Good Morning from the Town

It's such a pleasure to see the sky wearing its morning sunrise garb, even if the foreground is urban - my neighbour's roof. 6.59am. We have heavy rain forecast tonight so I might check the gutters today. Although I cleaned them only recently, the trees are shedding their leaves at a great rate. We have a a very rainy summer in New Zealand, including several significant flood events. 

Ohope 2

Nearly time to go home, but here's a few more pics from my stay at this gorgeous place.

From cloudy days ... 

... and high tides ...

... to low tides.

... and hot sun in the middle of the day ...

... when those of us with short legs have to ride a while.

... to soft rosy sunsets.

'Good night' from Ohope Beach, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.

Hello Again

Well, here I am again.  I have missed y'all.  I have missed blogging.
I have to blog.  Because it is debatable that if It is not blogged about, did It even happen?
So where to start? At the beginning makes sense.
However, contrarily, I will start with this morning, because my memory is not as good as it was and I do remember this morning!
It has been a cool and dry summer here in Tauranga, New Zealand.  A couple of days ago someone said 'Well, today's the first day of autumn!' and I realised that I have only had one ripe tomato off my vines so far.  But then to be fair, that is partly because I didn't get the plants in very early, which was because I was so busy putting on four art exhibitions on in my gallery since I came back from my two very intense travel trips ... it's starting to come back now. 
This was this morning :

From the east end of the verandah, 6.45am, 3.3.17

Sunrise Over Tauranga Estuary

I got up at about 6.30 this morning and trotted along the road a bit to where a path takes you down to the edge of the estuary.
I stood with my gloves and coat and wooly hat and my camera poised, taking a few desultory shots of a kingfisher having its breakfast, waiting for the moment when the golden orb would show its face.
Which it did at about 7.15, just when it was supposed to.  Funny that.

Sadly the stop-bank that I stood on, designed to take the fat sewer pipe (now removed so that walkers can now actually see the estuary from the path), has the effect of cutting off the normal tidal water movements in and out, and the unhealthy sludgy water that is backed up behind, escaping in only a few places, supports a fraction of the species it should… and most of those were mangroves, which have been cut and are lying there rotting in the water.

Sometimes I wonder how many years it would take for the Earth to find some kind of normality again, if all the humans were instantly transported elsewhere tomorrow.
Maybe, to Kepler-452b. Perhaps the 5x gravity there will stop us being so successful.

Thornton Beach

Maddie and I are just back from watching the sun rise while having a pleasant stroll on the beach.  Or in the case of Maddie, a sniff and a trot.
There were lots of different sponges and weeds and shells in the tideline, and a generous abundance of pieces of rounded pumice - the aerated, glassy, floating rock that almost certainly came from White island, New Zealand's most active volcano not far offshore. On one of these images you can see it with its plume of steam. Up until 1914 they mined sulphur off it, but in that year a lahar killed all 10 workers, so mining was sensibly given up.  These days you can have a guided tour but landing on  the island without permission is illegal, and also possibly foolish*.

A couple of oystercatchers wait for the warmth.

There's steamy White Island (Whakaari)  to the left of Whale Island (Motuhora).
White Island/Whakaari is actually about three times the size.

The classic gull, island and sun shot. 

cashew brittle - mmm, my favourite.

Off out of the river mouth to do a spot of fishing.

*Although exciting and very interesting, according to a member of my family.

Between Rainstorms

Yesterday there were floods in Wellington, a small tornado (which removed about a third of the roof off the stadium), and torrential rains in Tauranga.  Here, it persisted it down all night and this afternoon. But there was a convenient break at dawn to allow the dogs and I our usual walk.  Everything was freshly washed and clean, albeit rather soggy.

.
And one of the trees took advantage of the winds to divest itself of its last leaves.

Due to an astonishing deluge of spam, comments for this post are now closed, sorry.  If you have something relevant to say about it,  please jot it on the next post.  - K.

Autumnal Mists

It's getting cooler in the mornings.  I generally take Clyde and Maddie out for a walk at first light.  Today we were greeted by another world, even though we walked the same quiet, no-exit road.

Extinct volcano Mount Edgecumbe in the background beginning to show through the mist.

Down on the Farm for a While

Two dogs, two cats, two goats, two budgies, a number of hens, a number of morepork owls, one rooster, one cow and a lot of quiet. Yep, I must be at the farm again.

I said goodbye to the owners at the airport very early this morning and then watched the sun rise over the Whakatane marina. Lovely.

Announcement: Next Exhibition. Hawkes Bay Views by Caldwell and Steeds

There is just under one month to go until the next exhibition at my gallery-house 'Cottleston' on Friday the 27th February (2015).

This next one will be a glorious medly of landscape photographs from the camera of Andrew Caldwell, probably three gallery-room's worth, maybe four ...

And I have a small, pared-down nucleus of my own landscape oils that have never before been shown in public, for another room's viewing. So, something a bit different this time.  Not a sign of a bee. ◊ Please consider this an open invitation to attend the opening night pre-viewing drinks and nibbles from 6.00pm onwards. Or pop in anytime* between 11.00 am and 4.30 pm any day 28th - Sunday 8th March.

The weather has been very hot here in the sunny Bay of Plenty, but as summer progresses gently into autumn, the last few days have been just about the most perfect temperature imaginable: a max of 23 - 26°C ( 73°F - 79°F) and down to an extremely pleasant 17°C (62°F) at night. 

You see? It's a perfect time to visit Tauranga, New Zealand. But that's not all! If you email me in the next 24 hours, you may win a free three-day stay in the last remaining wing of the house-gallery! The red room has its own sitting-room and ensuite. Freshly laundered sheets and towels, home-made chocs and a pitcher of cold real lemonade on arrival, plus the use of the kayaks to have a leisurely paddle up or down the river, with a lunch picnic hamper full of goodies, come with this offer! So if you are far away, book those seats! Get on that plane! And if you are really lucky, my daughter the flight attendant, will serve you your cuppa and bikkies on the last leg from Brisbane to Auckland.

Andrew Caldwell is a photographer based in Napier, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand. He especially enjoys getting up early and heading out to seashore, river or lake, and capturing the sublime beauty of the night sky and breaking dawn. 

My landscapes capture the essence of typical North Island New Zealand back-country farming. Flown in a light plane, off the usual routes, the hills folded green or gold; small intimate pockets of rarely-seen land. 

◊ Back to bees in the middle of winter - to cheer us with images of flowers and sunshine in the coldest days

* open other hours by appointment. Contact me: art@katherinesteeds.com

Spring Rains

Once it found out I really, really wanted to get the lawns mowed today, the weather was given instructions for this morning:
1. Provide an enticing peek of golden sunshine on dawn.
2. Continue a short period of glorious golden morning thereby lulling her into a false sense of security so she wastes an hour on the computer.
3. Commence to rain heavily with very large drops, and with all the appearance of doing this all day.

Ohope Beach

More gorgeousness.  Let me know when you want me to stop.

Sunrise Ohope Beach. 6.7.14

An hour after sunrise, Ohope Beach 6.7.14

Urban dawn

On one side, as the urban moon goes down ...

... I can crouch in the grass at the top of the park and pretend I am back in the country. It's 5.05 am and here I am in the blissful cool of the pre-dawn, watching the sun begin to lighten the sky.  Going to be another scorcher...

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