Pictures of my week

We have had several gorgeous days that have seen us enjoying coastal views and a picnic, coffee in the city, wondering at sea swimmers when it is April already, walking around our hills, and just enjoying being in our place.

A trip to the west coast just north of Wellington for a picnic lunch:

The view from my walk around my neighbourhood yesterday:

The inner bay this morning:

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Autumn: The season of complicated emotions

The arrival of autumn is often a shock to the system, not so much because it is a surprise, but because I had been hoping that summer would hang on just a little longer. That’s when I have complicated emotions about where I live, a lost summer, and not travelling in NZ enough to really enjoy summer. It’s the season when we look at projects we wanted to do, and see them unfinished, or worse, even unstarted! It’s the season when we realise that the year is one quarter over already, and yet New Year’s only seems as if it were yesterday. But once I have managed to reconcile those feelings, there are more things I love about autumn. I’ve written about them before (and there may be some repetition), but here are five favourites:

• Seeing the changing colours. We don’t get a lot here in evergreen Wellington, but there are plenty of deciduous trees in gardens, and as their leaves turn, we get to enjoy the changing beauty of nature. Today we were driving down the street, and a single orange leaf was floating straight towards us, reminding us of the season.
• It’s a gorgeous season in my house. Our house looks so good when the sun streams in; it brings light to all the rooms, and the rimu wood floors and ceilings glow a glorious warm golden hue. In summer, we end up having curtains and blinds closed on the western side of the house, as it heats up too quickly, too much, and we have no way to cool the house afterwards. So we try to avoid getting heat in. But at this time of year, when it is chilly outside (as it has been the last week or so), welcoming the sun in feels happy and joyous.
• Sleeping is so much more comfortable. We have a heavier cover, the light is a little later (though not quite so much after daylight saving ended), and it’s colder in the mornings, so snuggling in bed is just lovely!
• Exercise is easier. I don’t have to worry too much about sunscreen when I go on my walks around the neighbourhood hills. Likewise, it’s cool enough to wear some kind of jacket with pockets, meaning I can easily carry my phone (important for my audiobooks/music etc), keys, tissues etc. (I have a good portable snap-on pocket holder for the summer, but my new phone doesn’t quite fit.) And the weather is calmer too, and I’m more likely to exercise outside. (I hate walking in the wind for various reasons.)
• Apples and spices are perfect at this time of year – some of my favourite flavours.

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Summer Delights

1. The smells and tastes of summer – basil on my kitchen bench, and tomato sandwiches for lunch, or even dinner if it’s too hot to cook.
2. That glorious feeling of laziness, knowing that as the rest of the country is on their summer holidays, I too can lie around and read and relax, with no compulsion to “get things done” as there might be the rest of the year.
3. Gin and tonic on the deck on a warm evening, watching the piwakawaka or fantails flitting about trying to snatch the summer bugs, or the tui chasing each other, or all the little brown birds that I can’t identify hopping about.
   
4. The floral colours of summer – first red, in the pohutukawa blossoms, followed by the beautiful blue of the agapanthas in our driveway (until our neighbour cut them all down the other day at the height of their beauty, devastating me), and the various colours of the hydrangeas in my garden.
   
5. Not having to worry about whether I will be cold and need a jacket when I go out.
6. Cold grazing platters for dinner, with cheeses, dips, olives, salads, salami/prosciutto or smoked salmon (or all three if I need to use it up), and fresh bread.
   
7. Enjoying a picnic or ice-cream under the shade of a pohutukawa tree, watching humans and/or their dogs play on the beach.
    
8. The sound of the cruise ships horns as they leave the harbour sometimes reaches my open window as I sit here writing.
9. Watching the Australian Open tennis tournament, which I’ve taken to new levels this year, starting to watch many of the early match-ups, in the second, third and fourth rounds. I will admit, I’m glad it’s now over, as too frequent 2-3 am bed-times have me typing this with drooping eyes.
10. Gorgeous sunsets.
    

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Summer warmth

We’re in the middle of a heatwave. Bear in mind, that this is relative. The term refers to multiple days in which the temperature is several degrees higher than average for this time of year. I think I’ve said before that those of us who live in Wellington are used to a temperate climate, and have a very narrow range of temperatures in which we feel comfortable. Probably about 15°C to 22°C. Over the last couple of weeks, the temperatures have been much higher and, as the delicate Wellington flowers we are, we are wilting a little. Today was supposed to be raining and cloudy and 26°C. But this afternoon the sun has come out, humidity has dropped, the temperature is several degrees higher, and as a result, our house is becoming an oven.

No, we don’t have air-conditioning. It never quite seems worth the effort (or expense) when we only have a few weeks of higher temperatures every year. I only know a few people who have air-conditioning – mostly in much warmer parts of the country. NZ’s summers are generally too mild for it to be the norm. I’m also thinking of my sisters. One lives in the warm north, and consistently has very warm, high humidity days in the high 20s for months in summer. She does not like the heat! The other lives on the dry east coast in the south, and has been enduring 32°C and above the last few days. She doesn’t mind hot weather, but she does have air conditioning in her bedroom. Wise woman!

Still, we’re taking advantage of the warm temperatures and relaxed summer atmosphere, and dinner tonight will be barbecued lamb and salads out on the deck. We don’t usually drink on a Monday either, but I’m thinking a cold gin and tonic will be nice too. I’m enjoying wearing sundresses, floaty tops, shorts, etc. It’s nice not to worry about whether I will be warm enough when I go out. And when I need to retreat in front of a fan, the Australian Tennis Open is available for watching in the coolest room in the house. And I’m typing this in the second coolest, with a fan at my back.

On the other hand, I look at the snowstorms others in the northern hemisphere have been experiencing. I look at all the people I know who live in what seem to me to be Arctic climes (although only one is actually IN the Arctic, and she never complains about the temperature, just shows lovely Lapland scenes snapped in her very brief days, and beautiful aurora-filled night skies), and wonder why civilisation occurred in these bitterly cold places. Who would actually choose to live there? And … WHY? It seems inconceivable to me. But then I remember the Thais in Bangkok, consistently year-round one of the hottest capitals in the world. They would shiver and put on coats when the temperature dropped under 30°C. They thought we were crazy living somewhere cold like Wellington! It’s truly all relative.

On a more serious note, my brother-in-law who lives in California recently asked us, “how will you cope if temperatures in NZ rise to 40°C?” He thought he was mocking our weather. Until my husband replied, “we will watch the rest of the world burn at 50°C.” Sadly, that might be true.

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Mist and Gratitude

Summer finally arrived last week. Right now though it is extremely mild, but because we live in a hilly suburb, we are once again up in the clouds. There is 96% humidity outside! That’s harder to take when we have visitors – the deck and outside furniture is damp, we’re all enclosed inside, especially now that some wind has picked up. There’s more noise than usual. A friend has donated toys and books to the three-year-old visitor, which have been most useful. We’ve already eaten two excellent (if I do say so myself) dinners, ripe avocados arrived with the visitors, and wine has been purchased and yes, consumed. There are two fruit cakes in the kitchen, mince pies, baklava, meringues for tomorrow, fruit and veges from a plentiful garden, etc. We know how lucky we are that we have these things, and each other.

It’ll be the 25th by the time you read this. I hope whatever you are doing today involves some good food, camaraderie with people you love, peace, and goodwill. Those aren’t bad sentiments regardless of religion or culture. I send you all love.

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