Open-mouthed

Open wide! Whisky Gully, Tapanui. 16 April. West Otago, New Zealand.

Time to Shine

Yesterday in Whisky Gully, Tapanui. West Otago. New Zealand.

Ferns and Fungi

Ferns and fungi, photos taken today when we walked in native bush at Whisky Gully. Tapanui, West Otago. New Zealand.

Beauty and the Beast

These photos are from an exhausting bush walk we did on Friday 31 March from which I'm still in recovery! As we climbed I spotted many small treasures along the way, most often in the way that light was catching ferns, mosses and foliage to good effect.

Cute Little Fella

Yesterday a curious tomtit came to check on us while we were enjoying a short walk in the native bush at Black Gully Reserve near Tapanui, West Otago. New Zealand. The tomtit is native, tiny, and in the case of the male bird.. quite colourful. This was a treat.. we don't often see birds in...

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...

Daffodil Legacy

Hart’s Black Horse Brewery closed in 1923 and little but ruins remain today but.. there's daffodils! Starting in 1895, the Hart family planted thousands of specially-imported daffodil bulbs. This afternoon we drove to Weatherstons near the rural town of Lawrence and spent an hour wandering around the property. Afterward we visited the wonderful corner dairy...

Treetops in Late Afternoon

Autumn. Whisky Gully Reserve, Tapanui, West Otago ~15 April 2022. New Zealand

Stirrings

The Uvalde shooting ‘stirred something’ in him. So he gave up his gun. A touching article.. I read it earlier today, from the Washington Post:“He looked like my grandson. I mean, they could have been twins. They have the same face,” Small said, his voice shaky with emotion. “It just stirred something in me.” What...

Bright Summer Afternoon

These pics were taken at Bannerman Park, Gore on a bright afternoon in the height of summer. Southland, New Zealand. 16 January 2022.

Whisky Gully Creek

This was our first walk into the Whisky Gully entry to the Blue Mountains today, just up the road from home in Tapanui. Delightful! Here's two of my first pics, taken near the start of the track.. Whisky Gully Creek. Good Friday, afternoon, 15 April. West Otago, New Zealand. Click on either photo to enlarge....

Clutha at Roxburgh

The river photos are of the Clutha River at Roxburgh from a riverside path, Sunday 23 Jan 2022. The Māori name Mata-au references the swift surface current of the river. The rest of the photos were taken from a spot in a small section of pine trees where I paused to enjoy the nice setting...