Since it has been so windy here lately, I thought I would go for a walk beside the river in a park called "the Esplanade". There is a grove of Eucalyptus trees there that give me a lot of pleasure, as I love the way the bark strips off some species, and others the bark is really interesting. I am trying to learn more about them, and hopefully incorporate them in my art, as I am also aware of their magnificence when I am in Australia.
I was busy picking up some gum nuts and bark from under a tree when a young couple came up and asked what I was going to do with them.  It turned out the young woman had done a lot of dyeing with eucalyptus leaves as she was a designer of Eco clothing. Such a worthwhile aspiration, hope she does well. She showed me a Silver Dollar Gum that was shedding leaves of the most wonderful red and grey hues, so we both picked some up and went on our respective ways!  

Along with 9 like minded women, I was invited to attend a book making weekend with tutor Ann Bell.  The venue was a historic 100 year old bach at Tokaanu, at the southern end of Lake Taupo. It had been been lovingly restored from a Post Office, and some of the pigeon holes for mailing sorting had been retained and put to use as crockery storage and the bedrooms were decorated in themes such as skiing, flyfishing, music etc. It is nestled into the bush clad hills where drifts of steam can be seen emitted from the thermal springs in the area.
I enjoyed the spring green rolling hill countryside vistas on the drive north, noticing many lambs frolicking about, and then a change in scenery as the altitude gets a higher and the soils more volcanic as I drove "the Desert Road".  It was rather cloudy round the top of Mount Ruapehu - the same mountain  I had flown over the month before, more photos from a landscape perspective were required, and as I was on my own, they were many stops!
Ann had prepared packs of precut boards and papers to make "Star" books with a sewn binding, and she showed us how to make cords from her personal array of dyed linen thread, and insert beads during the binding process.  We then made a folder with concertina pages, and and had fun in between times making little books with windows and hinges. The sharing of ideas, the tutors supplies, the food that we all arrived with, and the venue, made this a memorable retreat.
I was in no hurry to drive home, so took some more photos for later inspiration and exploration.

A friend and I went to a farm in the country, where the owners grow all types of daffodils that you can pick by the bucketful in return for a donation to a charity that helps mothers and babies - called Plunket. ( The name is after Lady Plunket, wife of the Govenor General about the turn of the 20th century, who herself had eight children)
Also local sculptors were invited to exhibit pieces in amongst the beautifully kept gardens and ponds.
We wandered toward a bridge over the pond, and I said Ah Ha, I recognise this structure, it was a mathematical bridge... far from where I saw one last year... over the river Cam in Cambridge England.
Its claim to fame is that any piece of timber can be removed if it is rotten without the bridge falling down.
A swan glided into the photo, and with a magnificent Eucalyptus tree in the backround, a very memorable moment!