Fading colours

April Fools Day!  And I still haven't thought up a prank to play on Georgia.  In New Zealand, as in a few other countries, you only have till noon to perform your prank or you are the fool.  Any lame joke, if it made me a fool, would be a hit with Georgia, so I might have to go down that path. 

I did remember to change my clocks last night, so I won't make the mistake I made a few years ago when I forgot to perform that all important task.  I remembered to change my watch but not my alarm clock.  I can still remember my consternation when I got to the corner of the road where the school is and was puzzled by the fact that not a single car was there.  I felt such an idiot when I looked at my watch!  Then I had to decide whether to go back home for another hour or arrive at work an hour early.  Luck was on my side, everyone I work with just thought I was the first to arrive that day, and no-one asked how long I'd been there.

More important than April Fools Day, April first reminds me of how close winter is.  The summer didn't really amount to much, it was so much wetter and cooler than usual, but  somehow it has been lingering nicely.  The mornings are cooler but the days have been lovely this past week.

There's still colour in the garden but I noticed today that my white dahlia is in bloom and it's always the last of the dahlias.  The pinks are still holding their own but the red is just about had it.  And only a few pretty petunia are cheering up my front deck.

Yesterday I went for a short drive along the road to see what I could see.  No expectations but there's always something.  Even if it's just a reflection in a puddle.

As usual, there was a little surprise.  When I turned back to get into the car a flicker of white on the other side of the road caught my eye.  By the time I spotted it, the pukeko had moved and it's white tail feathers were hidden.  Getting a pukeko shot is always enough to keep me happy, I haven't been able to get one for ages.

I took this next shot just over a month ago when I first noticed that something was happening to the little building where the sheep dog trials are held and guessed that it is being renovated for the club's upcoming centennial event.

Now it is evident that something really is happening.  I drive past here twice a day and never see anyone there but the left hand corner has been reclad and it looks like they are putting on an extension. 

I was about to move on when I noticed a magpie sitting on a fence on the other side of the road.  Didn't dare get out, it would have flown off for sure, so shot this through the front windscreen. I haven't been able to get a magpic shot for ages either, so I was convinced it was my lucky day. 

A little farm chore awaited me at home.  Simply open a gate and let the cows wander off to the feed troughs.  They must have heard me coming - or are good at knowing what time this should happen - for a number of them were already waiting at the gate. 

These few seem to be wondering who the hell I am and wait for me move away before being tempted by the open gate.

 

They know where to go.

The tail enders don't seem in any hurry as they stroll past the paddock where the turnips were until recently and now the first pale shoots of new grass are springing up.

I took this last shot after I got back to house.  They are quite some distance away - did I tell you I love my new camera?