New Zealand Inspiration

What inspires me? Nature, color, texture. Today I decided to write about a very special place. New Zealand. We took one of our school holidays while we were living in Australia to visit the South Island. One of the places we visited was the Franz Joseph Glacier. The walk out to the glacier was full of raw beauty and texture. I felt as though I had stepped back millions of years, watching the earth be formed by the slow movement of the glaciers. I saw the beginnings of new life.

The glacier.

Mossy boulder.

Lovely layers of rock.

Close-up of the glacier.

Scraping the glacier, grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

It was such a magical trip. And I'm not talking about Disney World. I am talking about the real world, the natural world. 

Doe a Deer

She ran across our path and stood in the woods, about ten feet away. She stared at me while I gently talked to her. I admired those big eyes and ears and compared her red fur to my greyhound's fur. She decided to move across the path again. Then she just stared as we walked away.

She was a whitetail deer. I know so many people consider them garden enemy number one, but I do not, and I do love my garden. Perhaps they know of my adoration because they rarely nibble my plants. Or maybe my neighbors have a better buffet.

I do wish I had taken my camera for this morning's walk. But I will always have that image of that lovely doe in my mind.

I did take photos in my garden, as well as photos of my new crocheted bowl.

Old-fashioned orange daylily.

Bee on a sunflower.

Mountain bluet.

Strange bug on Shasta Daisy. 

Scabiosa beginning to open, with seedpod in background.

First butterfly photo of the season. A cabbage white.

The cabbage white in flight!

The hot pink and black basket I created this weekend. 

I started work on it outside and loved how the pink shimmered in the sun.

My child has mistaken my bowl for a hat! Both of my children have this habit.  :-)