The River Rises

We've had a lot of rain over the last week.
I've posted about my river flooding before here.
It's interesting to see the changes in the river as I look over the bank from the back garden.

At this point the river is still tidal.
It pleases me to imagine that from my very own back garden I could jump in one of our kayaks and paddle all the way down the river, out through the estuary, past the port, slip through the gap between The Mount (Maunganui) and Matakana Island, and out to sea!  Why, I could even paddle all the way to Blogland!*

Last week: A storm is threatening - look at that weird greenish light.

Tipping it down

Sunshine this morning

 *What a very linky post this turned out to be.

Early Walk

I got a call on my cell phone this morning at 4 am.
A few years ago I got a spate of these - a Florida travel agency saying I was being offered a marvelous deal - three days at some Florida resort for only 100 bucks. When I expressed my delight but asked were they also going to fly me there from New Zealand they stopped calling, thank goodness.

I stupidly put my cell phone as a back-up for my Yahoo account two days ago.  They are on to me again I suspect.

Anyway, I missed the call but was still wide awake 30 mins later.  So, as there was a little light in the sky, I decided not to waste the lovely coolness and got up and went for a walk around the park, something I haven't done since I broke my ankle back in January.

It was lovely.  Very wet grass from the rain the last two days.  A low, ephemeral mist was ponded across the sports fields.  Enough clouds to make the sky interesting.  I really should get up earlier more often.

It's still only 6.30am.  What shall I do with the rest of this wonderful day?

From my back garden.  4.30am 

Panorama from the top of the park

The stadium 

Looking across the sports grounds

The river is still dark and spooky

My favourite corner of the park.

Home again at 6am

A Pukeko in a Punga Tree

The other day I was wandering along the top of the bank so I took a picture as I thought you might like to see the lovely view I look out upon every day.

Then I noticed some movement in the top of one of the pungas (tree ferns)... that one on the left.  I've drawn an arrow to the big dark blue bird.

About the time I noticed it, it also became aware of me on top of the bank and began to 'chuck chuck' and flick its tail nervously, showing the white flash underneath.

And shortly afterwards it made its clumsy exit:

It was obvious that, with Christmas coming up, it was practicing, as Pukekos assuredly do at this time of year all over New Zealand, for a Christmas production of 'A Pukeko in a Ponga Tree'.

 In 1981 Kingi Ihaka wrote the words to (and Dick Frizzell illustrated) a book / song which has become, at least among some New Zealanders, The New Zealand Christmas Song.

Sung to the tune of 'A Partridge in a Pear Tree', the song goes through a collection of iconic and unique 

New Zealand creatures.  The book is still a steady seller.

A Pukeko in a Ponga Tree

On the first day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
A pukeko in a ponga tree

On the second day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Two kumera
And a pukeko in a ponga tree

On the third day of Christmas...

and so on, until...

On the twelfth day of Christmas
My true love gave to me
Twelve piupius swinging
Eleven haka lessons
Ten juicy fish heads
Nine sacks of pipis
Eight plants of puha
Seven eels a swimming
Six pois a twirling
Five - big - fat - pigs !
Four huhu grubs
Three flax kits
Two kumera
And a pukeko in a ponga tree!

Notes

MAORI WORDS - meaning and pronunciation

1. Pukeko (Poo - care - kor) : type of bird found in NZ, known as a NZ Swamp hen.  Found in many other parts of the world too.
2. Ponga (pung-ah) : giant fern tree that grows in NZ
3. Kumera (Koo - ma - rah): a yellow sweet potato with a purple skin
4. Piupiu (pew - pew): a skirt or kilt made from strips of flax. They look like hula skirts. They're worn by the Maori (indigenous people of NZ) during certain traditional dances and special celebrations
5. Haka (Har - kar): war songs traditionaly sung before charging
6. Pipi (Pee - pee): clam, small shellfish
7. Puha (Poo - har): a type of sow thistle that is eaten as a vegetable in NZ
8. Pois (poy): Maori word for ball – they're two balls on the end of two ropes and they're twirled around making patterns during some Maori dances
9. Huhu (Hoo -hoo) grubs: a small edible grub or beetle found in NZ.  It was a delicacy of the Maori

Note about the words "piupius", "pipis" and "pois": Normally you don't find the letter "s" in the Maori language. But this song being English uses it to indicate plurals.

You can go here to hear a rendition of this song in a typical New Zealand accent.  

I take no responsibility for it.  

The Local Poly on a Saturday Morning

Brrr, a crisp bright morning.  A good day for a walk.  No-one around but a few other plumpish, middle-aged, walking women.  Unlike them I carried my camera and left my gloves behind.
First, past the rugby fields and over the footbridge...

(These look much better enlarged with Mr clicky)

Tide's almost full low.

Frost still on the phormium (New Zealand flax)

Toitoi plumes for contrast.

Coming in the back gate of the Polytechnic:

This tree would hide the boiler chimney nicely in summer.
Not so useful in this role in winter.

Fat buds already nearly bursting and it's only June.
Don't they know the coldest is yet to come?

A sparra watches me.  The birds around the tech are tamer than usual.
Perhaps because there's a lower than usual density of cats.

Rhodos.  They'll be frosted for coming out so early.

One of my favourite lunchtime seats when I was a student here.

Wisteria gets itself in a knot.

Palms outside the library.

 Lots of lovely back-lighting with the early morning sun....

I know this freckled branch of camellia leaves isn't healthy, but it looks interesting.

Coprosma.

Sophora (New Zealand Kowhai)

 A lovely dainty apple blossom camellia sasanqua standing like a bride in its own confetti.

Liquid Amber

I remember that this is a lovely magnolia.

A wax eye takes refuge from me as I pass too near its nectar source.
They are feeding almost all daylight hours this time of year.
It's hard being a little bird in winter.

The last leaf of summer.
Was that a song title? 

 I can't decide which is the best image of the new house the carpentry class is framing up.

Pittosporum (Tarata, or Lemonwood)

Another dainty, fine-leaved pittosporum.

 I don't know the name of this shrub below, but I love the rich purple berries.  I wonder if it would make a good dye or paintable pigment?  I may have trouble picking some, as this image was taken from the bridge, and it's very boggy down there on the bank.

When I got home I was definately ready for my muesli!

Still Windy

It's a very blustery day again today... the wind is roaring down the river corrugating the surface and a duck was sitting very still on the bank trying hard to be invisible to me. She would have found it hard to keep position on the water today, let alone make progress upstream.

The winds have blown half of a willow down too. But the sun is making an appearance earlier and earlier, and the magnolia flowers are almost over and the daffs are out. Spring is here!