The end of autumn

The feijoa tree is absolutely laden with fruit and with the recent winds the fruit has been falling all over the drive. I stewed the little ones this morning after sorting out some of the larger ones to go to Daniel, youngest grandson, who loves them.

Then after I'd kept some for ourselves I put a bucketful at the gate for people to help themselves. They didn't last long and the lady who took them came back and gave us a jar of jam she'd made previously and a couple of kid's wheatbags, which can go to a couple of the great grands.  :)

It was such a beautiful autumn day I decided to go for a walk down the Silverstream after lunch. The sun was shining and so I didn't need a jacket but wore the vest my daughter had given me for Mother's Day. It was just the right weight for the day.  :)

 

It's the last day of autumn tomorrow although you wouldn't be blamed if you thought it had ended several weeks ago. Anyway the wildlife was staying out of sight, maybe it was still a bit early in the day for ducks (that's as wild as the wildlife gets). There were quite a few dogs out walking their people but I never got any snaps of them.

The trees were in different stages of losing their leaves, this one has almost none but the walnut tree further back in the picture still has a lot on the branches. I think there are a couple of dogs with their walker under it.

There were still some red summer roses in bloom on the fence.

 And a nice seat to rest and just enjoy the view if you feel so inclined.

An apple tree in someone's yard with a wonderful crop on it. The birds were certainly enjoying them.

And a tiny solitary pansy along the fenceline. (Ignore the rubbish).

Isn't it pretty and really an old fashioned colour.

And now I need to go and get tea on.

So enjoy your week and I'll see you next time.

Diana

Have boys they said...

...it'll be fun they said...

A view of my youngest daughter's back yard. 

She has two boys, only one at home...

her and her husband's vehicles are not pictured.

It's Friday - gym day.

I decided last night that if it was a grey cold day when I woke up this morning I wasn't going to the gym. I don't do cold if it can be avoided. The forecast was for -3C overnight so there was a definite possibility of a bleak, grey day today. But I woke up and the sun was trying to shine and there wasn't any wind. So I toddled off and about halfway to my daughter's house I remembered I was meeting her at the gym not at home as usual. 😏

When I arrived my daughter was there with Theo and his mother. 

He's been going with his mother ever since he was an even smaller dot than he is now and the noise and bustle doesn't seem to bother him at all. I thought the noise might upset him, but no. Why are gyms so noisy I wonder?

 

After we were finished our session we kidnapped Theo and took him for a walk around the block while his mother finished off. 

Then I remembered that my other daughter was coming for a visit with Arlo after lunch so I headed home without the usual after gym hot drink with the others.

Arlo was happy, great grandad had set up his construction set and got the big lego blocks out. Later he got out some of the board games and he and his grandmother played a couple of games of snakes and ladders. He starts school on 4th June, five already, I don't know where that time has gone.

My daughter also gave me this burgundy 

jacket for Mother's Day. I love the colour. 

When she left she took three bags of feijoas with her to give to family and friends. They have just started to fall and the tree is absolutely laden. The apples in the other bowl are from my son's tree, so that is a good saving on fruit - I like my daily fruit fix :)

And that's it for today.

Until next time, keep well, keep warm.

Diana

The heavens declare...

Over the last few nights the Aurora Australis has been putting on a wonderful display and although I haven't got any decent photo's myself I thought I'd show you some of the ones my grand daughter in Palmerston North took.

And here are a couple my grandson took in Dunedin. 

I love the last one.

Palmerston North is halfway up the North Island, Dunedin is near the bottom of the South Island. These were all just taken on the kids cell phones so you can imagine how much better it was in reality. I think these are pretty good though.

 Have a great week,

and Happy Mother's Day to those of 

you who are celebrating today.

Diana

Lunch at the gardens

 Yesterday dawned cool and crisp, just 5C when I climbed out of bed. A lovely sunny, autumn day but with a decided nip in the air. Just nice for a wander around the Botanic Gardens about lunch time.

If you zoom in you will see people sitting on benches enjoying the sun.

On Sunday my son usually takes me and a friend in to church but yesterday he and his wife were wanting to stay in town and do some shopping after the service. So my friend and I decided to take her car and go somewhere for lunch.

The rose gardens are getting a bit shabby.

We decided on the Gardens tea rooms as we were down that end of town anyway and parking wouldn't be such a problem as if we went into the CBD. After a nice relaxed lunch we decided to have a bit of a stroll around, it was such a nice day. 

Ducks on a small part of the pond.

We wandered through the tropical glasshouse, too hot in our winter coats and a relief to get back out into the cooler air :) Then through the rose gardens and past the duck pond. There were a lot of ducks around, maybe they knew it was the start of duck shooting season this weekend. Finally past the bandstand and the children's play area and it was up the hilly part to the car.

The children's play area.

I hope you've enjoyed this little stroll around a small part of the gardens with us. They really are rather lovely at any time of the year.

   We really enjoyed ourselves and have decided to have lunch out on a Sunday more often. 

Have a good week,

Diana

Briefly - feijoas.

Picture taken from the internet.

  Everyone who commented on my last post asked about feijoas, so briefly, here is an explanation from one of my earlier posts.

Windfalls from the neighbour's tree which overhangs our drive.

'Apparently feijoas taste a little like pineapple, but it's not like any pineapple I've ever tasted. Wikipedia says it is a type of guava native to South America. I think it is an acquired taste, unless you grow up eating it, which I didn't. I do enjoy it a little more each time I have it though'. 

They are ready to eat when they fall. The photo above is from a previous year. Although they are ready further north we are still waiting, our season seems to be later in the year. 

So that's it ... briefly.

Enjoy your weekend,

Diana