1/31/15

southern black backed gulls

These Southern Black Backed gulls reside in New Plymouth at the breakwater. They are eating the fish parts that fisherman don't take home. The speckled birds are juveniles.



1/29/15

pink sunset

I captured this scene out the window (thus, the wires) and was amazed at the colors.



1/28/15

monochrome flowers




WATW


My world has been hot and sunny this week. How about yours??

Show us what your world looks like this week and then link up below.

Take an arm-chair world tour by visiting the other blogs listed.


1/27/15

last photos of 3 sisters for a while

As I'm sure you know, it's not easy to select photos to share when ALL of them are enough to take your breath away. The bits of algae and tiny mussels clinging to the layers of rock make me understand how truly insignificant we are.








1/24/15

cats are weird

This is Grace. She is sooo misnamed as you can see! I'm not sure if she was smooching the rock or scratching her head.


cliffs at 3 sisters

Today, I'm sharing the walls of the cliffs that we saw at 3 Sisters beach. Although some of the cliff walls look like solid rock, they are indeed clay. That, of course, accounts for the water's ability to shape them into stacks and other shapes. We walked for a long time down the beach and each step was gorgeous!




Algae tells you how high the water can get at high tide. The little black dots at the bottom are tiny mussels.



Photo Thursday - perspective

1/23/15

taranaki coast rock formations

These are some more photos from the 3 Sisters area. I don't know about you, but I find them quite interesting and unusual.







1/21/15

kereru-NZ wood pigeon and WATW

They are quite shy and sound a bit like a helicopter blade rotating when they fly overhead. Really!



This is a New Zealand wood pigeon. Its Maori name is Kereku and can weigh up to  650g (1.4 lb).

What does your world look like this week? 

Post a photo on your blog and link up below. 

Then you can take an armchair tour of the world by visiting other blogs in the linkup!







1/20/15

Bertrand Rd Suspension Bridge

Here's something you don't see every day. 

The original bridge at this point was built in  1898. 


suspension-bridge-nz

1/19/15

elephant rock

We visited 3 sisters again this weekend, this time to see elephant rock up close and find some petroglyphs that were suppose to be in a nearby cave. Unfortunately, most websites are out of date about the carvings because that particular cave was destroyed in 2008 by a winter storm. Duh.

elephant-rock-taranaki-nz

This rock might be famous one day, too. Possibly another elephant? Maybe just another 'sister'?

I am totally in awe of the coastal rock formations. You haven't seen the last of them!


1/14/15

monochrome




garden colors

I wanted to plant a flower garden for several reasons. The biggest reason was to see if I could attract bees and butterflies, even though the closest flowerbed that I know of is kilometers away.

 I am so happy to report that I have been well rewarded with the wonderful buzzzzz of bees! Seeing 3 or 4 in one of the flower heads makes me grin from ear to ear.

The top left corner shows some dahlias that I uncovered while weeding. The rest of the flowers are unknown to me, but I still love their colors.


NF- BLo Ma      Nature Notes

Life through the Lens

1/13/15

dandelion remains



This is what my world looks like this week in New Zealand!

Please feel free to join us as we travel by blog 

around the world to see what the rest of the world looks like!

Post any photo of your world and then link up below. 


Take a trip around the world by visiting other links.

Even though I host the meme, it doesn't open until the creator of the link opens it. Sorry for any inconvenience.





1/10/15

livingston daisies

These beauties are very happy in my garden!




sunrise in the country

As I've said many times, I don't do mornings (somebody has to keep the world going while morning people sleep!). Hubby took this shot one foggy morning for me.



1/9/15

yellow dahlias

I love dahlias!

Today I'm joining a brand new meme called
'Friday Greens' over at Nix Pages.  Post some green and come on over!

And Today's Flowers

1/7/15

WATW

Happy New Year! I wish you all the best stuff for 2015.


This is what my world looks like this week. 
Post a shot of yours and link up below. Then you can take a tour around the world by visiting other bloggers.




1/6/15

pihama cooperative dairy co

When I first arrived in New Zealand, Hubby pointed out an old Taranaki dairy building as he showed me the countryside.

 I asked if there were more. 

He said, 'Sure.'

 And thus began the hunt. 

Most sit in disrepair, some have been used at some point for other enterprises. We (I with Hubby as navigator) have photos of about 43 of the original 118 or so dairies--or what's left of them. Recently, I found an extensive list of locations so we have some exploring to do.

The milk, cheese and butter dairies were eventually consolidated locally and then Taranaki-wide into a company that is called Fonterra (the name  has no specific meaning at all).

Until last year, this dairy was used as a residence.  Here's a story from the paper .

1/3/15

koru

This unfurled fern, called koru,  is an important Maori symbol for new life, among other things. Click here for more meanings.



1/1/15

children over 75

Saw this sign while in Wanganui.


hydrangea heaven

We took a walk through Tupare Gardens yesterday and it was filled with hydrangeas in so many colors!