The Pukeko, native to New Zealand, is sometimes called the purple swamphen. The colours seem to shimmer in the sunlight.Today they would have been extra cautious, as would all other water-fowl . The opening of the duck shooting season in our area was heralded by the noise of guns
,pom-pom,pom-pom, and occasionally a short silence. The bag limit depends on your area, and the type of bird. The shooting season opens at different dates in other areas.
A full bag is the shooter's goal, and this morning low cloud would have delighted them as the birds flew lower. I am glad my man did not bring home birds of any sort, especially the ones that need to be plucked and cleaned.
Just after 4 p.m. today we had a very short storm, with noisy wind heralding the arrival of equally heavy rain. I was outside taking photos, and the flash activated automatically in the darkening sky.Thoughts of Albany and the sad outcome after the tornado made me rush inside to safety. 15 minutes later all was calm, and the sky colours ranged from pale blue, dark grey to a delicate salmon pink when I looked south.
The pale mauve flowers on this shrub reflected the flashlight,as the sky darkened.
The flower heads on the Miscanthus( or so I was told when we bought it) will be dropping soon, they are so delicate waving in a breeze, but after they are gone the leaves can stand tall and attractive on their own.
The weeping silver pear tree bears no fruit, but is a lasting legacy to my dear father-in-law. One year there was a mass of tall red poppies underneath, the flowers as high as the lower leafy branches. The dark red and pale green were a perfect compliment to each other. When we quilt, what better place to look than nature to select colour choices.The leaves are just turning a delicate pink. As with all our trees, the leaves on the northern sides turn colour first.
Soon all the flowering cherry trees will be bare, and the lawn a mass of colour.When we were in the South Island in Autumn some years ago, the leaves totally covered the grass at Lake Benmore near Twizel.No green colour, just a carpet of gold,yellow and deep orange turning to brown and tan.Maybe one day I will put those shades in a quilt, so different to my favourite blues,greens and purples.
Cheers from Jean
The flower heads on the Miscanthus( or so I was told when we bought it) will be dropping soon, they are so delicate waving in a breeze, but after they are gone the leaves can stand tall and attractive on their own.
The weeping silver pear tree bears no fruit, but is a lasting legacy to my dear father-in-law. One year there was a mass of tall red poppies underneath, the flowers as high as the lower leafy branches. The dark red and pale green were a perfect compliment to each other. When we quilt, what better place to look than nature to select colour choices.The leaves are just turning a delicate pink. As with all our trees, the leaves on the northern sides turn colour first.
No comments:
Post a Comment