Life at No.22, Snapshots of Tauranga

Snapshots of Tauranga #2

January 2024

I’m up early, before dawn, after a hot and muggy night. The Tui’s loud, complicated mix of tuneful notes motivated me to leave behind crumbled sheets, enjoy the cooler air and a much-needed cup of coffee on our balcony, feel the city awakening, and listen to the rest of our resident Tui’s chorus mixed with the sweeter tones of other birds. Eventually, the beginnings of the rising sun painted the sky with pastel tones, and it was time for me to finish my coffee, move and sort out my day.

No rain, No flowers

Way back and more than a few years ago, I had an extensive garden full of flowers; many of them were roses. This beautiful old rose, Mutabilis, was one of the first ones I grew from a mere cutting. It made me proud that it grew tall and bushy. The above image was captured at our local rose garden in Robbins Park, across the road from No.22, after a very warm spell turned into a welcome day of rain last week. 

20 thoughts on “Snapshots of Tauranga #2”

    1. It was enjoyable it felt like I was the only crazy person in the city awake having coffee in the semi darkness 😉 Got a fair bit of stuff completed and a visit to see Mum. Cycled home and dodged the rain which has now arrived. Winning.

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    1. Yes, much easier to say hello to that early morning glow during winter hours 🙂 No, more gardens apart from the ones on our balcony. The one I was referring to was when I was single and the one on the farm/orchard with Les. I loved the creating of gardens until the maintenance issues kicked in.
      I was supposed publish this post in a few days then realised I hadn’t put in the correct date. One negative about getting up too early is the brain takes awhile to grab onto this wonderous event.

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    1. Sue, I miss creating them. Funnily enough I don’t miss the large maintenance and now I get to enjoy everyone else’s hard work. Plus, the public gardens. We have a bi-yearly Garden and Art Festival and when I see some of the gardens I wish for a moment that I could get my hands dirty. Reality puts me right 🙂

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  1. I could enjoy starting the day like that, instead of cranking up the central heating, checking to see if the fence is still standing and trying to see through our salt-and-sand-covered windows (by-product of the recent storms). 😊 The Rose Mutabilis is very pretty. I hope you enjoy many more peaceful days.

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    1. More hectic today as it was my first day back playing basketball which was lovely.
      It won’t be long before spring arrives for you, hopefully. The weather and the frequent storms have been horrendous all over the world. There’s a nasty one in Queensland at the moment that may cause some trouble for us.

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