‘Pohutukawa Blooms Red!’
Pohutukawa Blooms Red!
Tag: Pohutukawa
Merry Xmas From Aotearoa
Pohutukawa – ‘New Zealand Christmas Tree‘
Pohutukawa Reverie
‘Pohutukawa Reverie’
Summer Crowns
‘Summer Crowns’
vivid red crowns
mark summer’s ascension
to its deep southern throne
Pohutukawa Impressions
‘Pohutukawa Impressions’
Here Comes The Summer
‘Here Comes The Summer’
Summer is coming to Aotearoa/New Zealand.
I know this not just because the weather is getting warmer,or that Labour Weekend has just passed.
But because the creamy flower buds are appearing on the pohutukawa trees.
Soon the trees will be awash with crimson bloom.
And summer will be here.
Through The Vee
‘Through The Vee’
Back To The Hanging Tree
‘Back To The Hanging Tree’
I think of it as ‘the hanging tree’ in my mind.
Not that people have swung in death from the branches of this particular pohutukawa tree (or I hope not anyway).
Rather, it is the impressive grouping of dangling aerial roots that provides the name I have for the tree that I return to regularly.
However, when the sun goes down, and in a wind, there is something spectral and eerie about the fibrous growths as they sway…
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!
Ghostly
Auckland’s a ghost town in lockdown.
Spookily quiet, with the threat of disease and death the back drop to every muted scene.
The hanging aerial roots of a coastal pohutukawa tree add to the spectral vibe…
Begin Again
Pohutukawa Flowers, December 2019
“Every beginning is a consequence – every beginning ends something”
– Paul Valery
So, new year, new decade.
We will celebrate the New Year, as humans are wont to do with anything new.
Some ponderings:
Sometimes we start something new, without realising it has drawn a line with the past.
And vice versa – we can be so obsessed with ending something, that we fail to grasp that we have moved into a new phase.
Also, sometimes there is an end without an apparent “new” thing. That’s alright. A time of transition, awkward as it can be, may be infinitely valuable and is in fact essential. Not that the world will necessarily understand if you find yourself in a place of apparent nothingness.
Remember, in nature there has to be a fallow time before verdant growth.
Anyway, Happy New Year, wherever you find yourself !
Festive Flame
Merry Christmas gentle readers !
No holly to be found in my Auckland neck of the woods, so I’ve fired up some splendid pohutukawa aerial roots to deck your proverbial halls…
Peace, Andy L.
Wise Old Beards
Four aerial root formations dangle from the branches of an ancient Pohutukawa tree.
Like woody stalagtites.
And like the beards of old wise men.
Wisdom.
The final request of The Serenity Prayer
The hardest thing to find, and when I really don’t have a clue, this favourite tree reminds me that it may come eventually…
Leaves And Waves
View through the branches of a pohutukawa tree and down to the waves of Auckland’s Waitemata Harbour yesterday.
‘Waitemata’ means ‘sparkling waters’ in Maori.
Very apt – the sun’s reflection from the water was absolutely dazzling to the eyes.
Anyway, enjoy your day people. I hope it sparkles like this view.
Pohutukawa Dusk Spirit
Pohutukawa trees – shore sentinels as the day fades – the spirit of home, always.
Tree Beards (Magenta)
…dangling in drag ,pretty in pink..
Tree Beards(Summer)
The previous series of ‘Tree Beards’ photos were shot in cooler weather and reflected that in my post-production of those images.Now, it is the height of a glorious summer in Auckland and I am drawn back to the iconic Pohutukawa tree and the very masculine ‘beards’ (aerial roots)they sport,vivid red in the harsh sunlight.
Ebb Then Flood 