Second anniversary

They say that time flies when you're having fun but I can't believe that two years have gone since I moved here. Maybe time rockets by when you are living your dream! I am so lucky to be living here and learning about our unique environment - I wish I had started when I first arrived in New Zealand as our beautiful ngahere (native bush) holds so much treasure that it will take many decades to see it all.

Track trimming at Dancing Star - looking one way...

...and the other

Still, it's better late than never and I get so much enjoyment from spending time in the bush. It's so easy to only notice the big things - views, large trees, gullies and streams - but the small stuff really grabs my fancy. Take these Akatea, Metrosideros diffusa, white climbing rata flowers, for example. When the buds first open, they look like upside-down ballerinas with legs going in all directions...

...but give them a bit longer and the 'legs' straighten up and point to the sun.

Or how about the pattern on this huhu beetle, Prionoplus reticularis?

Check out the stinging hairs of our native scrub nettle, Urtica incisa - best to avoid all of the native nettles, great that they have distinctive leaves to warn you!

Next time you are walking through some native bush, take a look at a square metre of ground; count the different species that you see, note the shapes of leaves and the colours and textures. Can you see any blossoms or fruit? There's a new website called NatureWatch (http://naturewatch.org.nz) where you can explore what has been seen around your area, learn about native species and, if you want, record your own observations. There's a fantastic service offered where you can put up a photo of anything and ask for it to be identified - what a neat way to learn.

http://naturewatch.org.nz

Changeable weather with hot days followed by hail, cool morning temperatures and quite a lot of rain have made it challenging for my vege gardening; some seeds are up but I think I'll need some sort of covering (plastic/glass) to get much of a harvest. Here's what it looked like this afternoon...