Coming Up Close

It's been a very busy week for us. Spring is here so more people are getting out and about. The days are getting longer and the morning are getting lighter. And I managed to watch one of the Rugby World Cup games this morning. Roll on Summer! Linking up with  Weekend Reflections  and the  Weekend Roundup .

I don't know about you but I love a good vintage shop. I spotted this one in Murchison earlier this week but sadly it was closed. Aptly named dust and rust it looks like judging from the objects outside, it lives up to it's name.   Linking up with  Skywatch Friday   and  Tom's Signs .

So today we drove out to Murchison to meet up with B's sister and her husband for lunch. The idea was to meet at the local pub as they had a really good looking menu. Sadly they were closed so we instead walked to a nearby cafe where the food actually was pretty good. I ended up ordering my favourite Eggs Benedict. Lots of trees covered in blossoms at the moment - this one was in the garden outside the cafe.  And we stopped to pat the cafe's dog who was extremely friendly. Linking up with  T hrough my lens , All Seasons ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the world  and  Wordless Wednesday .

  I couldn't help but notice this yellow Kowhai tree flowering next to my work outside the liquor shop. The yellow really stands out doesn't it? Linking up with  Weekend Reflections  and the  Weekend Roundup .

We spotted this stock car in Murchison last time we were there about a year and a half ago. Looks a bit beat up and well used but I do enjoy going to events where cars like this race. The signwriting on the car suggests to me that it's from Nelson. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday   and  Tom's Signs .

  On 19th September 1893 women in New Zealand won the right to vote in elections. As a result the country became the first self-governing country in the world to extend this right to ALL women. Suffrage day celebrates the aims of the movement for gender equality and is a reminder of the ongoing issue of equality for women. With our general elections coming up in October I hope everyone will use their right to vote. This photo is so special for me. The lady is my great great grandmother Catherine McKenna who emigrated to New Zealand from Ireland in the 1870s and signed the suffrage list as it was gathering movement in the 1880s and 1890s - the baby she is holding is my grandmother on my mother's side Catherine Janet Dunlop.   I've always been a strong minded person with an opinion, I come from a line of strong women of which I have raised my daughter to be the same. If we don't vote like our ancestors wanted us to then we are wasting all their hard work. Linking up with...

Another visitor we've had in the Kowhai tree in my front garden is this rather fat Kereru (wood pigeon). I'm guessing it's a pregnant female possibly? You can't really see how colourful she is but on average these birds as adults are 51cm in length and weigh about 650g. Killing them is illegal and they were once hunted for their meat and feathers. She was kind to me by sitting in the tree for quite some time. Linking up with  Mosaic Monday  and  Blue Monday .

This photo which is an old one I found in the archives of my "Tauranga" folder. It's the boat marina down at Sulphur Point - can you see the Kiwi? Edited to add: those of you who spotted it on the boat you are correct. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections  and the  Weekend Roundup .

  Mount Maunganui, where we use to live is a real tourist town. Over Summer there is usually alot of hire businesses advertising near the waterfront. Kayaking seems to be popular. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday   and  Tom's Signs .

  This place is just magic! Lake Kaniere is just outside of Hokitika about 10 minutes drive before Dorothy Falls, where we drove to last week. I don't know what it's like in Summer but it was so quiet and peaceful, no one else there but B and I - there's snow on the mountains in the distance too. Linking up with  T hrough my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the world  and  Wordless Wednesday .

  I'm very fortunate to have a  Kōwhai tree in my front garden.  Kōwhai is the Maori word for yellow and as you can see from the colour of the flowers they are very vibrant. Every Spring they attract these birds known as the Tui or the  Kōkō in Maori language. In Te Ao Maori this bird has a huge significance. They are thought of as messengers of Atua (God's) in heaven. They are associated with life fulfillment, confidence and spiritual harmony. Native birds including the Tui but also the Kereru (wood pigeon) and Bellbird all love to feast on the flowers which are an important source of nectar food for them. Linking up with  Mosaic Monday  and  Blue Monday .

Last week we took my youngest to the airport in Hokitika which is about half an hour away. He's flying to Scotland for a holiday to see friends who live there for a month. First he has to fly from Hokitika to Christchurch then to Auckland then to San Francisco then to Scotland. I think in total it's about 32 hours worth so no doubt he will be jetlagged when he gets there. Hokitika Airport is very very small. It's only a tiny town on the West Coast of New Zealand with a population of approx 2860 people. While we were waiting I bought a coffee for B and I. Usually I like a a strong mocha but I ended up receiving a long tall black which was way too strong for me so I had to take it back and get what I ordered. Unfortunately it wasn't the best coffee in the end, so I won't be wasting my money there again.   Other people were checking in their luggage and saying goodbye to family and friends while they waited to board the plane. And this is the other part of the airport ...

For something to do last week on our days off, B and I drove through to the outskirts of Hokitika to this place - Dorothy Falls. It's about 30 minutes out of town and the waterfall lays just off the gravel road past Lake Kaniere. As we are in Spring here, the temperature was about 13 degrees but sunny. We were the only ones there so we had the area to ourselves. This above is the one way bridge just before the waterfall. There were a few possum traps dotted around the bush area and signs asking people to protect the fresh water by making sure their feet were clean. A very pleasant place to enjoy the quiet. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday   and  Tom's Signs .

What's been happening here in the last week? My daughter finally got her license and bought herself a moped to get to work. It's been good for her confidence. I had to rescue Tiger from one of the fence posts outside. sigh. Of course mummy will wait on him hand and foot. And I can't believe these 2 are sitting on the same windowsill without sniping at each other. Of course it had something to do with birds on the grass. Now that we are into Spring we are still having cold nights but warm days with frost outside in the mornings. But....we have some sad news. Unfortunately Floki was hit by a car a few days ago while trying to cross the road. He was the only one of the 4 cats that was still young and wandered. As much as we tried to stop him wandering we couldn't watch him all the time. Luckily the lady that hit him stopped and let us know while apologizing. Its just one of those things right? So we are trying to adjust to having 3 cats and not 4. RIP Floki. Linking up wit...

This is what I've been seeing from my backyard most days over Winter and Spring. Mount Davy is the hill region in the distance - there has been the odd dusting of snow every now and again. It won't be here for much longer once the warmer temperatures come in. Linking up with  Mosaic Monday  and  Blue Monday .

  Every time I meet up with friends we try to visit a different cafe. This is one that I've previously been to with one of my cousins about 6 months ago, that time the staff were very standoffish and unfriendly. This time it was a bit different, they were friendly and helpful, maybe because last time covid had just been and gone. These aren't my friends above but it looks like this group of ladies were having a really good catchup. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections  and the  Weekend Roundup .