Some more NZ thoughts, artwork and wild birds

 

This picture of Umbellifers was in one of the small galleries we visited on our travels.  I thought it was lovely.  One of the sad things about whizzing along on the bus was that there were areas I would have loved to stop at to photograph.  Especially a river with about an acre or more of colourful Lupins in bloom.  They are everywhere (but being eradicated from the National Parks) but to see them in such huge quantities was mindblowing.  I have made a note that any plantings here in future will be en masse for impact.  I have grown a few Lupins from seed this summer, so will plant some more to get started in the greenhouse once we have seen January out.

Here is somewhere our bus driver did stop for photo opportunities.  He kindly took my pic.  This was within half an hour or so of leaving Franz Josef, heading for Greymouth.

The light in these little paintings was amazing and the red dots showed them all sold - probably all together Rosie thought.  Aren't they beautiful?  They really capture the wonderful light on the mountains. They could well be Akaroa.

This wonderful painting of Olive orchards is in Rosie's house and painted by a talented friend of hers.  I absolutely loved it although this photo does not do it justice.

Where there were hoardings - and because of the 2011 earthquake there were still many and buildings needed to be rebuilt - local artists had been asked to go and decorate them.  Lots of NZ birds.  The Pukeko left was probably the most-squashed bird on the NZ roads.  They seemed to have absolutely no road sense whatsoever and were a very common breed especially in the fields around Christchurch and Rangiora.  The pretty Tomtit on the right I was lucky to see in the trees at Mirror Lake on the way to Milford Sound.  I noted 50 bird species that I encountered on my travels and treated myself to a little book to help identify them.  Some British birds were introduced when colonisation began - Blackbirds (v. successful), Thrushes, Greenfinches, Chaffinches, Starlings, Rock Pigeons, Goldfinches, Dunnocks, lots of Yellowhammers, and Redpolls (the latter I was lucky to spot on my first day - they seem relatively uncommon in my part of the UK). Sparrows are probably the commonest bird imported - saw them in Jordan too, so they get everywhere!

Guess who forgot the bino's ?!!  This is Rosie's local beach and estuary.  Lovely there.

The yellow Lupins are the default colour and grow wild in many places.

Wild Sweet Peas.

A weird cloud formation . . .

I was trying to capture the immensely tall "hedges" around the Canterbury area.  They are windbreaks and much needed when the winds come calling.  Every afternoon there was half a gale in the Christchurch area - winds of about 30 mph with gusts.  Just before I had arrived there had been a terrific storm with winds reaching up to more than 150 mph in the high areas.  That just seems incredible, but you can understand why 20 foot "hedges" are necessary, if only to catch the sheep as they fly past!!

A nice pic of my friend Rosie.  Missing you already my dear.  Thank heavens for technology so we can have video calls rather than relying on snail mail . . .