily cold afternoon/evening outside yesterday, and I guess I wasn't expecting to wake up to sunshine today. But I did, and that sunshine spelled 'Walkies'. Camino/Chemin training has begun for me now:- in about six months I will be in the northern hemisphere for their spring, and walking will be my daily diet for more than a few weeks, so the time has come to start getting ready!

 I decided that a casual stroll up Turitea Rd might fit the bill this morning, so parked my car at the walkway carpark on Old West Rd. I came across these sheep sheltering under a tree very early on, and they kindly stayed still and posed for me.

They were just the first of the 'cooperative' animals today. Next were the alpacas in a front paddock. (There is another photo of them on my 365 blog.)

Soon after that I heard a kereru fly overhead, and it perched itself on this tree for a good feed.

 I walked up as far as the bridge by the Turitea Water Reserve, and decided to walk back via the Green Corridor as far as I could. Here they have been planting trees over the years, and you can access a track that runs near the stream.

 And if in fact you want to walk the length of the corridor, in three places you even have to cross the stream...

 ...and get your feet wet. Ahhh but it was fun- I haven't done it for a while. (And my shoes don't seem to have minded the dunking either: they are nearly dry after spending several hours in sunshine on the back deck.)

 Here's where I left the Green Corridor- feeling grateful to those who keep adding to it.

The last stretch back to the car was in warm sunshine- no jersey needed. And when bathed in sunshine, even mundane things like rusty fences become things of beauty.

That was the first of many walks I expect to take in the coming months. I'll keep you posted....

282: alpacas

I went walking up Turitea Rd in some welcome sunshine this morning, and passed by a paddock with some alpacas in it - not such a common sight in NZ. They were all staring at me, though I don't think I really frightened them too much...

280: clematis

The clematis on the fence with my neighbours is coming into bloom now, and I imagine it will soon look spectacular again...

279: orange tulip

I love the hues of this tulip- gently laden with fire...

278: St Peter's Spring

Just over two weeks ago I posted a photo of St Peter's Church and how the springtime has advanced already. The smaller tree was still bare of leaves, and the larger one only had a thin flush of light green. The season moves on towards summer...

277: kowhai

The kowhai tree outside the classroom is coming into bloom...

RWC in Palmy

We have just a few days to revel in the excitement of local games for the Rugby World Cup here in Palmy- but we have made the most of them!

On Wednesday before the Georgia-Romania game, there was a roadshow in the Square, with lots of "bouncy castles' for people to have fun doing their rugby thing on. 

Plus there was a concert, and The Nerines were one of the bands on stage-

 with my godson on lead guitar

 

and his bro on the drums...

Yesterday afternoon there was another free concert in the Square. A local group did the warm-up honours at the start, and these local kids were having fun jiving in the aisles.

Then Hollie Smith performed with her own special sound...

 and Dave Dobbyn came last, a superb performer, much beloved by the crowd.

This morning I woke to hear heavy rain on the roof for the day of the Argentina/Georgia game.  But by the time I emerged from swimming lengths at the Lido it was warm and sunny, and hopefully the showers will hold off for the game...

 

I was struck by the contrast of posters as I headed towards the Square. I would have used this as my 365 photo for today, except that the Argentinians were all so lively in the Square!

 Some Argentinian supporters- I've got their photo and they've got mine!

 

And many thanks to this young lad who was kind enough to pose for me...

 I presume this group were being interviewed for Argentinian TV...

 These guys didn't exactly bring along a diminutive version of their flag!

 This guy was wearing a Brazilian flag, but he was made welcome by the blue&white flag bearers!

Just missed the posed shot here- local police were kind enough to pose with some Argentian supporters beside an Argentinian bus...