Yellow Crop Field

Yellow crop field we suddenly came across during a back country drive this afternoon. Clutha district, Otago. New Zealand.

Bright!

Colourful photos to brighten your day. Otago/Southland. New Zealand. Plus one from Australia.

Old Timer

We went out for a country drive this morning, exploring some roads we hadn't travelled before. When we were well through our trip we came across this old building that appears to have been a farmhouse. Weatherboard house with corrugated iron roof. The front lower level has had its weatherboards removed and looks like it's...

Silene

Silene vulgaris or Bladder Campion. Eye-catching weed flowers I found at Commissioners Track, Roxburgh, Central Otago. First 3 photos taken 04 December, last photo taken 27 December. New Zealand. Etymology : "Silene, the genus name, is a reference to the Greek woodland god Silenus the foster father of Bacchus, who was often depicted covered in...

Blue Gloss

Yesterday we returned to Commissioners Track and spent some time on part of it, mostly checking out the weeds and the native plants. We're right into summer now and lots of plants are flowering including grasses. We found some very pretty weed flowers, and some rather nice native flowers too. But today's post is about...

Big Bare Dam

A different dam in this post to the ferny one I've been showing, but it's also from the gold mining days and it's still an earth dam. The difference is that this one's in Central Otago and its inside wall is lined with rocks (the work is done wonderfully as one of the builders, David...

Renewal

Beautiful ferny forest glade that was once an earth dam holding water to be used in the extensive gold mining activity here. Pollands Dam is high on a bush clad hill at Gabriels Gully near Lawrence. Christmas Day, South Otago. New Zealand. From the information board: "An incredible network of water races was constructed, tapping...

Lift Up Your Heads

Today is Christmas Day in New Zealand. We walked a track new to us, Gabriel's Gully near Lawrence, South Otago. Love these new fern fronds that grow upright but also bow their heads, reminding me of a church song: Lift up your heads to the coming king, bow before him and adore him, sing… Detail...

Christmas Eve

Some photos I've taken this week, selected because I associate them with Christmas in some way. First two taken this morning at Gore Gardens.. white bell flowers and tiny pink blurs of Heuchera flowers. Then Cotinus or smokebush partly catching the light. And then (taken 22 Dec) native mistletoe, and astelia berries, Black Gully near...

Storm Clouds

Storm clouds over Tapanui last night. Not captured: lightning in the very dark cloud layer down the end of the street. Amazingly, we didn't get the expected downpour. West Otago, New Zealand.

Rural Summer

This morning while travelling locally, I spotted pillar-shaped clouds hovering over a row of attractive amenity trees in a farming landscape. By the time Nigel had turned around and found a place to stop the cloud pillars were collapsing but it still offered an attractive scene. Between Tapanui and Crookston, West Otago, New Zealand.

So Pretty

Purple roses from Alexandra public gardens, Central Otago. 07 December. New Zealand.