Nature in Pink and Grey

Photos today are from my Canon 40D, apart from  Fantail photos courtesy of the Internet. I am still using Hugh’s laptop, but have loaded some recent photos taken at our place. Nature provides  so much, and this week I have had a whisper that maybe we will have a day out for  some of New Zealand scenery shots. Keep watching!!

This little nest, maybe for baby Fantail birds, was on the ground. It had been used, and was no longer needed this season. So much care,thought and work had gone into the making.Dry grass, twigs, more little pieces of twigs and stalks to reinforce the outer structure, then the lining began. The softest little feathers, in grey,fawn, light tan and cream, lovingly placed so her little birds would be safe and warm until their own feathers grew.

The side view shows how carefully this was woven together, and now there  are mossy pieces and lichen there.

Photos below Courtesy of the Internet. .The New Zealand Fantail

The pink poppies have bloomed so well this year, and there are also shades  of mauve, and  deeper pink, and some yellow /pink parrot  flowers.

 

Quotation of the day from William Wordsworth

“   ‘Tis my faith that every flower enjoys the air it breathes!  ”

Greetings from Jean

North Island Scenery from Hugh's Views

 In August 2011, Hugh and I walked  to Heritage Lodge in Ruahine Forest Park. There was ice on the bridge, and a small stream below. The tramp does not take long,   from a car parking area, and the views on the way show Mt Ruapehu,with some snow. If you look closely,there is that fleece hat again!!!

The lodge has bunks, table and seats, a fire, and at the far left hand side, a set of  very steep steps to the outside long drop( a  toilet ,WC, or other terms can be used ,depending if you are a lady, a man, or just plain desperate!!!).

Nearer the East Coast, inland from Napier,  is the Kaweka Range. Hugh stayed  in the hut there for several days, and assured me that with a fire roaring, it was cosy. This  was in March,2010. I stayed home, with family commitments.



This was an unusual moss circle on the way to one of the top ridges.

Quotation of the day, author unknown

“ The human spirit needs places where nature

has not been rearranged  by the hand of man”

Greetings from Jean

Views from Home and Further Away

Hugh has a good eye for photo composition, and seems to find scenery  that is  so right on the day.





Here is one of his photos,taken at our place  on 6th May 2011. He used his Canon Powershot  G9, smaller than the 40D, but it always takes a perfect photo.
On the 21st June last year,  we went  North to the Kaimanawa Ranges, this  is the Waipakihi Stream,  taken with a Canon 40D.
















There are good 4WD and quad  tracks to the top of the Tararua Range, and this day a group of cyclists  were out for some fun, and hard pedalling. A little further along ,the wind turbines dominate the skyline, providing power from nature,  a never ending source, the blades turn almost gracefully, and  in my opinion, make a quiet humming sound, are not an eyesore ,and in NZ we should be thankful the wind can be and is used this way.I think they stand tall, like signalmen, showing the traffic where to go.

Quotation of the day, from Bob Dylan

“ The answer my friend is blowin’ in the wind,

the answer is blowin’ in the wind”

Greetings from Jean

Hugh’s Views

I am still using Hugh's laptop , mine  has gone to Auckland to  be repaired . Meantime here are some views from Hugh’s camera.Earlier this year  Hugh and I went for a very short walk on the Kahikatea Track.  It is about half an hour, and in places overlooks the Pohangina River. It was  crystal clear  this  day and the water almost seemed to be that  luminous turquoise colour,
A few years ago a beautiful dark ginger boy adopted us, he came and went in his own time, stayed for a few nights and days, maybe a week ,and then was AWOL for some days, we always  thought  he had  another home. He was gentle, a big cat, huge feet, and in time  became more contented with our home and would sit with us at night, then in the morning would be gone. Here he is in the late afternoon sun. Tom, you stole my heart.

Another day this year Hugh and I went on the Gentle Annie Road which goes from Taihape to Napier. Snow had fallen that week and there was some at the top, and also on the sides of the road. Sheep looked on as we took photos on the way. I was muffled up in a double  layer coat, fleece hat, and needed gloves outside, there was very little wind,  but the air was still  freezing  cold.

Quotation of the day, author unknown,

“ Keep your hat on!!!”

Cheers from Jean.

Laptop Update

Breaking News!! The hard drive has a broken "something" inside. It might be fixable, and Toshiba are not sure if the Norton problem caused it, made it worse or it just happened. I had done a backup 2 days before all this, thankfully.So I am using Hugh's laptop, Thanks Hugh!!! And Norman Ross will look at the offending HDD on  Monday, and just maybe, just maybe, can lend me one for the ONE to TWO weeks if mine can be repaired. So  on this PC, none of my  photos, none of my email addresses, as mine are numerous, Hugh's are a lot less, and I do  not have mine installed here.If I have been sending anyone an email, will they please send me one, usual address is OK,  so I can reinstall their address. Many thanks.

Quotation of the day,from an unknown author

"  You  will miss the water  when the well runs dry!!"

Greetings from Jean

More Norton and More No Photos

Norton, in whatever country they may be, tried again last night to get my laptop to turn on, and RUN. No luck, so I had to do a total clean of the Hard Drive, thankfully I had a backup done earlier, and  then  I  was  assured another man, again in India, would take over from the Case Manager, this is at 11.30 p.m. They all work on  " Maybe I will, maybe I won't", so after waiting longer, I finally went to bed. This morning, when it is 9 a.m. India time, they will get another phone call, probably by this time I will have it all up and running, with thanks to " Norman Ross" whose service for many years has  been superb,  I believe credit should go to those who give good service.

Quotation of the day, from Robert Bloch,

" The man who can smile when things go wrong has thought of someone else he can blame it on"

Greetings from Jean

Norton and No Photos

 This past week has seen me having Norton problems.  Phone calls, remote chat on line, the invisible man taking control of MY laptop, uninstall, reinstall, still could not do a scan. Finally yesterday, after my "incident" had been sent to the "escalation department" it seemed to have been solved. then  yesterday, a little later, I could not turn off my laptop, open it, or do anything at all!!! Luckily I had saved the incident report number ( memo, save everything !!), phoned another man in another country, and maybe, just maybe at 11 a.m. my user profile will be where it should be. So no photos,  no news, nothing of great interest, unless you are a Norton user. On Google, this is a common problem,  but they do not want to admit that. Hugh's laptop has a slightly different keyboard to mine, and I will be SOOO HAPPY when mine is restored  again. So I have written this direct on Blogger, not from Live Writer which I find so much easier.
I have pink tulips out in full flower, more Iris in bloom, Hugh's Dad's memorial weeping silver pear has white blossom galore.Spring is here in abundance.

Quotation of the day, authour unknown

" Save it for a rainy day"

Greetings from Jean