A Word a Week: Orange – Autumn Colours

Good morning from a wet and grey Hastings.

I had this post all planned last night and then this morning I read my emails and found that this weeks Word a Week challenge is orange.  So now I can use these photos in this challenge.

http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-orange/

Sue showed the most amazing sunrise.

Today here in New Zealand it is the official start of winter.  So yesterday I made the most of the sunny and warm weather and headed out to take some photos of the autumn colours.  So I think all the shades of orange have come out.

The first place I went to was Oak Avenue.  This is a short avenue lined with oak trees that were planted in 1874.  I found it hard driving up this road as it was breathtaking.

Then on both sides of the avenue there are orchards which are just glorious at the moment.  I had to go when the sun was up at a certain angle to really get the depth of colour.  The farmers have sent their sheep in to keep the grass down among the trees.  This group took off as soon as I started to head towards them.

Then it was off to Pakowhai Park.  The colours were breathtaking.  There was no wind and the stream was like a mirror.

Here is another great post for this challenge by Nowathome.

http://nowathome.wordpress.com/2014/05/31/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-orange/

Thank you for visiting and for all your support.

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Birdlife at Pakowhai Park

Good evening from a cool Saturday night in Hastings.

After a cold start the weather turned out rather warm and so to get a bit of photo therapy I headed out to find some autumn colours which I will show tomorrow.

I also found some bird life while I was out.  There were lots of fantails flying around enjoying the warm sunshine.  The only thing was that there were dogs running around so that just as I was focusing on the fantails a dog would start barking and the bird would fly off.  This was the best shot.

Then there were the usual sparrows.

I found these stilts walking not far from the motorway. I really struggled with the zoom with these, trying to get the right depth of field.  These were the best of my photos and I had to heavily crop them as well.

Finally a feather to finish of this post.

The Daily Post: Split Second Story

Good morning from a cool but dry Hastings.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/split-second-story/

The prompt this morning is telling a split second story.  Last month while I was walking through Cornwall Park I noticed some people doing Tai Chi in the park.  What a place to do it.  So peaceful and serene.

There were people of all ages.

It has been hard trying to find a decent photo editor for my photos that are free.  I found a great free one Photoscape which is also available for Macs as well.

An update on how I am doing.  I have finally got some financial assistance after having a meltdown yesterday.  I think I am doing well but then I find things just get on top of me and I just go all weepy.  I am happy that I am out of my bad marriage but it is not easy being on my own again.

Today it is sunny so I told my daughter that we should go out on  a photo shoot just to be more positive.  Taking photos always makes me feel better.

I have gone to Givealittle.co.nz

https://www.givealittle.co.nz/cause/Startuphelp

 to see if I could get some help with paying my credit card bill.  I can’t expect any settlement from my ex for some while.  He found out about the credit card and I could tell from the tone of his voice that he is incredibly angry.  It is his fault.  I have to live.  I hope I can get something to at least pay some of the bill and to replace my computer.

My lawyer has contacted his lawyer and asked for evaluations of his cars which will not go down well.

Will keep everyone posted.

Thanks for visiting and all your support.

A photo a Week Challenge: Into the Woods

Ok, I know that this isn’t really into the woods but since my computer has been kidnapped and held to ransom I don’t have a lot of photos to use.

This was taken yesterday morning on the way home from picking my son up from his bible class.  I knew as I was leaving home to pick him up that it was going to be something special. I promised to make his breakfast if he was patient enough to wait for me to take some photos by Cornwall Park.  So yes there are trees so I hope that is enough for this challenge.

Here is Nancy’s blog to find out more about this challenge:

http://nadiamerrillphotography.wordpress.com/2014/05/28/a-photo-a-week-challenge-into-the-woods/

Thank  you for visiting and your support.  It means a lot for me.

Floral Friday

Good morning from a wet and grey Hastings today.

I found this beautiful hibiscus (?) leaning over the fence from the neighbours.  I just had to go around the garden to see what was around to take photos of.

Thanks for visiting.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Water

Good morning from another cold and chilly Hastings.

I have been seeing some really great photos for this challenge.  Due to this mega slow computer I won’t be doing too many pingbacks.

I took this photo about a month ago. We had such a warm sunny day and I loved the idea of the fun this kid was having in the fountain chaat Cornwall Park.  So really this is a play on the fun foto name of this great challenge. I used the polaroid snap look and lomoized it to give it a nostalgic look to the photo.

Here is Cee’s blog to check out her challenge:

 http://ceenphotography.com/2014/05/27/cees-fun-foto-challenge-water/

Thanks for visiting.

Michelle’s Weekly Pet Challenge: A Friendly Fantail. Week 38

Good morning from a very cold and frosty morning.  I checked the phone this morning and it was -1 degrees when I got up.

I still haven’t got my Mac back so have to make do with this dinosaur of a laptop and Picasa 3.  I have decided not to let the ex get the better of me and continue with my blog.  Hard as it is with this computer.

The first day in our new home I was looking out the window and saw this fantail enjoying the sun.  All last spring I spent a considerable amount of time trying to get some decent photos of our native fantails.  They are very flighty – excuse the pun but they were sooo hard to take photos with a very slow camera.  So it was rather ironic that one just happened to be sitting on the fence.  A good sign I hope.

Here are some other great blogs:

http://steve-says.net/2014/05/27/i-can-has-ipodz/

http://hopethehappyhugger.wordpress.com/2014/05/27/michelles-weekly-pet-challenge-round-up-and-start-of-new-week-38/

Michelle’s Weekly Pet Challenge ~ Wk 38

Thanks for visiting and for all the supportive comments.  I really do appreciate them all.

Dawn of a New Life

Good morning or is it nearly afternoon here in Hastings.

I just want to say a big thank you for all your messages of support last week.  I really do appreciate all the kind words.

An update on what is happening.  Ex-hubby has taken my Mac computer as hostage. I got all my other property removed from our marital home but he has stolen the computer with all my photos on it and is hiding it at his work place and is holding it to ransom.  In other words I will get it back if I do not ask for a divorce settlement.  He is furious with me as I am entitled to half of all our marital property including his precious classic cars.  At the moment he is busy removing my name from everything to try and claim that it was all his.  Methinks a big battle is on my hands.

I do not want to stoop to his level but I have gone to the police to document the fact that he injured the arm that was broken a couple of months ago.  I got significant bruising around it again so am just about back to square one in regards to the pain. If the worse comes to the worse I can always make this complaint official but I am hoping he will see reason.

The silly thing is that I managed to password lock it up and have the mouse.  He is not computer literate so will not be able to mange using it anyway.  He doesn’t want a computer at all but is just throwing his toys out of the cot and wants to control me this way.  Ain’t going to work.

On the positive side my son and daughter haven’t stopped smiling since we have moved.  We are all sleeping better as well as we were worried about his frame of mind.  Even before the night he kicked me out we were having major problems with his mental health issues – he suffers from Depression.  But that is no excuse to treat me or my children this way.

Soooo, my photo today was taken yesterday morning at dawn from just across the road from our new home.  I like to think of it as a completely new start to our lives.

On the negative side I am stuck with an ancient laptop with no hard drive space and no favourite editing programmes.  I will have to make do with Pic Monkey and Picasa 3 for the moment until my computer is released from it’s prison.

Thank you once again for all your support and hopefully things will return to normal with my blog.

A New Beginning

Good morning from a very bright and sunny Hastings.

If you have been wondering why I haven’t been online lately there is a very good reason.

Last week Hubby and I had a huge argument which resulted in him kicking me out of our home.  So this last week I have been staying at my parents home, with my children still with him.  I have spent the week searching for a new house to rent as well as packing and sorting out amenities etc. I have found a new home and am moving in  tomorrow.  We do have a good welfare system here in New Zealand so I can get assistance to find a new place to rent and in living costs.

I have chosen this butterfly image to represent a new beginning for my children and myself.  They are so fragile,  yet can overcome such adversity and survive against the odds.

I will be completely off line until next Wednesday which should be interesting for my internet addicted children. I miss you all so much but will be back stronger than ever.

Thanks for visiting my blog, even when I am not active.

Cee’s Black and White Challenge: Fruits of Autumn

Good morning from a cool Hastings morning.

As we are now well into autumn I found some fruits still hanging on the trees around Hastings.

I thought that they would make the perfect photos for Cee’s Black and White Challenge this week.

Cee’s Black & White Challenge: Food

The first photo is the last of the apples.

The last of the fejoias.

The last of the lychees.

The last of the black grapes.

The last of the green grapes.

But persimmons are now in season.

Some enterprising people bag the persimmons up and sell on the side of the road.

Hastings is the fruit bowl of New Zealand so I thought it would be appropriate to showcase some of our fruits.

This week I have gone for the monochrome feel – edited with FX Foto Pro for something a bit different.

Thanks for visiting.