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A new year and familiar patterns - another southerly front is clearing beyond Taputeranga and out to sea beyond Baring Head. Summer so far has delivered a lot of unsettled weather and vivid contrasts - warm northerlies, cold southerlies, bright sunny days and bleak grey ones.
Never boring, but some consistent warmth would be a treat!
We are getting plenty of summer rain due to repeated collisions of warm moist air from the north with the cool southerlies. Swirling mists also form, around the hills and along the coast. In the late afternoon there was a pattern of pale blues - clouds softening the sky and mist shrouding the view across Island Bay beyond Taputeranga to Baring Head, giving an air of mystery - what lies beyond? is the route safe? (Whenever I see mist swirling around the jagged rocks of Taputeranga I think of how this island was a refuge for people of Ngati Ira, sheltering there from danger that did in the end overtake them.)
All of this seems to me an apt reminder. The year is almost over. What we all do is important for the future of this good earth and the life it supports. Our view of the future is misty, but we can have some awareness about our impact right now. Are we prepared to focus on this, to take notice and really see? How conscious are we of the route we are taking? Are we clear about the choices we are making?
We can hope for safety, that we can find a way to care properly for our precious planet. But there are hazards - we can become befuddled and not see what is around us, in the way that the mist obscures the sharpness of the rocks. For me the mist is a dramatic reminder to have clarity of intention - caring for life and the earth that supports it - and to have this intention act as a compass to guide me.
It is oddly stressful at the end of the year with preparations for Christmas and other festivals plus summer holidays for students and a lot of workers. It all suggests that we will be having a great time. And many people are. But there are lots of pressures too and it can be hard to just quietly enjoy the season. Time for some calming I think, and the blue flowers of borage do it well for me.
Borage (Borago officinalis) flowers have a delicacy that contrasts with the bristly appearance of the plant - the white hairs are very prominent on the stems and buds. The leaves are edible and taste quite like cucumber but they are a bit too hairy and textured for me to use in that way. The flowers are also edible, and quite charming in a salad or floating in a drink. My childhood recall is that they turned from blue to a bit pink in lemonade, like litmus, but that could just be a fanciful reconstruction. I think I might make some lemonade and see what happens.
I just made a brief visit to Auckland where the warmer, more humid, and less windy climate fosters lush and vibrant plant growth. Ah, the trees! And more Christmas crimson (or carmine perhaps?)...
Bougainvillea in flower - this close-up shows the tiny true flowers in clusters of three, surrounded by brilliantly coloured bracts. A splash of colour for our summer Christmas.
The pohutukawa seem to have sprung into action very suddenly - there are beautiful displays of the bright red flowers everywhere. Although they were actually only native to the north of the North Island, they have thrived here in Wellington and have been planted extensively in the city. Close-up the flowers are quite intriguing. Clusters of hairy (tomentose) buds are grouped together, the white of the dense hairs contrasting with the green sepals and red petals at the tips of the buds.
The petals are modest compared to the crimson thickets that emerge - a central stigma and then the wonderful wiry red stamens in great profusion around it. When fully open the stamens make an orderly array. But these are crumpled and still in a bit of a tangle - as if they are just waking up and beginning to stretch in the light.
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