Bouncy castle for kiddies

Oops!

Life's pretty active here at the moment with no time to blog or read blogs. I expect things will ease about the end of the week. I am not stopping, just trying to keep ahead of commitments. Catch you all soon. - Dave

Fancy Balloon.

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This balloon flew over our suburb this morning as a part of a balloon fiesta.

For more photos see my other blog site at www.cimba7200.blogspot.com .

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Green kiwifruit on the vine

Kiwifruit.

The fruit, originally called Chinese gooseberries, were smaller fruit and were imported from China about the middle of last century. New Zealand horticulturists developed the plant and made them produce larger fruit. The green Kiwifruit, or 'kiwi' as it is commonly called in other countries is now also grown in Italy and a couple of other countries, but our horticulturists have now developed two other cultivars, one which has yellow fruit and is sweeter than the green one, and another variety which is much smaller and is more of a cocktail fruit and is more expensive.

In New Zealand home-grown kiwifuit is available for about six months. After that the industry imports Italian kiwifruit to give continuos supply to our market. Ours come on-stream about April.

To distinguish New Zealand kiwifruit from that of other countries they have been branded with a trade name - 'Zespri.' See their website here: http://www.zespri.com/zespri-kiwifruit.html

Kiwi Sculpure.

This kiwi sculpture is located in a kiwifruit orchard in Te Puke, Bay of Plenty, NZ. it stands about the height of a person.

The kiwi is a native New Zealand flightless bird which exists in wild bushland and is rarely visible except in zoos or special displays. It is nocturnal.

The word 'kiwi' is also used to symbolise both the fruit of the kiwifruit, which is grown in NZ, and the people of New Zealand.

It is also one of our national emblems, the other being the native silver fern.

Small cottage amongst the trees, Te Kuiti, New Zealand

A lonely little viola in a concrete crack... . Several years ago, in our ignorance, we planted violas in our front flower garden and now we can't get rid of them. Annually they pop up around the two sides of the house nearest to where they grew, and no amount of weedspraying can discourage them, though it does kill the ones in growth. The seeds seem to hide in the cracks in the soil or the concrete and sprout forth in summer to produce more seeds. They seem to have an exceedingly strong will to procreate and survive. . The little viola above is one of those. But you have to smile at its cheerful face, don't you? .

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Cambridge, Waikato, New Zealand

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This photo of "The Mare and Foal" occupies a prominent place at the entrance to the township of Cambridge, just south of Hamilton in the Waikato, New Zealand. .

The plaque below explains the reason for it and information about Michelle Farrell, the sculptor. .

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Chevrolet

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This restored two-seater truck (ute) was also at the Vintage Machinery Expo on the weekend.

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I have no-more information about it except thet it is painted dark green and looks smart.

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Restored vehicle.

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This 'truck' used to be used at the Hamilton airport to tow aircraft to specific locations at the boarding gates or wherever they were required to be. The signs may be able to be read if the photo is clicked to enlarge it.

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The picture was taken at the recent Waikato Vintage Machinery Expo at the Claudelands Show Grounds, Hamilton.

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Steam engine

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A restored mobile steam engine at the recent "Antique Machinery Show" in Hamilton over the weekend. This machine was wonderful and was used to give people rides buy hauling a trailor behind it.

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. Corner Service Station . This is a mock-up of an old corner service station for serving petrol, oil, tyres and all things 'car.' This set was on display at the Claudelands Showgrounds, Hamilton, NZ today as a part of an Antique Machinery Display this weekend. . Although this may not be typical to readers in other countries it is typical to the way things were in New Zealand about 60 years ago. .

University Notice Board

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During a walk around the Waikato University in Hamilton I came across this noticeboard used by the students. I decided that it would make and interesting photo because of the detail of the notices on the board.

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See that someone wants a flatmate? Another is advertising Islam, and another Christianity.

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Also several for performances showing there, and a variety of other notes for various things.

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I find notice boards interesting and they demonstrate the character of the community at the University.

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Sand Drawing.

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Stephanie, my grand daughter, when she was younger drew this of her grandad, me, in the sand on the beach when the tide was out. Jill and I took her and her brother to the beach this day and we spent some time having fun drawing in the sand. We drew all sorts of things from ships to rockets to funny shaped people and shapes. It was fun, and we didn't consider it vandalism because the incoming tide would soon wash them away.

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People passing by also seemed to enjoy our art.

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Windswept tree.

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A windswept tree clinging to a hill near Wainui Beach at Raglan, North Island, New Zealand.

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The westerly wind would be the prevailing wind here blowing straight off the Tasman Sea, with little or no protection from the land or other structures, natural or otherwise for this tree. It's variety is not known to me but it looks very much like a Manuka, a native tree of our country.

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Shore Scene.

.. Somewhere on the east coast of the North Island this scene caught my eye. The tree is the New Zealand Pohutukawa, our Christmas tree because it's red spiky flowers open at Christmas time. . This view could be a typical NZ scene as the pohutukawa tree grows mainly by the seaside. . As they are easy to grow from seed taken from spent flowers, there doesn't appear to be any reason why they grow mainly in locations like this. .

Aquilegia . One of my earlier photos of a lovely coloured aquilegia, or more commonly known here as a 'poor man's orchid.' . I have learned over time that the best photos of flowers are taken in light shade, as this one was. . If planted in summer these flowers will not flower until the following spring or summer. .

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Architectural shapes and angles

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This photo was taken at the Indian Garden, at the Hamilton Gardens. I was impressed at the assorted angles and shapes and wanted to photograph them. This building is imressive. Also the gardens within the Indian sector of the Hamilton Gardens.

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This is not just there for visitors to enjoy but these specialty gardens are also used as wedding locations.

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There are several other gardens which represent other countries, and these make the Hamilton Garden complex fascinating to visit and give plenty to see.

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Old Hamilton Courthouse. . This is the original Hamilton Court House situated on a slight rise behind the Anglican Cathedral and nearly adjacent to the more recent Police Station. Though this photo was taken fairly recently I have given it an older appearance by removing the colour and making it sepia. It is one of several historic buildings in the city, and stands beside a more recent and more modern courthouse to the left of this building, but virtually out of sight here. Though the internal parts of this building have been redecorated the new building carries the main workload now. .