Coming Up Close

  I just noticed the first Daffodil popping up in my front garden. I had bought some earlier this year from my work so it's good to see this, it means Spring is on the way. And this Kereru aka Pigeon along with his partner has been sitting in the Kowhai tree outside our bedroom. I had thought originally that they were waiting for the flowers to come out but someone updated me yesterday that apparently they like to nibble on the new leaves.  Linking up with  T hrough my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the world   and  Wordless Wednesday .

  On Tuesday the girls and I tried a new cafe just outside of town (photos to come) and on the way home we stopped at the local KFC to get her husband some dinner. I'm not a big fan of KFC, I find it's not the same as it use to be, these days I find it more dry than succulent than it use to be. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections   and the  Weekend Roundup .

  Another one from our trip to Reefton recently. They had a classic car show in town earlier that day but unforuntately we arrived too late for it but several of them parked up at the petrol station across the road.  Linking up with  Skywatch Friday  and  Tom's Signs .

  Another photo from the last time we were in Reefton a couple of weeks ago. This particular day it was very very foggy and we had to drive home with our car lights on. Some of you have asked why I take photos that don't seem to have many people in them. Well, here people get a bit weirded out when you take photos of them without permission so I prefer to be a bit careful in that respect.  On this day though there were plenty of people mostly inside in cafes having lunch. We have had some lovely sunny days though in Greymouth, the odd bout of rain but nothing major. The fire hasn't been on much lately as our nightly lows have been around the 5 to 8 degree mark but as of tomorrow the temps are going to be back down to 2 again. We have plenty of firewood and driftwood. I did see a news story a few nights ago about some tourist vans further down south in Tekapo that slid off the road after driving on black ice but we don't really get alot of that here, it's not cold enough...

  Does anyone need dry cleaning anymore? I know it use to be done alot but these days it's like the businesses that once did this seem to be few and far between.  So are men's clothing shops with personalised names. They've been taken over by department stores and malls. It's a shame, because sometimes you don't always get the personalised service that we use to. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections   and the  Weekend Roundup .

  I was going through some old photos of the waterfront back when we lived in Tauranga. In March 2015 B and I first met here after talking as friends online for 6 months. We had agreed to meet up in a mutual place where other online friends were having drinks. We've never been back to this place since but I think it's still a pub/nightclub and a very popular one at that. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday  and  Tom's Signs .

  Over the weekend B and I we were at the Arahura River again which is nearer to Hokitika than Greymouth. Most of you probably know I am a bit of a rock nerd and so I like to explore places for new things. This photo was taken with me sitting on some rocks and putting my camera down just above the water line. It was a crispy Winter's day with a high of 12 degrees celsius so warn with the sunshine out. These are similar to the ankle high gumboots I bought recently but with a different colour and pattern on them so I was able to step in the river a wee bit as we walked across. And this is the end result of what I found - I think there are a couple of bits of possible Pounamu in this. Linking up with  T hrough my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the world   and  Wordless Wednesday .

  Last weekend B and I drove out to nearby Rapahoe Beach to collect driftwood. We recently had a load of firewood delivered but decided some wood from the beach would help. Lately we've had some cold Winter nights at 1 degree ceksus at 7am most mornings, in fact yesterday before I left for work I had to wash ice off my car windscreen with a bucket of cold water. But with days like this I can't complain. Linking up with  My Sunday Snapshot ,    All Seasons , Little Things Thursday   and the  Weekend Roundup .

  Have you heard of such a thing? I admit that I've never actually seen one but they must be pretty cool. This was seen outside one of the local cafes in town. This week and last week we've been having some real Winter weather. Temps are still down to -1 at night and there is more ice outside on our veranda in the mornings.  Linking up with  Skywatch Friday  and  Tom's Signs .

We were in Reefton after our trip to the Lower Buller Gorge last week. It's one of those old gold mining towns that was hugely population in the Victorian era. On our way home we stopped into one of the op shops in the town - the others we've visited have had some cool vintage stuff in them, expensive but cool. This one was ok, nothing to right home about so we didn't end up buying anything. Linking up with  T hrough my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the world   and  Wordless Wednesday .

  This was taken yesterday after a very cold night. We've had temperatures of down to -0 degrees celsius at night to the point where we have had ice on our cars and on our deck outside. The fire has been on most nights and the cats have been cuddling up on our beds. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections   and the  Weekend Roundup .

About a year ago when my parents visited us we took them out past Westport to visit the old historical Denniston Mines. This in particular for myself and my father was a bit nostalgic as his 3 times great grandfather was a miner here m the late 1800s.  My father reading some of the information near the entrance. The road that is currently there leading to this site was not built until about 1902 so I imagine the trek up here was hard work by either sitting in a coal wagon and being pulled up or up a pack track. B in the above and below photos reading more infomation in one of the old disused sheds. For many years Denniston was the country's largest producing coal mine which was then loaded into railway wagons and lowered by a cable down a very steep sharp incline  There actually was a village and community of people here of around 1500 and back then the amount of rain that hit the west coast was a lot more than what we get now. There is a book written called "Denniston Rose...

  B and I went for a sort of road trip over the weekend. We drove out to the Lower Buller Gorge from home, took us about an hour and a half. We stopped in Westport to top up his car tyre pressure, in the end it turns out a sensor is faulty and there was nothing wrong so he will have to get that looked at.   It was a cold Winter's day and sunny so we didn't stay outside the car for too long but it was good to get out. Linking up with  T hrough my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the world   and  Wordless Wednesday .