April has been a good month & I don't usually do this but today I went looking for autumn.

Things are definitely changing in an autumnal way.
The signs are the usual ones.

​The sunset tonight was almost directly west, we’ve harvested feijoa & pumpkins, the leeks are ready & the tomatoes are ending, the days are noticeably shorter, the sun rises later, the late afternoon & nights are cooler, the angle of the sun is now low enough that the light reaches right to the back of the room & we’ve had the 1st snowfall on the mountain.

In autumn, the harakeke seed pods are empty of seed & almost threadbare, the rengarenga still hold seed but that may be only because of the cobwebs, the corokia has beautiful little yellow berries, the seed heads on the hebe are chaff & the Tawa has new growth.

In our native forest, which is evergreen, the changes are less obvious - in fact some of them, like the new growth on the Tawa seem incongruous & I’ve realised I have been overlooking many.

Every morning the grass is quite wet underfoot but the sun is consistently shining & the winds are minimal.

the clock has ticked past midnight
the gregorian calendar has flipped to the 1st day of January
& a new year has begun

last night we pushed 'stop' on 2016
this morning we pushed 'play' on 2017

i quite like having these human punctuation points of weeks, days, months & years 
i look forward to the next thing 

i like seeing how i got on during the period of time which has just ended
i like making plans for the next 

at a brief glance 2016 was a shitter & i'm glad it's over
take a longer look & there was some fun within it
a reflective look confirms that in the midst of the hurly burly i have achieved what i set out to achieve this year
which, of course, makes me happy

this morning i woke up with the same thoughts & the same feelings as every other day i wake up . . .
​
surprised that i've been away & amazed that i'm back
wondering how it is possible that i have been run over by a bus during the night 
thoughts of what i'll eat during the day
thoughts of a cup of tea 
working through my mental list of things i could do
​seeing what on the list coincides with what i feel like doing - if anything
& assessing the fullness of my bladder & working out whether or not i really need to get up yet  . . .

eventually, & reluctantly, i drag my arse outta bed & go put the kettle on

same life - different day - new adventure

here's to the new adventure
Happy New Year Everyone 
​xxx

November 2016 

Projects Started: 3

Projects Completed: 5

New Skills Learnt: 7

Current Obsessions: 2

when I compare this with the 'to do' list I wrote at the start of the month they have nothing in common & it seems that I have achieved nothing ! 

change perspective & it is confirmation that I wrote a foolish list at the start of the month which in no way related to my disposition, psychological nor physical well being

November 

• Weather in Taranaki this month was enough to make me wonder why I live here
• We went to Christchurch for Ruchita & James wedding
• It was the best wedding I have ever been to
• We have not visited Christchurch together since we finished Uni in the early 80s
• Neither James nor Ruchita were born before we left Christchurch 
• The little wooden house we lived in, in 1982, has survived the earthquakes
• I wrote a stupid list at the start of the month & it has tormented me all month.
• I have entered a new phase of exploration & I'm really excited by the possibilities
• I will definitely feel better if, before the end of the year, I finish the things I started 

 . . . I probably won't even need to write a new 'to do' list