Down the track

Spring is playing serious havoc with us here in New Zealand. Winds have thrummed through leaving a trail of devastation in their wake. A farm near Methven lost a stand of 40 trees in one night's blast. In Auckland, trampolines have taken to the skies in flocks.

 The house feels stuffy and dusty because I am unable to open any windows or doors without debris flying in or  papers flying out! Several years ago, my youngest son, a toddler at the time, had his thumb nearly amputated in the door hinge as the door blew closed in just such a wind. I shudder now even thinking of that moment . The legacy of that event has left me mentally scarred and the sound of spring, in our house, is of me yelling each time someone goes outside or comes inside is " Mind the door!" I am seriously on edge!

Farm road, spring morning
oil on canvas
460 x 450mm

This farm usually has sheep in this left paddock, but the sheep have gone and all that is left is the odd tuft of wool caught on the wire fences and posts. I am told sheep hooves do not do well in wet, soggy paddocks. They prefer it dry and rocky. Here endeth the  lesson in animal husbandry.

An iphone photo, so apologies for the poor quality. I am still dithering about cameras.

Big sky and red Barn

I saw this as I was driving home from the pool....a bruised looking sky above the fields growing maize, with a red barn just in the distance. Strange to think of the temperatures as near 28 degrees with these skies, but the humidity was so high I knew the thunder would start sooner than later.  The relief of a few temperature drop makes me laugh when I think about growing up in Africa, where summer temperatures used to soar into the mid thirties on a daily basis. Now, 24 degrees is my magic number.

23 x 30 cm
Oil on canvas

Summer is very languid for us at the moment. I have lost track of the days of the week. We are all dressing straight out of the laundry pile and there are wet towels all over the place. How can two small boys use so many towels? They seem to leave damp patches everywhere, so it's not as if they are even using the towels to dry off properly.
Meh.