Coming Up Close

I have been meaning to get photos of this mural for ages. It features one of our birds, the Pukeko on the side of a bush shed at the Kumara Junction between Greymouth and Hokitika. The artist is Rae Eder-Hopkinson. Pukeko is the New Zealand name for the purple Swamphen and it is believed to have come here about a thousand years ago from Australia. These birds are commonly seen looking for food along the side of ditches, damp areas, creeks etc - they are very pretty in colour. I had to lighten these photos considerably as it was quite overcast. Linking up with  Monday Murals .

  There has been a great deal of tourists in town over Summer, from such countries as the USA, Canada, Netherlands, Germany, Australia, UK and China. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections ,  S hadow Shot Sunday   and the  Weekend Roundup .

  Photo taken Summer 2025 One of Greymouth's main streets with a sign that says "liquor free zone" - many towns around the country have signs like this to discourage people getting drunk in town and being a nuisance. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday ,  All Seasons  and  Tom's signs .

  Photo taken November 2024 on a rainy Spring day. One of my favourite buildings in Auckland City especially also because I use to work on the 3rd floor in the late 1980s. A bit of history about it;  It was designed by Alexander Wiseman and completed in 1912. It is a category 1 historic place that sits on the edge of Princess Wharf looking over the Hauraki Harbour. Construction began in 1909 and is made out of sandstone, brick and Coromandel Granite. Initially the building was home to the headquarters of the 2 main ferry operators in the harbour; the Devonport Steam Ferry Company and Takapuna Tramways Ferry Company. Later tenants of the building included trade unions and consulate offices. Between 1985 and 1988 (when I worked there) each floor was totally refurbished but still maintains the original features. Photo taken the year before in Spring 2023 Linking up with  Through my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the world ,  Wordless Wednesday ....

  Yay the water restrictions are now over. My daughter R and I were in town earlier this week doing some op shopping and we walked past this couple who were waiting for the rain to stop. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections ,  S hadow Shot Sunday   and the  Weekend Roundup .

  So strange seeing tourists in the middle of Summer wearing puffer jackets and warm clothing in 30 degree temperatures. Photo taken in January this year. We actually got a good day of rain earlier this week and the temperatures dropped quite considerably. I was at work and wishing I'd worn a long sleeved top underneath my work shirt but I put the heat pump on for a while and that helped. Winter is on it's way... Linking up with  Skywatch Friday ,  All Seasons  and  Tom's signs .

  Every year Greymouth's local car club holds street sprint races around the roads in the CBD. There were people scattered around behind wire fences and hay bales that had been put up for safety purposes. This photo shows only a small portion of people in the skatepark watching from up high. I had my camera on sports mode but still had to be quick to take photos of them zooming past us. B and I got there early at 8am and at first the cars were slowly winding up then an hour or so later they were doing burnouts and racing. The photos below are only a small selection of the cars that were there. We stayed for a couple of hours but more people turned up just as we were leaving. These cars are known here as sprint cars and also drive around the local speedway. Linking up with  Through my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the world ,  Wordless Wednesday .

  I discovered a utility box outside my workplace that has been painted with different coloured fish. Just down the road is the fishing port and various warehouses. The artist is Keilah Martin who hails from Palmerston North. Linking up with  Monday Murals .

  A scene in Greymouth. The lady in the middle was using a walker and the 2 on either side of her were keeping an eye on her, nice to see people helping others. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections   and  Shadow Shot Sunday .  

  Sunset over the Grey River Photo taken by me on the way home one night around 8pm after work - Autumn sunset over the Grey River. We've had to order our first load of firewood today, luckily we have loads of kindling in storage next to the garage so if we run short we can just order another load. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday  and   All Seasons .

  Mornings are slowly starting to get darker here and nights are getting a bit nippy. I was asked by a friend if I could make a crochet knee blanket for one of her friends, so after her posting the pattern and wool to me I discovered that they had only bought one colour of each ball of wool which wasn't anywhere near enough because as the blanket gets bigger, the more wool you need. So I ended up having to buy more and thankfully my friend has reimbursed me - this is the finished product which I will end up posting back to her this week. Normally each day we get at between 3 and 4 eggs from our chickens. The one on the right is one I found last week, it's at least twice the size of the average one on the left and was a double yoker after I cracked it.   I've got pumpkin, cauliflower and broccoflower growing in the vege garden and the Chicken poop has been great for putting in the soil. Linking up with  Through my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the wor...

  Near the centre of Greymouth shopping district there is this sculpture featuring a 2 tonne piece of Jade aka Pounamu. The West Coast where I live is famous for finding small pieces of Pounamu on some of the beaches or local rivers. This one was created by Ian Boustridge, a local artist - this one he found at a part of Fiordland. It really is massive and has a small waterfall flowing over it. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections   and the  Weekend Roundup .

Photo of a part of Greymouth near the Grey River taken around 8pm at night so not many people around. It's been a funny week so far. I've been rearranging my vegetable garden to get it ready for Autumn. One end of it has more soil than the other so I've had to dig parts of it up to even it all out. I've had an abundance of spring onions coming up due to scraps we've thrown into the compost along with some Broccoflower and Purple Cabbage. I like to pass things along to other people sometimes so I gave a bag of mixed veges to a Maori lady that comes into my work. Finances are tight for everyone so hopefully it made a difference to her. Linking up with  Skywatch Friday ,  All Seasons , Shadow Shot Sunday  and  Tom's signs .  

  Last week my daughter and I decided to check out a new op shop that had opened in town. It was ok, she bought a few things but I didn't see anything that caught my eye. I'm very selective usually. And it was my youngest son's birthday on Saturday 1st March (mine is on the 18th) so on the Sunday we drove down to Hokitika to have lunch at one of the local cafe/restaurants for lunch.  We were surprised at how busy it was there, usually on Sundays there isn't alot of shops open and it's quiet but that day it was full of people.  Linking up with  Through my lens ,  Tuesday Treasures ,  My corner of the world ,  Wordless Wednesday .

  Photo taken November 2024 on the outskirts of Auckland City, between upper Karangahep Road and  Sandringham We have had bursts of rain but so the tank outide is now 2/3 full which is positive and it is rumoured that the hot dry weather will continue through to April. But there's a definite chill in the air, Autumn is on it's way. Linking up with  Weekend Reflections ,  S hadow Shot Sunday .