Snowing Seeds

A few days ago I received a text from Martin when he arrived at the Practice:  'The drive is covered in 'snow' - go photo'.  So I went out to see but unfortunately both cars had gone down the drive scattering the 'snow' to the sides.  However it was still falling.  I believe that there is a word for it when trees produce a super-abundance of seeds in a year.  Scriptor may know the answer.  I know that the Pohutukawa trees here have years when they cover the hillsides in red more densely than in other years.  Anyway that's what some of the trees in the paddock were doing and it was an amazing sight.  It lasted for a few hours.







The seeds were blowing right into the house through the ranch sliders and got everywhere.  Photographing them falling wasn't so easy but the above shot across at the trees will give you an idea of how dense the fall was.

An Evening Stroll

On Thursday evening Catriona called to see if I would like to go for a walk with her and Wendy and, of course, Misty.  Yes.  It was a cold but lovely evening and a walk seemed like a very good idea.  It turned into more of a stroll than a walk but it was good fun if of limited exercise value.

Note for those with dial-up or slow broadband:  I have tried to limit the size of these photos whilst using the extra-large setting on Blogger.  There are, however, more photos than usual on this posting.  Please let me know if you have difficulty downloading it.

 I must look these up.  There's a clump down the drive

 

 A happy Catriona

 

 There's water in the lake again

 

 Why do children have the urge to pick animals up all the time?

   Paddling through the pondweed

 

 Keep away from our babies!

   Cormorants on a handy branch

 

 Fallen down a hole

 

 Oh that poo tasted so good!

 

A Paper Wasp in the agapanthus

A Walk in the Country

Last evening Wendy and the children called for me and we went for a walk down our drive and along one of the other drives off Rotowhenua Road. The first photo is a scene I see every day when I drive up Rotowhenua Road. The remaining photos are of the lake from our walk.

The Homestead

Those of you who followed my Blog last year will, of course, have seen similar pictures to these but this is a reminder of where my body rests at the moment.

The Cottage.  The lavender is  growing and everything is settling in.

The Cottage to the right and the main house is up the drive to the left.  The little 'garden shed' is the pumping station for the water supply which comes from underground springs.

Looking down the drive from the main house with the lavender and jacoranda trees.  The agapanthus are just coming into bud. 

Tranquility

I pass this scene every day as I drive along Rotowhenua Road where I live. It seems unchanging. There is a constancy about the rural landscape here in that it changes slowly from week to week, month to month, season to season but not, as the view from my house on Lewis, from minute to minute.