The Season Of Slumber And Decay

The thrushes get bolder mid winter. Five them pointing to all points of the compass stood stock still as I passed and then resumed their desperate search for grubs amongst the leaf litter.  In the plentiful bounty of summer or spring they would have immediately taken flight, but not so mid-July.

The walking tracks in my neighbourhood are muddy with sections forever shaded from a weak sun that is low in the horizon.  It's been a cold winter with temperatures dropping to zero degrees and a solid frost glistening white on the roof tiles.

It's a season of slumber and decay. Old wood is cast aside and the bored holes make by huhu bugs are exposed.  There is evidence of foraging animals and the pavements adopt a mossy green camouflage.

Old borer holes and rotting logs
Photo: Roger Smith 2012

Amidst all of the dank grey-green and gloom there are some bright spots.  One species of manuka is resplendent with its canopy of white flowers and a fantail flits amongst the branches, accompanying me part of the way.

Flowering manuka
Photo: Roger Smith, 2012

The White Feather
Photo: Roger Smith, 2012