Sunday, April 29, 2012

92/366 - Marlborough Farmers' Market



I used to live in Blenheim (2002 - 2004) and was one of the original supporters of the Marlborough Farmers' Market. Back in those days, the very young Sonny Jim used to love tasting samples from the different stalls, pushing his doll "Ranjin" around in its buggy and having a Market Breakfast every Sunday. Yum! Several of the stall-holders still remembered me and Sandra from the breakfast stall was one of them!

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Friday, April 27, 2012

90/366 - Bovine Flatulence Zone

Spotted this hilarious sign on the way to Blenheim this morning. Wonder if they realise there is a spelling mistake? But I am sure the cows don't mind, anyway!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

88/366 - Anzac Day fly past, Mapua

With impeccable timing, three planes flew low over the Mapua Anzac Day service a couple of seconds after the main address was finished. . .

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

87/366 - The delights of seasonal eating


Fresh figs picked from a local "open orchard" - one of the real delights of seasonal eating :)

Saturday, April 21, 2012

Friday, April 20, 2012

83/366 - Kristina Olsen in concert in a "Yak Yurt!"


Kristina Olsen is a very talented musician and singer-songwriter from the USA. Not only does she write often hilarious and frequently thought-provoking songs, she also plays the acoustic guitar, slide guitar, saxophone, concertina, mandolin, banjo and piano! She played many of those in her gig tonight, and was very well-received by the audience.

I first saw Kristina perform live at The Lemon Tree in Aberdeen, way back in the mid-90s. Imagine my delight when I discovered a few days ago that she was performing at the yurt (or "Yak Yurt" as she dubbed it) at The Free House. The Wifie was very obliging and agreed to accompany me to the rather pungent yurt, where we had a wonderful night of music, laughs and poignant moments . . . and a lump in our throats for the last song of the night "Cry you a waterfall."

Photo taken on Canon 400D with flash turned off and slow shutter speed.

Thursday, April 19, 2012

82/366 - One dog and his beach!



A wonderful evening walk at Ruby Bay beach, with distant views of Nelson. I couldn't choose between these two photos, so you get two photos today to make up for none on Monday!

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

80/366 - Marlborough vineyard

Photo taken whilst on day trip to Blenheim (where I used to live from 2002 -2004.) Wither Hills in the background.

Monday, April 16, 2012

79/366 - Ooops, didn't take a single photo today!


So instead, here's a screen shot of my iPhone which I took when I realised I had taken no photos all day, lying in bed on Monday night!

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

74/366 - Free lunch at French Pass DOC campsite

Fresh silverbeet and freshly caught blue cod for lunch, cooked on my trusty Trangia
We were given the silverbeet by some very friendly and kind locals and then one of our fellow campers gave us some blue cod fresh from the ocean. What a feast! We didn't have any flour to coat the fish, so improvised by using crushed Cruskits instead, and it was delicious!

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

73/366 - Harakeke (NZ flax) seed pods @ French Pass

Photo by Sonny Jim, experimenting with "rule of thirds"
"Proud mum" moment - look what a great photo my boy took when he "borrowed" my camera!

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Saturday, April 7, 2012

70/366 - Sunrise from a hot air balloon above Canterbury


This morning on our 6th attempt we finally got airborne in a hot air balloon (our previous attempts were cancelled due to poor weather.) We were rewarded for our patience and perseverance with absolutely perfect conditions today, and the most beautiful sunrise on earth!

Friday, April 6, 2012

69/366 - Horse with no name. . .

Mailbox at Mouse Point Road, Culverden
I admire this mailbox every time we drive past on our way to Christchurch. Well today I stopped and took a photo! Ingenious use of an old milk churn and lots of other scrap metal :)

Monday, April 2, 2012

65/366 - Latest project off the knitting needles

A Hand knitted "breast hat" for a certain breastfed baby :) Here modelled by Sonny Jim's doll of yesteryear!

Wish I could have shown you a photo of the meteor I saw tonight, but sadly I didn't even have my trusty iPhone with me and it was only visible for a few seconds. So you will have to make do with following this link. . . http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/6685621/Fast-fiery-light-illuminates-night-sky#share