Governor's Bay

*

Governor's Bay

Banks Peninsula

Christchurch

New Zealand

One day

during the week

of my stay in Christchurch

we packed a picnic

collected my father

from the rest home

and drove to the sea

We made our way 

around the side of Lyttelton Harbour

on Bank's Peninsula

Governor's Bay

is nestled in the Port Hills

at the far end of Lyttelton Harbour

twelve miles from the open sea

The small township

of mostly commuters

was named after an early 

Governor of New Zealand

George Grey who welcomed

the arriving Canterbury Association Settlers

to this beautiful Southern land 

from this spot in 1850

Out in the harbour

from Governor's Bay

you find Quail Island

which was the quarantine station 

for dogs and ponies

for the early Antarctic expeditions

Between 1918 and 1925 

Quail Island was a leper colony

The hills are often dry

in late summer,

brushed repeatedly 

by the hot Nor' west winds

Governor's Bay is a picturesque 

and peaceful town

And my father 

enjoyed the day's outing

and loved his picnic

*

Aurora Australis

The Great Southern Lights

"Picture : Samuel Blanc / www.sblanc.com"

The Aurora Australia

or Southern Lights 

occur over the South Pole

and have been visible from Mt Tekapo

in South Canterbury

New Zealand this week

The lights result 

from electrically charged 

particles from the sun

colliding with gases 

in the earth's upper atmosphere

The light show can be observed 

from high southern latitudes

Antarctica

Australia and New Zealand

Aurora = the Roman Godess of Dawn

Australis = is Latin for of the South

For a time lapse wonder light show

of the Aurora Australis

taken at Scott Base 

and McMurdo Station 

in Antarctica look here...

Aurora Australis

*****

On a Bed of Cloud

*

Over the ocean

over the land

on a bed of cloud

I lay my wondering down

Over the ocean

over the land

my home shall follow my heart

and my heart

shall be my centre

*

Happy Easter

Best wishes to my blogging friends

I enjoy your friendship

learn from and 

appreciate your lovely 

and lively posts

I have gained 

from your company

and value our connections

I shall be absent for a week

visiting family in New Zealand

I will return

laden with photos 

of beautiful Christchurch

in the Autumn

Until then

thank you

for your warmth 

and generosity

Happy Days

my friends

*

The Woman

*

I have been

the daughter

for 57 years

the wife

for 38 years

the mother

for 33 years

the woman

the friend

the teacher

the counsellor

the walker

the gardener

the maker

the creator

the seeker

and the finder

who am I now...

all of those above

and yet much more...

who are you?

*

thank you Jeanne and Moddy

*

Frogsong

*

I wish...

I wish I could capture

the translucent pearl green

of the ocean

the warmth of the air I breathe

that wafts up to me 

from the sea as I walk

the scooped clouds

that sit like balls of icecream

on a flat, blue platter

the dance of the butterfly pair

in and out of the coastal bush

the fading sun catching the crest

of the waves

the gaggle of silly turkeys

as they roost for the night

in the gum trees

my delight

at finding Brown Face

in the crook of the gum tree

still asleep ten hours 

after I left him this morning

the nearly empty Tea Tree Bay

at the end of a late summer day

frogsong at Tea Tree creek

and then

the stillness of the bush

as I weave my way

along the coastal track

the mighty boulders at Granite Bay

soaking up the sun's warmth

later to warm the air 

and the land above

the voices of the straggling surfers

down below the boardwalk

the smell of the evening vegetation

and the dusk mood 

of the boardwalk path

as I make my way back home

I wish I could capture

all those things 

for you

*

Easter Bilbies

*


Easter Bilbies

In writing a note to Tom

about chocolate Grasshoppers

(ask Tom)

I wondered if you know 

what a Bilby is...

A while back

a children's book
author called Rose Marie Dusting

had the bright idea

of supporting Bilby conservation

by promoting the sale of Easter Bilbies

A Bilby is a desert dwelling marsupial

a little like a bandicoot

He is about 29-55cm long

lives in a burrow

and never needs to drink water

gaining all his moisture from his food

The name Bilby

is borrowed from
the Yuwaalaraay aboriginal language

of Northern New South Wales,

and means long nosed rat

 The fecundity of the introduced rabbit

made them a major environmental pest

in Australia

The move to popularize the native Bilby

and promote his conservation 

by selling Easter Bilbies

didn't really catch on...

Bilbies are cute
but Bunnies are better...



*