The point has come where I need a little more formal practice to improve my photography. That is to say I photograph things rather than snap at them. But this is easier said than done. But never one to give up easily I took the opportunity during one of our basset walks to request a natural light portrait session. Or rather I yelled, hang on a minute this is a perfect spot for a few nice pictures. Just look how everyone hung on my every word!
I was propelled back into the house tonight to fetch my camera – the last of the sunlight glowing on Goat Rock was simply stunning. I love the spotlight effect on the hills. It’s like a last wave goodnight before the sun disappears for another day. This pictures is quite grainy though – camera noise. I bumped up the ISO to the highest level on my camera to let as much light in as possible. This is one of the reasons I yearn for a better class of camera. At one time it was all about the number of pixels in your camera but in truth people want to be able to take pictures however low the light. With a camera that has a higher ISO range this picture would have been sharper and brighter with very little noise. The good news though is I can enjoy this view without my camera and I can be more than satisfied with that.
Living with basset hounds isn’t as predictable as you might think. Big basset has now turned vegetarian which places my kitchen garden at risk. This “butter wouldn’t melt in my mouth” basset snuck off with a courgette I’d picked and scoffed the lot. Adding insult to injury he stole this one too but after a little chat I agreed to trust him just to guard it for me until I’d finished the watering. If he made one false move towards this courgette he’d get wet. And he knew it. He complied with my request but then sulked when I wouldn’t let him carry it to the house for me. I may be trusting but I’m not completely stupid!
It was as if the sun was pouring gold into the garden this morning. It caught the Crab Apple tree like a spotlight and I noticed for the first time that we had a small but perfectly formed fruit growing. It’s only one but the tree is a a tiny specimen so I think it’s done pretty well to produce this one. It’s good to know that we can add this to the to the last count making four apples this year.
One of the things I did like about working in London was the ability to find a green haven somewhere close by. Parks and gardens that oxygenate the city and provide a cool haven for workers at lunchtime. I was struck today how little green space there actually is in central Wellington. One of my favourite spots is the gardens in front of Parliament. I only had ten minutes to enjoy it but the canopies of these trees gave welcome shade from the Indian summer sun. I could have laid down and taken a nap but that would have been rude to the people I had appointments with this afternoon. Maybe next time I’ll just invite them to meet me there.
With MT away in Sydney living it up at a conference, Fortnum is at home whistling at doorways looking for his master. An impromptu portrait session on a walk on Sunday was the perfect opportunity for Big Basset to be right up front. Little basset was a little less co-operative and to be frank refused to play along. His loss!
Even for a flexible home worker like me getting back to work is always a shock to the system, especially when I break a cardinal rule of working in the City on a Monday. Hot foot back from my intensive session with a whiteboard I wasd rather taken with this word installation for the International Arts Festival that’s just underway here in the Capital. I thought this summed up the spirit of New Zealand perfectly.
I may be shifting mulch for the trees and lugging 100s of kilos of sheep poo pellets but to be able to look up and see the view it feels like I’ve won the lotto. It was enough reason for me to down tools and head in to quench my thirst with some of my refreshing lemon squash. I keep thinking of the day when I can just sit on the veranda and admire the view all day. In the meantime there are another 100 trees to be fertilised and mulched. Not to mention the acres of new gorse growing back that needs to be exterminated. But that’s mere detail when you have a won the jackpot of views.
It’s a well worn routine for weekends – mowing, strimming, weeding and seeding. Our lawn is now in it’s third year and finally starting to look like a lawn should. It’s amazing what a bit of lawn fertiliser and rain can do for creating a lawn that can turn into a green monster in only a few days. It’s never going to be that croquet lawn we might have hoped for but it’s a marvellous wrestling area for the bassets.
It may not be that perfect but it still looks beautiful to me. One of only three apples we’ll be harvesting from our orchard this year. For an orchard that’s only 2 years old it’s not a bad start.
