9/27/13

faithful friend

I have carried bits of this succulent from place to place and it has never disappointed me each spring. It has mostly lived in pots but now it's got a nice home in terra firma (thanks to Missy who planted my succulent garden for me).
It's called sedum acre aureum.



9/25/13

a magpie story

I wonder what's on the other side of this fence. It doesn't look greener...

I'll just duck under here and see for myself.

Whew! Made it!

Did anybody see me? What was that??

It definitely not greener, but the brown parts might work for my nest.

I think I hit the jackpot--look at all this stuff!

I'll hide a bunch behind this bush and come back to get it later!

tiny yellow petals




9/21/13

I Love my Post - Blog Hop

I love my post

Welcome to the I Love My Post blog hop where we invite you to link up your favourite post of the week, to show it off and hopefully receive some love from the others partaking in the hop!
If you are yet to participate in a hop they are really simple to get the hang of all you need to do is 'hop' around, hopefully finding some new great reads!
The Rules are simple! Have Fun, click around find some new blogs to read and share the I Love My Post LOVE! And if you fancy being a co-host with us! Give Sarah an Email: sarah@lifeinabreakdown.com

Your Host’s this week are:
Sarah from Life in a Break Down
Bex from Futures
and our lovely co-hosts are:
Keren from Fabulous Farm Living and Fabulous Food Recipies
Betty from Photographing New Zealand and My Views of New Zealand
Jenn and Stacy from Two Gals and a Blog

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9/17/13

kowhai

This is a NZ native tree called the kowhai (pronounced 'coe-fie') that blooms in spring. The name is the the Maori word for 'yellow'. The bright flowers attract many native birds.




9/13/13

sunset clouds

This is the scene from my kitchen window each night at sunset. The clouds hover over the sea in the distance and are kissed by the colors of the sunset on the other side of the house.

sunset-skies


lone survivor

This gorgeous but lonely flower is the only one of its kind in our new garden right now. I'm sure that next spring will have many more flower faces and lots of great colors.



9/11/13

adjusting

Grace seems to be adjusting to the country life, inside....

and outside

9/4/13

birds through the window

The weather is finally getting springy so I should be out and about gathering more photos soon. Until then, I want to share the birds we have caught from inside looking out.


1. Waxeye  2. Grackles/Starlings 3. Paradise shelduck

4. Female finch 5. Spur-winged Plovers 6. Kingfisher

7. Pukeko 8. Swallows on fence 9. Seagull 

Waxeyes are called silvereyes in Australia. There are lots of starlings, finches, plovers and swallows around the house, along with lots of sparrows.

I believe the Paradise duck was just passing through, although they do like cow pastures a lot. 

The plovers fight with the local hawk over eggs.

This kingfisher is the only one I've seen so far.

Pukekos are funny-looking birds with long legs that prefer to walk or run although they can fly.

I like to watch the swallows fall straight down from the sky before they pull up and circle away.

The seagull must have been just visiting since he is about 20k from the ocean and found the only water source around. After this photo, he decided to sit a while in the water before going on his way.



9/1/13

black swan

I thought these beautiful creatures only lived in fresh water until we saw them in the ocean below Farewell Spit.

black-swan