Coming Up Close

So what is Organic exactly? Is it food that's grown without sprays and pesticides or is it a fad that people get into. I've seen those who will only buy organic products and produce and I've seen those who really aren't bothered. I grow my own veges and citrus fruits but I'm not to the absolute extreme. How about you? Linking up with  Skywatch Friday ,  All Seasons   and  Tom's Signs .

The seasons are changing here and it feels very much like Spring. We have more sunshine and the days are getting slightly longer. I thought I'd share some bird life I've been seeing outside starting with this brown and orange finch sitting on top of the fence.  Think this is a Thrush who at the time was very warily checking to see if all was clear, luckily it was as all the cats were asleep inside.   Tiny Green Finches making use of the leftover pizza crust that someone threw on the grass.   Achievements for the week are that I completed a 3 day intensive first aid course at work and I finally finished planting a row of red Camellia Takanini trees that I bought for along the fence. They should make a nice show of colour over future Winters when very little else is growing. The white blossoms on my neighbour's plum tree are now blooming - hopefully we will have another crop of Plums to pick from the branches hanging over the fence line. Orange and yellow Calendula are also...

This has been much of our Winter - sunny but cold chilly days. This photo shows the far end of the port of Greymouth. A small fishing boat to the right but most of them, the larger commercial ones are further up around the bay.  Quite often people with smaller fishing lines will come here and try to catch the odd fish. I think these greedy seagulls were after some leftover bait. Linking up with  Mosaic Monday  and Blue Monday .

This is quite a massive building for a small town like Hokitika, which is about 30 minutes from Greymouth. To me it looks a bit foreboding but being a former government building named "Seddon House" it's classed as a category 1 and was completed in the Edwardian Baroque style in 1913. Designed by architect John Campbell it covered the need at the time of a new courthouse and other government departments. Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward laid the foundation stone in 1908. Construction of the first half of the building was finished in 1909 and plans for the second half were not drawn up until November 1911. The original plans had both a Magistrates Court on the ground floor with a Supreme Court above. However in 1911 the Supreme Court was transferred to Greymouth so the plans were redrawn to contain a boardroom instead. The courtroom was closed in the 1970s due to the restructuring by the then Ministry of Justice. In 2015 it was sold to three Auckland investors and then put b...

 As our country's general elections get closer we are getting more rubbish spouted by the different parties about who is better, false promises and childish finger pointing. I haven't been paying much attention to any of it as I don't believe any of the parties are any better than each other. I'll be very happy when it's all over and done with - life goes on... Linking up with  Skywatch Friday ,  All Seasons   and  Tom's Signs .

On our way to Reefton recently we passed through the small town of Ahaura which is about 40 minutes from Greymouth. It is literally a very small town which has houses, a pub and I think a local store from memory. I stopped to take a photo of this tiny cottage which has alot of Maori and Pasifika carvings outside it. I'm not sure who owns it but it sure is unique. Linking up with  T hrough my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the world  and  Wordless Wednesday .

One thing that always makes me stop wherever I am is dogs. If I see a dog, I ask the owner if I can pat he/she. This one was outside one of the local hotels now a backpackers where minor construction work was being done inside. Edited to add: No I didn't pat this dog, he looked kind of growly so we just told him he was a cute boy Linking up with  Mosaic Monday  and Ruby Tuesday .

Here in New Zealand we love our pies and you can get so many varieties. Personally mine are either Mussell or Seafood pie - all cafes, supermarkets and eating places sell them. What's your favourite? Linking up with  Weekend Reflections  and the  Weekend Roundup .

I do like seeing the little old buildings around town. This one which is so art deco in age and although it's good to see something of heritage I'm not sure what it's being used for now. Encouraging to see the little pansies and violets planted around the side and front though and it feels like Spring. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday ,  All Seasons   and  Tom's Signs .

This little old vintage building sits at the bottom of town next to the Grey River. Built in 1904 it was heavily involved in the rail system in Greymouth which supported the coal trade. The signal box had 52 levels controlling the signals and shunting discs. In it's heyday it controlled up to 50 trains per day as passengers and freight was taken between Christchurch, Otira, Reefton, Blackball, Rewanui and Ross. In the great flood of 1888 the signal box stood tall and dry but as more coal was moved via the roads the rail line to the wharf was closed. Photo courtesy of the History House Museum showing the first express train in Greymouth. In 2010 the floodwall next to the Grey River was raised and the signal box was moved by the trust and restored. btw there are only 5 signal boxes in all of New Zealand. Here's now it looked in the 1960s - photo from Moe Bowe. These days the signal box is used by a local art group - personally I'm thankful it's still there in good conditi...

I was in town last week having coffee with the girls again. That morning we had a nice dusting of snow on the mountains so we've had temperatures of 0 to -1 at night. I bought some red Camellia trees to plant along the front fence which will make a nice show of flowers next Winter. This photo showing Speights Ale House on the left and the defunct Royal Hotel further down (which is now closed due to earthquake problems) with the blue sky above shows how most of our Winter days go - we get a crispy dry cold with sunny days.   Linking up with  Blue Monday  and  Mosaic Monday .

I was really encouraged to see these in town on Thursday. This long line of Daffodils are currently flowering at the lower end of town near the Cobden Bridge next to the Grey River. Linking up with  Weekend Roundup .

It seems we've had a rather mild Winter so far. Sure, we've had the odd night where it's been 1 or 2 degrees celsius but for the most part the lowest we've had is about 5 or 6. Last week after being woken up early by B snoring, I got up to prepare my morning coffee only to find Bruno (one of our cats) was sitting on the carpet absolutely covered in mud. We had no idea what he had done or where he had been but I ended up putting the shower on warm and washing him with pet friendly shampoo. I don't think he was impressed at all.  If you have cats like us you should buy powdered cat nip which we can get online or in most pet shops here. Once in a while we rub it on their toys and usually they go nuts. We recorded Mr Cat (above). And Floki had a rather formidable visit with the vet last week after a large lump turned up on his cheek, because it was so close to his eye they prescribed a course of anti-biotics and now he's back to his normal young mischevious self. Bt...

Living on the corner of a main road into town and a quiet one that meanders past the local golf course down to the Grey River we are use to seeing trucks like this go by. There is a factory on the outskirts of Hokitika that makes butter, I've never tried this particular brand though - mind you dairy products here cost horrendously through the roof. I think a pound of butter is over $5 nzd now and milk is around $3 for a smaller bottle.  I've had the last week off from work and I did say to my boss that if she got absolutely desperate with people calling in sick she could call me. What a surprise I had when I did get a phone call last Sunday asking me to come in but because I had a snotty nose I said no. Apparently the same people call in sick every week - what's up with that?  Our general elections are due later this year too and cue the expected bickering, name calling and finger pointing from all parties, especially then making promises that we know they can't and won...

On a regular basis I like to catch up with friends that I use to work with. Usually we go to different coffee shops but the last few times we have met up at the Columbus Coffee Cafe at the local Mitre 10 store. For those of you who aren't familiar with Mitre 10, it's a franchise of hardware stores throughout the country that usually have a cafe attached. My favourite coffee is usually a large mocha with one sugar, sometimes the staff will put a chocolate fish on the side (a kiwi icon) or a marshmallow. As I was looking around I spotted that the side of one of the counters appears to be full of coffee beans - that's a novel idea.   Linking up with  Blue Monday  and  Mosaic Monday .

This old photo is one I found in my external hard drive archives from about 5 years ago taken in the middle of Summer on Mount Maunganui beach. There's a wind surfer somewhere in the water but for most part because the beach is so long it was good for taking long walks on. No it's not Summer here right now, we are in the middle of Winter, this is an old photo. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections  and the  Weekend Roundup .

Most of the country has had pretty haphazard winter weather this week. We had 3 storms come in over a 24 hour period. The above photo was taken earlier this week at the town square. I was surprised to see small flakes of hail coming down for a couple of hours not just over our property but over most of the town. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday  and  All Seasons .

This morning we were out at nearby Rapahoe Beach, about 10 minutes drive from home picking up driftwood off the beach. We have been due for rain and thunderstorms (which have now started) but for a few hours the sun was trying to peek out from behind the clouds. Edited to add: for those who have asked what I am going to do with the driftwood; the smaller pieces will be kindling for the fireplace and the bigger bits will go in the garden. The left hand side of the beach has a row of old posts leading out into the water but I'm not sure if it is the remains of an old wharf. In the end we filled up 3 shopping bags with bits and pieces of wood. Now I'm starting my week off from work today and no doubt I will get bored after 3-4 days. Linking up with  T hrough my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the world  and  Wordless Wednesday .