Residents in Aotearoa: I thought you said it was winter in New Zealand?

Sunday, 16 August 2015

I thought you said it was winter in New Zealand?

Using the term 'winter,' when you are talking about the season in New Zealand that runs from June through August is misleading. At least it is to those of us who have a lifetime's experience with our Northern Michigan Winters.

July is the coldest month in New Zealand since we are south of the equator and the seasons are reversed down here. Kiwi July is like January in Michigan, as far as the daylight/nightime ratio, but there are at least a couple of factors that make Kiwi winters much milder than the U.P.'s are.

We are about as far south of the equator as the State of Virginia is north of it. The other big factor is being surrounded by the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean, which keeps us warmer than we otherwise would be.

The other day, Arram helped me take pictures of the flowers that are growing in the 'dead of winter.' He did a great job. These were all taken on August 14th.

In our front yard

By our fence and mail box

At Summerland Primary

One of the swan plants recently featured in a post about butterflies.

The rest of these photos were taken between the school and our house.

Finally this is our own yard again with oranges still on the tree. They're a bit tart, but so cool to have.

2 comments:

Dianne17 August 2015 at 18:41
Whoa! Your cover photo with this post had me fooled for a minute and I thought that maybe you really did get some snow in Henderson! I read recently that a town in New South Wales, Australia got 3 inches of the stuff and used my imagination to extend it to New Zealand... But seriously it really is hard to equate these pictures of this abundant greenery and gorgeous blooms with winter! What is the pink flower in your front yard in the very first photo? and are those columbines in the third photo by Summerland?

Love the daffodils by number 53 - and I've never seen a prettier mail box for junk mail!
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Anonymous19 August 2015 at 15:33
Your winter is so lovely! I guess if you like snow, our winters are really lovely too. Personally, I am not partial to snow at all so I love your winter. Still, it is cold and windy there and probably a bit cloudy on many days. The only thing I like about winter here is sweaters and soup and stews (aka winter foods). Thanks for sharing the lovely pictures. I got cold just seeing the winter picture. I cannot think about that right now. Have a lovely day. McKenzie
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My deer blind, a place outside of time and space.

This is a picture of my deer hunting blind. I built in in 1975 and used it until about 2010. I'm publishing this picture and text on November 15 of 2022, the opening day of Michigan's rifle deer hunting season, to remember all the years I spent sitting there and occasionally harvesting a deer. I think that the meat I provided for my family was only a small portion of the benefit I received from hunting in this manner. Of greater value to me was the time I spent alone, watching the forest and its many components interact. I had time to unwind from the stresses of my work, to appreciate our world, and even sometimes to pray. That blind was a refuge to me. It was cozy, and comfortable and I spent much more time filming the activities of not only deer, but bears, racoons, turkeys, squirrels, hawks, and once, even a snowy owl, than I did harvesting deer. May I suggest to all of you that you try to find some time and a place, where you can be alone, and where you can ponder and appreciate your life and your place in the world. It does a body good. -djf