The week just gone by

A friend rang me during the weekend to see if I wanted to join her for morning tea at the local art groups' exhibition. I did and we enjoyed seeing the paintings as well as having a good

 chinwag over coffee and cake. Some of the paintings were for sale but we didn't buy anything this time. Mind you there 

were a couple I really rather liked. Really, really liked :)

There are a lot of talented people out there.

And staying with the coffe break theme, my GKB and I went over to Wal's Plantland one afternoon for tomato plants and potting mix. There's a nice cafe cunningly placed at the end of a tunnel/hothouse  and while we didn't buy any extra plants we did enjoy a late afternoon tea which meant I didn't need to cook that evening. Bliss.

Staying with plants, aren't the blossoms on this magnolia magnificent? This tree belongs to a neighbour and 

my GKB had to wander partway up their drive to 

take the photo. Spring is certainly here :)

I took this photo while out walking one day. I love the moody clouds, rain threatened but hasn't happened yet. And that was several days ago. I rather think we may have drought conditions this summer as winter has been rather mild and not a lot of rain.

This is another pic I took while out walking. I had tried to get a shot of a flock of sparrows having a peck at the dirt on the road in front of me but they didn't cooperate with me at all and flew off :) This little thrush wasn't so shy, she just sat there and let me snap away. I love thrushes, their lovely colour and speckles on the breast. So cute.

Just to finish off  we went outside one evening and found we had this little fellow visiting us. He didn't stay long once he realised he had company. It's amazing how fast hedgehogs can run when they get up on those little legs and start to move.

Joining Amy and friends for
Five on Friday
and
Friday Foto Friends

Out in the paddocks

Some photos my GKB took while out and about

 on some country roads during the week.

This one is our favourite.

joining in the fun with
friday foto friends

Out in the paddocks

Driving home through the centre of the island earlier in the week these are some of the things we saw out in the paddocks.

A deer farm, blurred because we were on the move.

Cows, beef I think (not dairy). Again blurred

 a little because we were still on the move.

Sheep, naturally :)

Honey Bees.

Free range chooks.

We also passed free range pigs but I never managed to 

get  a shot of them as I didn't have my camera ready

 and we were on the move, just at the beginning

 of our journey. I don't like to ask my GKB

 to stop on the highway.

joining Stephanie at:
roses of inspiration 

Short posts this week as we are just back
from holiday and I am still in holiday mode.
Keep well, enjoy yourselves whatever you are doing
and I'll see you next week.
Diana

Five on Friday

These five photo's are only related in that

 I took them while out and about this week.

Along the right bank of the Silverstream on a wet, drizzly walk.

The view from a friend's back deck. 

The cows are heading to the milking sheds.

The groynes at St. Clair beach, Dunedin.

Surfers coming in on the swells to the right.

The salt water pool and tearooms at St. Clair.

We popped in here for a cuppa.

Rural view along the left bank of the Silverstream.

Scroggs Hill in the background and beyond that the Pacific Ocean.

Little mother's bushes getting a bit of a trim by my GKB.

And I'm pretty sure that is six photo's. I'll just pretend I can't count, 

or we could say the two from St Clair constitute one :)

joining Tex at:
Good Fences
and Amy at:
Five on Friday
and Stepanie at:
roses of inspiration

behind the hedge and over the fence...

A few weeks ago my GKB and I went up to the caravan for a few days of R&R. My GKB likes to get out and do a bit of fishing on the lakeside and I like to just sloth around, although I do sometimes join him, as long as I can continue to sloth around once we get there. (I do go for walks around the town and on the lakeside as well, so it's not as bad as it sounds). I like to take magazines or books with me and enjoy the peace and quiet of Central Otago. Mountain air, hawks circling, and blue skies.

While we're there we usually buy fruit from the orchards, either pick our own or from the roadside stalls. Cherry picking is interesting.

Every couple of days we like to go to a big orchard up the road a bit that has a great barn sized stall that the tourist buses all stop at where they sell fruit, fresh and dried, and also 'Manuka Honey' to  tourists at inflated prices.  **TIP: If you are ever over here touring, buy your 'Manuka Honey' from the supermarket, it's the same stuff and a lot cheaper.**

But they do have delicious real fruit ice creams, oh yummy. And we have to have at least a couple a week, we don't get them at home, and anyway you have to save something for a treat!

There are one or two tables to sit at under the trees and there is a lovely garden hidden by a large hedge. We were sitting at a table enjoying our ice creams one day when a man came rushing out from behind the hedge, 'I've got to get my camera," he said "what a hidden gem."

Now my GKB and I had been behind the hedge several times. What's changed we wondered so went for a walk ourselves. What's changed? The plants had matured, some statues had been erected and it was nearing the end of the summer, so roses were still in bloom as were some of the other summer border flowers.

Very pretty. So the photo's above are from 'behind the hedge'.

Back home again I have been out, ahem, walking occassionally, and had forgotten about this lavender garden in the photo's above. I haven't been over that way for a while. It is still being developed, has only been going for about six or seven years, but you can see how it will look when  it has matured. They hire the gardens out as a weddng venue and it is one of the places we looked at for eldest daughters wedding.  

I enjoyed looking 'over the fence' and seeing what has been done to the public area since we went and looked.

Then when I went around the corner what should I come across but some alpacas lazing about in a paddock enjoying the warm autumn sun.

These were also over the fence, the reason for so much grass in the foreground, which is a good place for them I reckon, they tend to look down their haughty noses at you and are very good spitters!!

Wishing you all a great weekend.

taking the autumn air

Autumn is certainly here, the nights are drawing in and getting decidedly colder but the days are beautifully clear and calm, on the whole, with lovely blue skies and high white cloud. Sometimes there is a bit of a wind and today and yesterday the breeze was definitely coming off the snow on the mountains further inlands.

I decided to go for a wander yesterday over Wingatui way, through the track and down by the paddocks. I left it just a little late as the sun was getting low and was on the other side of the shelter belt, thus leaving me in the shade a bit of the time. That wasn't a problem really till I decided to turn around and come back and a bit of a breeze had come up, nipping the ears and the nose and causing just a little bit of ear ache, but that's what happens when you forget your hat. The shadows were getting long but there was still enough sun to make it quite a pleasant walk. It was so peaceful, a dog out walking with its human, just a wee Jack Russell having fun, were the only others I saw. No I tell a lie, there was a mum and dad out with their 2 kids, one on bike and another in a pushchair, all enjoying the autumn afternoon.

There were horses in the paddocks naturally, as this is horse racing territory with stables and horse studs in the area. And there were also about a dozen or so sheep further along and in another paddock some young bulls lounging around. Still further down the track I came across a big black sheep with a young chocolate coloured alpaca for company...very cute.

I finally have a new pair of shoes for walking,  how long has it taken, almost 12 months. "Tone walkers" - they are supposed to build the muscle tone in your legs as you walk, and you can certainly feel them working the leg muscles when you are out and about. I've also been to physio for my back and she has given me all sorts of exercises that are not only helping my back but other parts of the body as well, all I have to do is remember to do them all and I have to confess I haven't done any for a day or two, but tomorrow is always another day.

pounding the pavement...

Well it hasn't been a bad week, as far as the walking goes anyway. I have pounded the pavements from the centre of town to home, a couple of k's I guess. It's quite different walking on the footpaths to walking along the Silverstream, no give on the surface. Different things to look at too. And more traffic.

Earlier in the week I walked halfway around a country block, it was great. The sun was shining, the trees were in bud and blossom and only a little traffic. Coloured sheep and alpacas were out looking down their aristocratic noses as I went past their paddock. Walking past the timber mill brought back memories of the plywood factory about 40 years ago, I love the smell of freshly hewn timber.

Today I walked down the Silverstream to the bridge, out on to the road and back home down Bush Road, 3 kilometres in half an hour, not to bad for me!! Horses were communicating across the paddocks to each other and a couple of ducks flew overhead. The Alpacas were out with their coloured sheep mates, and I am sure I saw a water rat scampering up the bank of the ditch at the side of the road. Talking of horses there are some appoloosas grazing in the Bush Road paddocks. I didn't see any deer today - or ostriches!! It was good to get home again to have a drink, it was 22deg (I wore the GKB's Speights cap) and I was talking to a cyclist at the intersection who was on her way to the nearest shop to get a bottle of water. Fancy cycling around the plains without a water bottle.

And I have even been on the bike, for half an hour yesterday. Also been to the cricket grounds with the youth group and kicked a ball around, chased a frisbee and chucked a tennis ball. I slept well last night.

Anyway, this week I think I have not done too badly at all. I love getting out into God's book and seeing the sights and smelling the smells, some good, some not!!

And I did walk around the Botanical Gardens with the GKB a week or so back...