February 13, 2017 … our missing summer

The wind outside my window has averaged somewhere over 100 km/h today according to a report I heard on the radio. It has carried rain with it for much of the day, and no hint of summer. There are reports that this has been our worst summer for over three decades.

Evening in the Takarau gorge

Such summer as we have had seems to have been doled out with a fine day here, a fine day there and several days of foul weather in between. We take them when we can get them.

Something of an agricultural crime these days is letting farm animals into the waterways. These two sheep marched in musical unison across the water and clambered up the steep hill beyond.

And then we wait for the next one.

I find the dabchicks intriguing,. They look so severe.

It seems I missed the part of the dabchick life cycle where the new chicks are carried about on the parents back. The youngsters are already too big for that.

The dry hills to the South of Hastings

This seems to be a localised phenomenon. With a couple of friends I drove to Havelock North and back for the funeral of a good friend and former colleague. It seems that the Hawkes Bay region has been as dry as Wellington has been wet. The hills and most pf the paddocks are parched and often it is hard to see a flock of sheep since their wool is almost the same colour as the sun-bleached grass.

Begonias in all their glory

Back home, some days just didn’t offer any hope of outside action, so I chose to visit the Begonia House in the Lady Norwood garden in Wellington.  No matter what the time of year, they always have some wonderful specimens in bloom.

Water lily … I couldn’t find where the battery was hidden

On this visit, I enjoyed the proliferation of water lilies.  The heart of the flower seemed to be on fire.