At the southern end of Lake Taupo there is a small town called Turangi, it is world famous for the trout fishing in the mountain fed streams that run into the lake. From my point of view, it also has another resource...I hope it doesnt become world famous and lose its charm... the refuse centre! Unlike centres in my town, this one is well organised, and anything that can be reused or recycled is put in special areas, and books are rescued and are in a shed! I took many photos of the wood pile, all sorts of colours and textures and typography...I rescued a metal frame chair... skeleton chair... have plans for it in my garden!

My garden is turning into a mushroom or toadstool farm...The result of applying mulch last summer, is I have clusters of fungi appearing daily.... couldnt resist the threesome of Mama, Papa and baby!  I carefully lay some on a piece of paper, and two hours later these prints appeared on their own accord...wonderful colours!

At the end of summer I  had spread bark and compost over the flower garden, now there is an array of fungi pushing up through the bark... great for drawing! I found a lovely shop in Armadale that sold Mexican wares, so thought a little owl would look good in the book...

As nice as it is to be away, it is always nice to come home and have a wander round the garden... Displacement activity when you should be unpacking and finding homes for all the bits that one has collected whilst away..
spring has certainly arrived, the daffodils, magnolia, freesias and camelias are all in bloom. There are lots of birds visiting the garden outside the studio, and it is lovely to hear native Tuis singing to each other in a neighbours tree. They are medium size birds, characterised by their dark velvet like plumage along with a tuft of white feathers under their beak, hence they are also called the Parson Bird.  An unusual feature is that they have two voice boxes and often sing two songs at the same time.  A lot of their song is beyond our hearing range.

Back to the green... for our family, it hits first at the airport when you walk from the International terminal to the domestic terminal by following a green line painted on the footpaths... nothing is sweeter than the fresh breeze that is usually around, and a dose of UV light from the clear skies, there maybe a cloud or two.. hence the Maori name for New Zealand is Aoteararoa... The Land of the Long White Cloud..... The green paddocks of farmland, then a magnificent view of the Volcanic Area, including Mt. Ruapehu that has a crater lake that bubbles and blows its top occasionally - it is well monitored now, as the mountain is used by skiers.