From Parnell through the Auckland Domain

I'll be a man of 'relatively' few words with this post. I'll just tell you about it and then let you look at the pictures. They're mostly of trees. 

I took the train to Parnell and then walked up through the forest that lies between it and the Auckland Domain. That's where the War Memorial Museum and the Wintergarden are. The Domain is a really big park. 

This first picture is the tunnel leading to the walk up to Parnell. The second 'tunnel' is one of  much nicer sort. It's the one I took.   

You'll note that it was a perfect day for this walk. (and pre-COVID-19)  

In later posts, I'll show you the Wintergarden and some shots along my walk to the Grafton Train Station for the ride home.  

What a ligneous life-form huh? 

I think to call this just a tree is almost an insult. Standing this close to it, I wouldn't want to make it mad.  

I think these two are the antithesis of the ligneous life form. They ought to be called 

t

r

e

e

s

though. 

I hope you enjoyed it.  Next stop, the Wintergarden.                        -djf

No theme today, just some pictures

As I wander, I constantly take pictures. Most of them end up in posts telling some sort of story. 

But not all of them fit a story. Or maybe they fit a story, but a very short one. These first two photos show you why the area we live in is called the Western Heights. 

 I guess it's obvious that I'm standing in the middle of the road for these two, Sturges Road specifically, and facing either toward the city or the Waitakeres.  

I just like the color of whatever this is.  

They spell 'whiskey' wrong here, but I have to admit that they know how to make it.  Allie bought me this very special bottle. 

It was originally produced by the southern-most distillery in the world, in Dunedin. However, when that company closed down production, a number of barrels, instead of being bottled, were stored away.  Years later, these barrels, which had originally held American bourbon,  were acquired by The New Zealand Whisky Company who moved them to a new location and transferred the whisky in them to French red wine barrels for further aging.  This whisky has been maturing for 16 years and it tastes like it. It is so smooth and gentle on the tongue, with a sweet aftertaste. I only enjoy a little on special occasions. On top of everything else it has going for it, this whisky comes in a specially made bottle, with 'New Zealand Whisky' in raised letters on the glass. They named it Doublewood because it was aged in two kinds of barrels. 

Lemons in a front yard

A very young Butia capitata in our front yard. 

Dusk across our neighborhood 

This is no Thomas Kinkade painting, but it reminds me of how that artist would use light to suggest a peaceful setting.    

 A trio of Norfolk Island Pines in a park on Swanson Road

 Hey, it's a hollyhock. I haven't seen one of these for years. I remember seeing them as a kid growing up in Castile Location.  

 A brand new bench has been installed where the old one once stood. Arram and Amiri saved the old one when kids (I'm assuming) set fire to it one night. (It was the same style as this one.)  They had apparently poured lighter fluid into the ageing and hollowed out top of the main support post and lit it. It smoldered all night and the next morning, when Allie and the boys walked by Gus Ward Park, Arram saw smoke rising from it. They dashed home, filled a couple of bottles with water, and returned. Amiri doused the flames while Arram stood by with the second bottle.  

Allie called the city offices to let them know that they might want to check the bench later on, and the administrative wheels started turning. A short time later, the boys received a commendation from the Fire Department, some gifts and their picture with the story in the newspaper. You want to talk about proud?  

I really like this picture. This is located just a few blocks from our house. Even with a grey sky behind it, the various components make up  such a pleasing whole.  The tree itself almost looks like a bonzai to me. 

I'll close this little photo album of mine. I hope you enjoyed looking at it.     -djf

Enjoy a quiet hour.

(Pre-Covid) 


This is the sign that greets shoppers at our Henderson Mall Countdown Supermarket on Wednesdays.  

Countdown's explanation of the practice is this. They realize that some people may have difficulty in coping with the bright lights, loud noises and high energy that are often a part of grocery shopping in modern supermarkets.  They wanted to do something to give those people a more positive shopping experience. They felt that by reducing the intensity of the lighting and minimizing the sound levels encountered within the market, they could allow the shoppers to feel less intimidated. They would feel welcomed and comfortable as they shopped.  

Check out Countdown's video.  

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=12279576

I decided that I'd do a bit of shopping myself this past Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. so that I could report to you on the experience.   

 They turned off about half the lights, but as you can see if you compare the upper picture of the produce department with the lower, the change is not huge. 

 I could tell the difference when I walked through it however. The intensity was gone. 

 This corner of frozen foods almost felt cozy.

 Overall, the store did feel as though it was on a break. 

The beepers on the auto check out machines seemed subdued, but I had no way of measuring the change.  

I applaude Countdown's efforts to ease the pressures of modern life, even for just an hour each week.  

I did notice that a lot of high school kids were just out of class apparently and congregated outside the store. They, by nature, are boisterous. And 'girlsterous'.  Anyone hoping to shop in peace and quiet today at 2:45 would have had to first run the gauntlet of a group of teens exhibiting their version of Brownian Motion.**

** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brownian_motion                                                -djf

Figs, glorious figs

Figs, glorious figs,

I'm anxious to try them. 

My tree's full of these beauties,

I don't have to buy them. 

I've now tried them so many ways,

Fried, chilied, or stewed.

Oh, figs, magical figs, wonderful figs,

marvelous food!  

My apologies for adapting, Food, Glorious Food, from Oliver, to my own devices, but the exuberance of the song in the musical matches my own feelings for this wonderful treat. That song popped into my head as I picked a bowl of them the other day and I couldn't rest, as I worked up this post, until I had tried my hand (well, my brain) at a little parody.  

I told you earlier this summer that my fig tree was going to be loaded. Well it is, but our summer turned out so dry that the fruit did not do as well as I had hoped it would. I got some ripe ones, but most stayed smaller and just seemed to be marking time on the tree as our days without rain went on and on. Lately, we have have some rain and the tree has responded by swelling some towards full size.  Good thing. Since they're not fully ripe though, I determined that I would stew them in a sugar syrup. Then, when I realized that we were unlikely to eat as many as I had stewed, I decided to cut each in half and dry them. 

That is now our favorite way of eating them. There is nothing like figs fresh off the tree, but stewing and drying them concentrates their sweetness and flavor. And they are so tender. Much better than the dried ones in the stores.  

 Most are stayng small and many have some defect on their skins. 

A serated steak knive taped to a bamboo pole allows me to harvest those from higher in the tree. 

Becoming yellowish (riper)

Nicely plump 
Notice how the fig is bulging toward the side that is down.  A sure sign of ripeness, it's getting soft sides.  

 The first step in stewing them is a 5-minute boil in plain water. You'll note that I trimmed some of the skins.

The next step is to boil them in 1:1 sugar syrup, also for 5 minutes and them let them sit in it until they cool. 

Then, syrup and figs go into a container in the fridge where they'll spend 2-3 days. 

 Finally, cut them in half, lay them out, and dry in a very low oven until they seem right. 

 The three scientific states of matter are gasous, liquid, solid.

These are my three states of figs.

I tried a couple of other ways to eat the small ones...

Boiled in salt water, sliced and fried with salt and pepper.  Edible, but ....

Boiled in salt water, sliced and added to chili. Edible, but...

I was hoping to discover that I could make figs serve some other function. I wanted them to take the place of a vegetable, I guess.  I don't think, based on my two attempts, that they're meant to do that. 

I've done a little more experimenting and found that even the very young, hard figs can be processed into stewed and dried quite successfully. I have to boil them longer in both the plain water and the syrup and then slice them open when they go into the fridge so they absorb the syrup more completely.  And leave them in the syrup longer.  

I'm working on another batch of figs today.  My biggest yet, 47 of them. They will be cooked in syrup that has some coconut sugar added to it. BTW, do you see the lighter colored bit at about 7 o'clock on the lower block? That's a piece of coconut.  I Love it.  

(These blocks of sugar are the same shape as the Koko Samoa I showed you some time ago. Smaller, but the same shape. I'll bet these are a home business product too. 
I could have bought loose coconut sugar that comes in factory produced bags, but I prefer this kind that is closer to its roots. That's why I value that piece of coconut in the blocks. It proves that it's real. )

In the earlier post I mentioned above, I told you how, in my younger days, I had always longed to try fresh figs, especially after seeing them being grown and eaten on Masterpiece Theater's T.V. series, I Claudius.  Well, last night as I brought up Youtube and re-watched Augustus praising them, Livia considering her plan for his trees, and Julia eating them, one after another, I ate a couple of my own. How about that, huh? I was delighted. 

Come on, sing along with me...You know the tune....

  Figs, glorious figs,

I'm anxious to try them. 

My tree's full of these beauties,

I don't have to buy them. 

I've now tried them so many ways,

Fried, chilied or stewed.

Oh, figs, magical figs, wonderful figs,

marvelous food!  

( I couldn't resist     -djf) 

An Explorer's Report: The Henderson Park Stinkhorn Expedition of 2020.

(Pre-Covid) 

Knowing of my interest in mushrooms of all kinds, Allie told me this morning that she had seen some, 'looking like red fingers' poking up out of the ground, near some pine trees, as she did her daily training for another half marathon that's coming up. 

"Ooh, ooh," I said, "Gotta see 'em. Betcha they're stinkhorns."  (I've never seen any of those here before.)

Not long after this discussion, I did indeed set out to find this hidden realm of the showy, but smelly fungus.

Come along with me.

There is still evidence in Henderson Park of the wind storm that toppled several trees.

Not much chance of these little guys blowing over. I call them 'Minion Trees.' 

Would this be considered photobombing my own picture?  

I wanted that guy in the shot to help show the size of the tree. 

After looking at the downed tree, I continued along the trail that Allie advised would take me to the mushrooms. 

She told me they're under those pines. Note the flowers on the tree and the trail marker.

Now that's a flower! Almost the size of a dinner plate.  

The Twin Streams refer to the Opanuku and the Oratia, both of which flow into Henderson Creek. 

We have arrived. Stinkhorn Glade. They're rather hard to see in this shot.

But here they are.  

Look at that. Amazing.

This is the same one, looking straight down on it.  

They are called stinkhorns for a reason. This whole area smelled slightly rotten, or a bit like garlic gone bad. You can see that they are even drawing flies.   

What an adventure. I enjoyed every minute of it. I think that these are Clathrus archeri, the octopus stinkhorn, which is native to N.Z.  

Thanks Allie, for your sharp eyes and for sharing your find with us.     -djf