Pongaroa

By now, I had seen a lot on my tiki tour- but it was still quite a journey from the coast at Herbertville, back to Pahiatua through Pongaroa, then across the Pahiatua Track back to Palmerston North.

I was to see a lot of evidence of land slips in the next section of the drive, some of it from recent heavy rainfall, and some of it 'chronic'. There are unfortunately too many parts of New Zealand where the hills should never have been cleared of forest. I was glad to see some of the hills on the Pongaroa-Pahiatua Road seem to be being allowed to revert through scrubland back to forest.

 Near Waione I saw these 'rural' football posts. Who knows how many former All Blacks have been reared on such posts.

And in Pongaroa there was recognition of a 'local', Maurice Wilkins, who became a world renowned scientist and Nobel Prize Winner. (Interestingly, Sir Ernest Rutherford also hailed from a small rural New Zealand town.)

Pongaroa has obviously seen 'busier' times, and there were quite a few 'historic' buildings still there.

And here is the signpost in Pongaroa that points the way home....

Down by the Riverside- again.....

A brief break for the swotting brain took me down by the riverside in the sunshine...

And with my brain full of ideas about angiosperms I find I keep looking and noticing floral details, and questions keep rising in my brain....

OK enough of the delay....... on with the swot!

Cordyline australis

Well, my exam for 'Flora of NZ' looms at the end of the week, so of necessity I am largely confined indoors on this public holiday. But hanging out the laundry this morning in the backyard, I noticed a prominent display of NZ flora- the endemic Cordyline australis - the native 'cabbage tree'- is coming well into bloom...... gorgeous against a blue sky!

Babies at the Lagoon

A fortnight ago I was at the Lagoon, and saw a few ducklings, and a coot on a nest. Today I needed a wee break from my exam study, and headed back there for another look-see.

 There were ducklings galore, of varied kinds and sizes!

 (One dear mother duck was even trying to keep eleven youngsters all in one place at the same time!) 

I wondered whether I would see the coot that I had seen sitting on a nest last time.

 I suspect indeed that this was the one, or its partner. There seemed to be a 'family group' with two parents and three young ones.

The adults were both very active, diving underneath the water repeatedly.

They came up with aquatic plants all over them, and then fed the young.

I wasn't sure quite what they were feeding them. Maybe when my exam is over I can look it up.... Meanwhile, back to the books... enough with these lovely distractions......

Where do the ducklings go when it rains?

After so much sunshine, showers have arrived, but I decided to head off to the Lagoon anyhow to see if I could see some ducklings. I did wonder where they went when it drizzled. 

As I started walking, one of the first birds I saw on the grass was this Australasian coot. Strangely, I am not sure I have ever really noticed its feet before, and they seemed inordinately large.

And I had barely left this coot when I had the first answer to my wonderings about where the ducklings go when it rains: at least some of them huddle under a parent.

Not far past them I saw this group of young looking(?) females huddled together while showers fell. Maalie has since told me these are grey duck: you can check out more about them on this wonderful webpage.

Next, I discovered a coot nesting, on quite a public spot really, not too far from the water's edge.

  As far as I could tell, the young didn't seem to have hatched yet.

Finally, after all that excitement, as I followed the path along the water's edge, I discovered that some ducklings stay swimming with their mother when it rains.....

As I made my way back to the car when the rain got heavier, I noticed quite a few more sedentary birds, at least some of whom were hiding their huddled young beneath them on the grass. It was something I had never really noticed before....

Palmerston North Esplanade

I think that the Palmerston North Esplanade is one of the most under-rated city parks in the country. So many different corners to dabble in as the mood takes you... When the rain became heavier at the Lagoon this morning I headed for the Esplanade- but things in Palmy being so accessible and close, the sunshine was shining again by the time I arrived.

 

The arcade of cherry blossom trees that greets you as you arrive now have more leafy coverage with their blossoms.

 

And amongst the abundant flowering trees presently are many rhodos and still some magnolias, such as this delicate one.

I headed into the conservatory today to see a few of the more unusual plants. Here are two that took my eye.

And to finish, this very pretty cascade of flowers....

Odd Spot

 

Wonderfully, I am starting to do a few more 'normal' things again. On the weekend I even did a little bit of slow, careful gardening- great therapy for my hand the physio tells me. In the process of getting some compost out of the compost heap, I discovered why I always seemed to need to buy new vege peelers......

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.)

FARA fundraising gig

Coming up on October 15th here in Palmie there is going to be the FARA fundraising gig, organised by a friend of mine. 

From the ticket:

"Friedreich Ataxia Research Association (FARA) Fundraising Gig. 

Friedrichs Ataxia is a degenerative neuro-muscular disorder affecting a number of young New Zealanders. There is currently no treatment or cure for this debilitating and life-shortening disease. FARA is a non profit organisation dedicated to supporting families with FA and promoting research that will improve the quality and longevity and ultimately lead to a treatment and cure."

If you live locally, you can come along and jive to the band, "Ruff n Ready".  (Contact me via comments and I can tell you more about getting a ticket.) 

But I know most of my readers aren't local. You can read more about the Australian-based FARA organisation here, and the site has info about the research into a clinical drug trial for Friedreich Ataxia. If you would like to support this cause, here is a fundraising page for this Palmie gig.

Calm before the storm

I headed out into the countryside today to visit a friend, and en route home saw this 'calm before the storm' view of sheep in the sunshine, with dark clouds that looked so threatening looming above the Ruahines. 

And at my friend's house, I enjoyed becoming acquainted with her baby, plus a whole array of farmyard animals. Here is one of her chooks, and I am looking forward to eating the free range eggs she gave me!

Blogging inspiration

I have had a bit of a blogging break recently. With my arm and much of my hand encased in plaster, I couldn't take any photos for weeks, and typing wasn't exactly easy either. But I did keep reading blogs, and in this post will share just a few of my favourites. Call it a bit of springtime inspiration if you live in the right part of the world- or autumn consolation otherwise I guess!

We'll start locally with Pohangina Pete who takes exquisite photos, some shared from his overseas travels, and some taken somewhere quite nearby, little things I might have noticed myself if I had looked- like this apple in winter or this detail on a building down Main St.

And next we'll jump across the Tasman, where I know a whole bunch of bloggers who often have me wishing I could take a quick jet trip to explore that wee island out west of us. One of them is Simon, who loves to head out into the local National Parks whenever he can find the time. Here is one of his latest forays, to Penrith Lakes, man-made; and here is a record of what he saw at Goulburn River National Park, shortly after he returned home from a trip to England that had been slightly extended by a certain volcanic eruption.

Now I will jump continents to a newly discovered blog by George. You can see some of the reflections he has captured here on the waters of the Inner Harbour of Baltimore, and also see some of the visions he has recorded of the modern buildings. Art and beauty and inspiration. And while we are in the US of A, I have been a regular reader of Kelle Hampton's blog, Enjoying the Small Things, for months.  She shares many beautiful photos of her two young girls, and here is just a random sample. She leaves me wanting to notice and enjoy the 'small things' every day in my own life.

I can't quite leave the other side of the world without paying a visit to Robert, the Solitary Walker, (who in fact led me to Blogger George.) Robert has been walking the South West Coast Path in England in recent days, and writes so persuasively, and adds such photographs that you wish you were walking with him, even if it is raining.... Then there's ornithologist Maalie, who spends a bit of his retirement having 'well-earned holidays' bird-watching in odd places all over Europe; but who has recently bought a kayak to explore a bit closer to home.

I guess I do tend to dabble more in blogs with photos, but there are more text based blogs that inspire me as well. (Can you spot the 'lapsed Catholic' peaking out from the next two?) Recently Paul Brian Campbell SJ, who often shares little tidbits of inspiration, shared a bit from a poem by Mary Oliver that I love:

"this isn’t
a contest but the doorway
into thanks, and a silence in which
another voice can speak."

And Becky Eldredge, in her blog "Everything is Holy Now" recently quoted something about the very concrete-ness of being Catholic, that almost made me wish I still was one....

" Catholics are a sacramental people. We see signs of the presence of God around us in every moment of our lives. We know, of course, that God is greater than we can imagine and beyond all that we can touch, but we are also convinced that creation, from the most ordinary--water, oil, bread--to the most unlikely--the stranger, the enemy, the cross--can reveal divine love. "

Anyhow, that is enough for now..... more another day perhaps.

Down by the Riverside

After more than a week- was it even as much as two weeks- of stormy, windy, wet, cold, crap days... finally a sunny calm afternoon. 

 Yippeeeee! So after physio I went a wandering down by the riverside.

And as you can see, the river is flowing quite full of muddy sediment after all our recent rain.

Sunshine on his sign...

I'd vote for this man if I could. He must be glad to finally get a sunny, calm day to show off his election sign...... Chris Teo-Sherrell .....

PS Did you notice the driver eating a banana at the wheel?

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...

Welcome to Spring!

Welcome to Spring! Today was a lovely warm sunny day for us all to breathe in the start of the new season .....though tomorrow much rain is forecast!

On Friday I had my cast removed, something I was very happy about. Saturday I had a bit of a 'melt-down' as my hand felt so 'useless'. But this week I have met an angel of a physiotherapist who has given me hope that 'ordinary life' is not too many weeks away....