50: Dune whirlygigs

This morning I was up early-ish so I could go for a walk along Himatangi Beach before the sun's rays got too intense. Here is a 'whirlygig'  I saw on the sand- the rolling seed disperser for a dune building plant. If you walk along the beach on a windy day at the right time of year, you can see zillions of these rolling along on the sand. This one has been trapped in some driftwood, and thus the cycle might continue...
You can find a few more of my photos at the beach here.

Night Lights

The moon just looked amazing in the sky tonight when it rose, and I headed out to the back deck with my camera. I have never had much luck with moon shots from there before, but tonight the moon was in just the right position for me to rest my arms on a wooden support. So I discovered the zoom on the camera could focus on some remarkable detail, that I certainly couldn't see with my naked eye.

Recently I have been inspired by my nephew, who took some wonderful night shots when the lights were on show in Pukekura Park this summer. (The linked photo is someone else's- but my nephew's shots were amazing too.) It was time for Aunty to get to grips with how to set the long shutter speed on her own camera for some night shots. And actually it was easy.... I was just playing around outside my house with the next three shots- trying for a movement effect, not a still one.

 There is one of those tall bright orange lights outside my house, as it is on a curvy intersection where there have been lots of crashes in the past, and that lights up the tree.

And this last shot is my favourite experiment. Two cars were coming up the hill around the corner one behind the other, and I moved the camera back and forth. Such fun! I can see I will have to go downtown soon and catch some lights in the Square at night...

49: Cloud

Some clouds just seem to sit in the sky posing
almost asking to have their photograph taken
and reminding you of childhood days
when you idly stared at the sky
wondering about the passing animals skimming by above.

48: Di's Garden

I spent some time this morning taking photos in a friend's garden, which is always an inspiring place to step out into. I took lots of shots, but it seemed that for this blog I should choose one that showed a few of her very edible vegetables. She works hard to grow a variety of healthy food, then serves it fresh, and with love, to her family.

Back to the Manawatu Gorge

When I broke my wrist last year, there was a long descriptive paragraph came back from Radiology that the Dr sensibly translated at the time as 'nasty'.  But with good hospital treatment, and lots of hard work from a wonderful physio, my hand is pretty functional again. Surprisingly, what has taken longer than I expected, was getting my confidence back with certain physical activities. My brain has kept on wanting to protect my arm from further injury...

However, today was the day for me to get over another one of those heebeegeebee moments and head up onto the Manawatu Gorge track. I walked this track lots early in 2008, when I was preparing to walk the Camino. (From road level, you climb up onto a ridge, so that is good aerobic exercise.) There are new signs along the track now, so now I know it is 10.1km long- I never realised it was quite that far. I seldom walk the whole track in any case, as it isn't a loop. Usually I walk in for 1, 2 or 3 hours, then out again.

I had my camera with me, since I am doing the 365 challenge this year where I take a photo each day. And I had been thinking it might be time I added another landscape photo into the mix... but as it turned out, I got quite distracted by the fungi along the way.

Even these dying ones look rather beautiful.

Today I only intended to walk to a certain log that is my 'one hour' marker. It took me one and a quarter hours. I don't think I was walking more slowly than normal- I think it was all the 'photo opportunities' I kept taking...

This is the view down from the first lookout, to the White Horse Rapids below. (I never knew they were called that before- but they have new signs up along the track now, so now I know!)

I have never before seen as many drupes, mainly from tawa, as I saw today. There is a lot of work being done in this area to restore biodiversity, and getting rid of possums and other predators is one of the strategies being used. Maybe that is part of the reason for the abundance of fruit.

 

In places, there are quite a few tree ferns along the track, a part of our native bush I love.

 

And there were many tawa standing along the way, tall and straight. 

I so much enjoyed being back in the bush today, and won't leave it too long before I head up there for a longer walk. I have to say, as I am just 'getting back into it', my body gave me a wonderful buzz of endorphins today as well, with the steady climbing. Two incentives to get back there!

47: Manawatu Gorge

fungi on a tree, Manawatu Gorge walk

This morning I headed out to the Manawatu Gorge for a walk. Signs that autumn is around the corner lay in wait: abundant tawa fruit lay on the ground, and fungi growing on trees distracted me as I walked.

When I was training for the Camino three years ago, I walked here often, figuring that the hills were good preparation, and indeed they were. But since I broke my arm last July, I've been quite protective of it, and the uneven surface of the Gorge track was out of my comfort zone. Until today. Today I walked as far as my 'one hour' marker, and my body is buzzing with endorphins, thankful for all that uphill exercise. I'll be back again soon- and I will walk further....

46: Ladies Rest Rooms

This is the 'Ladies Rest Rooms' in the Palmerston North Square- a delightful art deco building from a different era. And it is as beautiful inside as out, and is lovingly kept clean by the the supervisor.

Sad thing is, Council added a boring modern box on the back for i-Site. Seems like a travesty when this little building is such a gem on its own.

45: City Library

 

The Palmerston North City Library opens at 10am, and is a popular place. I arrived a little early, and as a 365er with six weeks experience now behind me, I had my camera with me, so took some photos;-) 

The building used to be an iconic department store on the Square, and Ian Athfield the architect designed its rebirth as the City Library.

44: Karaka fruit

The fruit is ripening on the karaka trees in my back garden. Such lustrous leaves, such beautifully coloured fruit. And growth like weeds!

This photo is taken on tall tree #2- which was self-sown some years back.  And the growth of these fruit is such that I will need to go and pull up seedlings again soon- or else I would easily have a whole grove of karaka trees in the back garden...

43: Te Awe Awe

Te Peeti Te Awe Awe, Rangitane chief

This statue in the Square in Palmerston North commemorates the Rangitane chief, Te Peeti Te Awe Awe, who was born in 1820, and died at Awapuni in 1884.

And the blue sky is in stark contrast to some recent grey drizzly days, when I took photos of raindrops on spiderwebs.... And no, it is not 'photoshopped'... the sky really was this intense blue...

42: sunflower awakening

I walked up the driveway of the school I was at this morning
to be greeted by a row of sunflowers,
their petals lit a brilliant yellow as they were touched by the sun.

I took quite a few photos of those beautiful petals
but in the end chose to show you this photo of a flower still in bud
just opening.

41: blackberries

 

Blackberries for breakfast...    blackberries for dessert...    

blackberries to give away.......   blackberries to freeze....

the fruits of the untamed jungle in my back garden!

Camino Video

This video from the Huffington Post provides a good general introduction to the Camino.


Camino de Santiago from George Derk on Vimeo.

Raindrops

It has been drizzling here all morning, and I felt a little bit grumpy over it.... until I went outside in the garden to take a photo for my 365 blog. My other 'grand plans' for the day have 'gone out the window' as I got distracted by raindrops on leaves, branches, grass stems..... I share a selection here.... (You can click on a photo to enlarge it.)

 

39: Raindrops

It hasn't quite seemed fair or right lately, that in February, which should be our most summery month, in our part of the country we have had a succession of dull, drizzly, grey days. They've not been cold days- yesterday was 26C and humid- but grey drizzle isn't fun in February.

So it was with a sigh I thought about today's 365 photo..... until I headed out into the garden. Raindrops on leaves and spiderwebs bring so many little surprises, unexpected little jewels of beauty. And here is the one I chose to share....

38: Grapes

A friend of mine owns and runs the Joseph St Kitchen here in Palmerston North
and presently, the verandah is adorned with these ripening grapes.

37: Shampoo

OK I thought, if this is going to be yet another dull grey cloudy day, with drizzle in the offing, I am going to take an indoor domestic shot. The colours in the shampoo bottles caught my eye, so here you are..
Funny thing was, as soon as I started downloading the shots to the computer, the sun came out and started shining. I had almost forgotten what sunshine looked like these past few days.

34: On the Bridle Track

On the Bridle Track beside the Manawatu River, near Albert St

The wind has dropped somewhat this morning, and I decided it was time I tried out the Bridle Track on my bicycle. (First time since mid-July last year when I broke my wrist....) It was wonderful and I loved it! I have come home dripping with sweat and will now head into the shower.

33: New kerbing

Yesterday the men working on my corner ripped out all the old kerbing and sumps etc that were bring replaced. They finished work late, as they installed the new stormwater sumps into deep ditches that otherwise might have collected a car overnight.

Now, I did intend to just do one photo per day in this 365 project- but these go together- and the first one makes sense of the second one.....

Here is a magic 'kerbing' machine, the likes of which I had never imagined.

And almost before you had time to click your fingers, the concrete had been fed out from the concrete truck, then out the back of this machine, and laid down as kerbing and channeling.

32: Digger in the drains

Didn't have to go far to see some action today. Here the stormwater sump on my corner is being dug up- along with some of the kerbing and drains.