‘Red, Gold & Green’
Red, Gold & Green
Tag: Autumn
Cloaked In Autumn Red II
‘Cloaked In Autumn Red II’
Chestnut Leaves
‘Chestnut Leaves’
…iridescent in autumn light…
Pond In Autumn: Impressions
‘Pond In Autumn: Impressions’
The idyllic autumnal scene in the previous post Pond In Autumn gets the faux-Impressionist treatment, all muted pastels and gauzy light.
Just because.
Because my first memories of proper art as a child were of colourful Impressionist paintings in coffee table books and I still like them!
Or perhaps to soften the blows of the quickening winter which are starting to land in earnest now…
Pond In Autumn
‘Pond In Autumn’ Auckland Domain, 24.5.20
Band Rotunda
‘Band Rotunda’ Auckland Domain, 24.5.20
Reflection
‘Reflection’
Peak autumn on the Tamaki River at low tide; the clear blue sky is reflected in the water lying atop the mudflats at low tide. Plenty of time right now for me to likewise do a bit of reflection in the suspended state that is lockdown, whilst out walking.
The perfect mini soundtrack to this all comes from American new age/neo-classical pianist George Winston:
Enjoy !
Flap
‘Flap’
Autumn is now finding its straps, with the rains finally coming to northern New Zealand after a summer of drought. The local pond is replenished with fresh water. These two geese find their joy there!
(For more recent avian delight see:The Magpie, Pukeko ,Squawk and I Am The White King)
Parklife
‘Parklife’
The Water Tower Above Glover Park
‘The Water Tower Above Glover Park’
Glover Park, in Auckland’s eastern suburbs, was an idyllic scene a couple of days ago in the warm autumn sunshine.
People, dogs, prams, sports balls everywhere, in a natural grassy bowl surrounded by leafy arboreal splendour. Everyone practicing social distancing while trying to be and look friendly. Bliss!
Then there’s this brutalist concrete exemplar on a ridge, watching silently over it all.
I remember it from when I was the same age as the children running around in the park.
Ugly, grimy and slightly sinister in appearance, even bathed in sun.
I, for one, need the foreboding form to complete the scene – you can’t have all that light without a little darkness…
Daylight Will Not Be Saved
‘Pohutukawa Branches & Sea’
New Zealand ends daylight saving hours this weekend, as the northern part of the country basks in glorious sunshine and the weight of Covid-19 diminishes the glow without totally extinguishing it.
So, the daylight hours “saved” will now be “lost” again!
If daylight itself cannot be preserved it leads me to wonder exactly just what can be saved right now.
I’ll settle for saving my sanity and, in doing so, remind myself that you can’t save everything and everyone, not even yourself sometimes. You can just do the next right thing, whatever it is, for yourself and others, in any given moment and then keep doing so in those that follow…
Meanwhile, I will make the most of the fading warmth and light of autumn. It is still my favourite time of year in my neck of the woods. The picture above was taken on a gentle coastal walk yesterday.
Stay safe, if not saved, people!
La Rambla
Crowds throng La Rambla on an autumn afternoon.
Barcelona’s iconic street, and the district named for it, teems with locals enjoying the sunshine.
So, when in this part of Barcelona one does as the locals do in this place: Lick a gelato(check!); chomp on tapas (check!); buy a football scarf to wear (check!); slurp a beer(nah,don’t drink!) and sit on a bench and people watch (check! check! check! – and in my case take photos like these).
Just very cool!
Autumn Almanac (Song by The Kinks)
Man, the Easter weather has really turned, and the yellow leaves referred to in the lyrics on the previous post are now soggy yellow leaves. Wet old day, so now feel compelled to post a link to The Kinks’s song to brighten the mood. At least will have a rain delay on leaf raking!
Autumn Almanac
“Breeze blows leaves of a musty-coloured yellow
So I sweep them in my sack
Yes, yes, yes, it’s my autumn almanac
-The Kinks, ‘Autumn Almanac’
Thank you Ray Davies for reminding me that the above leaves ,and hundreds more, burying the back lawn require removal. Too lazy to bother with the sack, will probably deposit them over the fence into the park next door and let them rot there…
The song is an old fave of mine ,which dissects, but not without lowkey affection, a mundane type of English life where nothing ever seems to change. Worth checking out if you haven’t heard it.
Collapse Into Fall
“All at once, summer collapsed into fall” – Oscar Wilde
Easter approaches – almost on cue summer disappears speedily, and the first autumn chills arrive.
Leaves start to fall; beautiful golden, reddish debris will soon cover the ground.
In the Southern Hemisphere ,Easter sits seemingly opposed to the new season, with its imagery of eggs ,new life and rebirth more redolent of spring.
But not really, as for every birth there needs to be the death of something ; there is no beginning without a prior ending….I know myself what it is like to have collapsed, fallen and then started afresh in life.
(PS: Grateful for the end of humidity, hot sleep-disturbed nights and mosquitoes!)
Ebb Then Flood 