317: more baby coots

Down at the Lagoon today I saw more baby coots. This is a newer group, hatched not so long ago. The ones I have seen previously have grown bigger, and have now lost most of the yellow and red colouring on their heads.

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!

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...

268: cherry blossom

Cherry blossoms at the Esplanade- another of Palmy's secret treasures...

266: riverside walk

 Another lovely spring day. I wore a summer skirt and top all day, and never lived to regret it! On the way home I took a walk in the sunshine down by the riverside...

265: beautiful afternoon

This afternoon we had the best spring weather yet. I took this photo down by the riverside on my way home.  I was just wishing I had my new walking sandles with me to take a walk along there...

Downtown Springtime

I had a short walk downtown today, and spring was in the air. 

 Spring blossoms in Coleman Mall

 Bikes and a planter box on the Square near the Library

 that lovely light green you see only as spring begins

 a few addditional street signs for the Rugby World Cup

And three extra flags on the top of Square Edge- for Argentina, Romania and Georgia,

who will all play here during the Rugby World Cup

257: magnolia

I know I said I was going to try and take photos with some different themes in the remaining part of the year, but when you walk into school in the morning, and the morning sunlight is on the magnolia like this.... there isn't really any option but to take a photo!

Kahuterawa Rd- springtime

 I have begun 'training' for a couple of Chemins in France next year... and today took a 20km walk up my old training haunt- Kahuterawa Rd. I had walked the first 4km last weekend, so mostly walked swiftly up this part of the route, without taking photo breaks- but I couldn't possibly pass by without taking a photo of this handsome rooster. His crowing was apparent from well down the road.

Once you pass beyond the Green's Rd intersection, things become more isolated and 'wild' looking, and the river keeps you company as you walk.

It was calm when I started out, and so I was able to take a photo of some young pine cones: the past two weekends it has been too windy and they were moving too quickly for a close-up...

This shot is taken from the bridge at the top end of Kahuterawa Rd, where the Sledge Track starts, and where this bridge leads to Burton's Track. It marked about 10km of walking, and I had a 10km return trip ahead of me. I sat at the picnic tables and had 'lunch' at about 10am (!) then rewarded myself with a chocolate treat, before heading back down the road.

Drizzle started as I left, and a kind elderly man stopped to offer me a lift. I think I know who he was- a man who has done a lot of volunteer work to open up the tracks in this area for people's recreation. But I didn't want a lift- I am likely to encounter far heavier springtime rain on the route from Cluny next year, and I was 'training'. The man understood. I love the sense of 'mystery' in the hills when their tops are draped in cloud like this.

 I was excited to see some clematis growing against a rocky outcrop on the roadside where I could get a close view of it. (Mostly it is higher up in the trees.) I was reminded of all the spring flowers I saw in 2008 when I walked south from Le-Puy-en-Velay. Somehow, the northern spring seems not at all far away.

 This is a view approaching the Green's Rd intersection from the uphill end of Kahuterawa Rd: it's not so often I reach it from this direction, and the gnarly old macrocarpa stand out from here.

 One of the things I loved last time when I walked along this road many times to 'train' was that I saw the changing of the seasons- from spring to summer to the beginnings of autumn (when I left NZ to go and walk in the French spring...) My heart already is singing with the thought of the changes I will see in the countryside, and I was glad to see so very many obvious signs of spring. There were only glimpses of sunshine this morning, but the light brought these tiny little leaflets to life.

And the lambs- they always announce 'spring'!

253: Clematis

For my overseas readers, the white New Zealand clematis is a special jewel of springtime here. Typically, you might catch a glimpse of it high up in some trees when you are out somewhere in the bush. The past couple of weekends I have seen bits of it, mostly high up or fairly distant, as I have been walking along Kahuterawa Rd, 'training' for next year's long walks in France. But today I saw some close-up, spilling down a rocky roadside bank. The conditions appear to be rather harsh for anything to grow, but there it is, looking so beautiful.

It reminded me of a special sight in April 2008 when I was walking in France. I had taken a 'rest day' on Day 11 of my Chemin, as several days of walking with saturated feet had led to some Large Blisters. I felt like a bit of a 'failure' needing to do this, but the next day dawned fine and sunny, and the route for walking was beautiful. This blessed day, I saw some flowers that seemed to come forth out of rock. Today, I was reminded of that memory as I looked at the clematis...

246: frosty lamb

Headed out for a walk in the countryside this Saturday morning. Frost was quite thick on the ground and my fingers were tingling in the cold for the first hour or so, making me wish I had brought my woollen gloves with me. This lamb already had its own woollen coat...

241: first kowhai buds

First kowhai buds of the season spotted at school today...

239: Hungry Lamb

 Called into a friend's place after a walk in the countryside this morning- and they had a hungry lamb to feed. It was one of twins whose mother died.

235: magnolia

The temperature has warmed up again, and I love arriving home to see the new buds on the magnolia tree in my front garden. This fresh bud has brown bits behind it from a flower that was probably touched by last week's snow...