Today has been full of squally showers, strong gusts of
wind, fast-moving clouds, and bright sunshine.
A real mix!
I had to take my car for its Warrant of Fitness this morning
(vehicle check to make sure it is roadworthy).
This is a yearly event for my car, but today was a month overdue as I never
received any reminder and simply had not noticed it was due. It passed with flying colours, so I am all
set for another year.
The Pacific Rose Festival opened today and runs over the
weekend, so I popped in for a look on my way home. It is held in the Rogers Rose Garden, another
of the areas in the Hamilton Gardens complex.
There were a few people wandering around, and some had cards to fill in
for the public vote for the best rose. I
went for a good walk around the area and enjoyed the colour, and sometimes the
scent, of the roses. Some had been
battered by our recent spell of windy weather, which was a shame.
Not many birds around today, presumably because of the
squally conditions. I saw one thrush and
several blackbirds (both male and female), and heard a tui, a grey warbler, and
a shining cuckoo. When we were children
we always believed that when the shining cuckoo sang, if he finished his song
with a downward note then we were in for rain.
This cuckoo didn’t do that, so hopefully we are going to be in for some
fine weather for a change.
Enjoy your weekend,
Margaret
How lovely you managed to fit in a visit to the Rose Gardens. Your weather sounds like ours - not Spring like that we're used to.
ReplyDeleteOne thing you'll be able to do is mark this walk down as incidental exercise unless it was planned as your daily walk. Keep on keeping on - or should that be walking on :)
"Incidental Exercise" - I like that term :) At the moment I don't yet have any structured walking plan, so I guess that is what I was doing.
DeleteI love Roses and can hardly wait until it's roses time again. The red rose in the 4th picture would be my DH's favourite. I like all colours and especially like roses with fragrance.
ReplyDeleteYes, I love the ones with fragrance as well. I can appreciate the beauty of a perfect rose, but the scent just takes them into the realm of heavenly.
DeleteThe rose garden seems to me to be the exact kind of therapeutic adjunct to your ongoing dedication to an improved life style that is required. I am quite confident that bird song will help too. And the fact that your vehicle is now ready for another year on the road will do wonders for your blood pressure!
ReplyDeleteA definite adjunct, David! :)
DeleteI am looking forward to my new life.
Such a beautiful rose garden. It is good for the mind and body.
ReplyDeleteThe colours and the fragrance certainly put one in a good mood :)
DeleteWell after your blood pressure news and the programme you are devising to counteract it a visit to a rose garden has to be the perfect day. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteThankyou Graham. I love it when the roses are flowering.
DeleteLove the last photo the best Margaret. I can just imagine the scent of rose in the air, beautiful indeed.
ReplyDeleteYes, I love to breathe in the scent of roses.
DeleteBeautiful Rose Garden. We used to have one quite close to us that we were a member of and used to visit it several times every summer, but sadly it closed down a couple of years ago due to financial reasons, it had been going for many many years so was a great loss. I don't know what happened with all the beautiful roses. Such a shame.
ReplyDelete