Sky Between Trees

I like looking up at tall trees, so much so I don't really like tree cutters coming to make our property nice and tidy. 😁These guys were at Queen's Gardens, between Bridge and Hardy Streets. 

Would You Like Tomato Sauce with Your Fries? - Happy Father's Day

Found this Father's Day gift suggestion at Farmer's department store last month. Happy Father's Day to Kiwi and Aussie dads! 

Fav

I've always liked this one, "Torn Off" 2017, by David Carson. 

On the Other Hand

This label was almost underneath the flying glass bottles, but copper and stainless steel??

 Aha! There it is.  
 

Please Explain

I found this at the back of the Suter on Bridge Street, but couldn't find the name nor the artist. It was an interesting one, though; flying melted glass bottles, or a tiny circus act?? I shall look for label when I go back the next time. 

Suspended

Mid-June, two cases of H5N1 avian flu were found on the remote beach/es (??) near Wellington. A few weeks later, there were lots of talks in Facebook groups about everybody ceasing garden bird baths, water/nectar or seed/fruit feeding. I checked the Dept of Conservation and Forest and Bird websites, but neither listed anything about home gardens, only about when and how to report sick or dead birds. There have been cuts to the environmental agencies by the current government, but more to the point, it reminded me of the early days of Covid when so much was unknown. I learned some endangered birds in New Zealand have been immunized, while certain species were less prone to catch the flu as they don't congregate.

We arbitrarily decided we'll quit when a third case was found, as we knew in Australia the spread was quicker and greater, in which case it was a matter of time we found more. A third case was discovered a fortnight ago, again in Wairarapa, so I checked the websites again; Forest and Bird website is defunct for all intents and purposes, but Dept of Conservation had added "Avoid feeding backyard birds".

So, there we have it. Both Nectar and seeds ceased a week and a big ago, we hope temporarily but we get it's going to be a long one. I'm already worried about water for the summer as we expect a hot one with not a lot of rain, and we usually had three water stations for birds and bees.

We will miss watching tuis the most. 

After more than a decade, remembering not to feed seeds to the sparrow in the morning has been a hard habit to break.  

Rapid

One night last week, we had one of those spectacular sunsets. What made it super special was within 15 or 20 minutes, the sky suddenly turned gold,

then orange, (though not as saturated as this,) 

then pink, even pinker than this, 

And finally, near-achromatic gradation. What a show! 

Dancing Tree

Queen's Gardens. 
 

I'm a Classy Bird

(Read the title like David Mitchell in "Upstart Crow".)

Ben's soda on the left, mine on the right. Not always, but I just felt like Italian mineral water this week. 

Future Plan

 

Vanilla Custard Slice this week. Summer Berry Brownie or Hazelnut, Cacao & Ginger Bar next week? Tahunanui Breakfast Club. 

August Is a Difficult Month

Sometimes July is super cold, then come August it's suddenly spring. This year we've had three cold spells after a relatively mild winter. We are running out of firewood!! (Please excuse the later winter mess.)    

Familiar

"Rubbish" at the back of Neel Leeming on Bridge Street looked familiar. Our house came with the mid-1980s model and it worked well until 2013. One of the reasons we had to give it up was the knobs kept slipping out of place, and our sparky told us he couldn't find any more of them. Since then, I quit removing the knobs and soaking on our new stove; I only wipe the best I can. 

No Such Place

Yo, there is no such place as Tokyo Town 東京町. I tried to read the blub at the bottom but that, too, looked like AI-gibberish, not even young-people-speak.

No More Red

Red Gallery is closing due to lease-non-renewal, possibly due in part to the over-long Bridge Street road work. I've hardly been there since ownership changed in 2014, but still, it's sad to see an established art gallery closing.