Mt Taranaki from Mac Gully Harakeke flowers in the foreground
February has become my favourite time of the year.
It's as if the year just pauses for 28, or, as is the case this year, 29 days, & rests.
The days are still long & the temperatures are stable, still hot enough to feel like summer without being oppressive.
The wind is a light breeze, if at all present.
The night time temperatures are lower too which means sleeping is easier.
And the light, both day & night, the light has been astounding.
The angle of the sun is changing rapidly now which makes the evening light truely magical.
The moon is as ever the moon is, but somehow the stars have seemed brighter, courtesy of the clear skies I guess.
The birds are completely at ease, no frenzy needed to attract a mate, build a nest, hatch the eggs nor feed the voracious, constantly squawking, young.
The insects are the same; unhurried but still busy.
It's been an amazing year for our trees which is evident by the masses of ripening fruit both on our native trees & our fruit trees.
The water temperature at our local beach is the highest during February which means swimming is really enjoyable & the ocean has been clean & clear.
Most days are calm & unhurried.
The evenings have an air of serenity.
It's as if the year just pauses for 28, or, as is the case this year, 29 days, & rests.
The days are still long & the temperatures are stable, still hot enough to feel like summer without being oppressive.
The wind is a light breeze, if at all present.
The night time temperatures are lower too which means sleeping is easier.
And the light, both day & night, the light has been astounding.
The angle of the sun is changing rapidly now which makes the evening light truely magical.
The moon is as ever the moon is, but somehow the stars have seemed brighter, courtesy of the clear skies I guess.
The birds are completely at ease, no frenzy needed to attract a mate, build a nest, hatch the eggs nor feed the voracious, constantly squawking, young.
The insects are the same; unhurried but still busy.
It's been an amazing year for our trees which is evident by the masses of ripening fruit both on our native trees & our fruit trees.
The water temperature at our local beach is the highest during February which means swimming is really enjoyable & the ocean has been clean & clear.
Most days are calm & unhurried.
The evenings have an air of serenity.
After the madness of December & the hurly-burly of January it has been really lovely to pause & recoup.
Regaining vitality, motivation & desire; getting ready for 'gathering the harvest' & making the autumnal preparations for winter.
We're planning a new garden which will be fully fenced so as to be rabbit & wind proof.
Today we wandered around the hardware store, somewhere we both enjoy 'shopping', looking for hardware for the gate hinges.
I think as I am typing this there's a planter box being made to test out the plan for the raised garden beds.
We're going to use timber we have left over from milling the macs 12 yrs ago.
The gates we'll use Hugh made maybe as long ago as 20 years …. wow, that's a lifetime !
Seeing as it's started to rain again I'll be harvesting harakeke soon for processing into muka & then I'll do some dyeing.
I have several projects I'd like to complete this year.
After an overdose of stone carving in January, Hugh's been doing some paintings.
New works which are circular & play with perspective & scale of the motif.
He's used a variety of media such as acrylic paint, markers & gel pens on plywood.
Interestingly, we're both been using the same motif but different media which is exciting & fun.
Regaining vitality, motivation & desire; getting ready for 'gathering the harvest' & making the autumnal preparations for winter.
We're planning a new garden which will be fully fenced so as to be rabbit & wind proof.
Today we wandered around the hardware store, somewhere we both enjoy 'shopping', looking for hardware for the gate hinges.
I think as I am typing this there's a planter box being made to test out the plan for the raised garden beds.
We're going to use timber we have left over from milling the macs 12 yrs ago.
The gates we'll use Hugh made maybe as long ago as 20 years …. wow, that's a lifetime !
Seeing as it's started to rain again I'll be harvesting harakeke soon for processing into muka & then I'll do some dyeing.
I have several projects I'd like to complete this year.
After an overdose of stone carving in January, Hugh's been doing some paintings.
New works which are circular & play with perspective & scale of the motif.
He's used a variety of media such as acrylic paint, markers & gel pens on plywood.
Interestingly, we're both been using the same motif but different media which is exciting & fun.
Oh February, you've been a fabulous month & I'm going to miss you !
I look forward to spending time with you again next year.
I look forward to spending time with you again next year.
evening at oakura beach (top) feather, hue (gourd) flower, white rata flower (middle L to R) moonrise at home (bottom)
RSS Feed