My Morning Walk

In Auckland I usually go for a walk in the mornings with my friend and neighbour Prue.  We usually leave at 6:15am and do one round of Cornwall Park.  We have managed to keep it up through most of winter this year, which we are pleased with.  Here I can’t really leave at six, firstly because I haven’t got anyone waiting at the letter box to go with me (which is the motivating factor to get out of bed when it is pitch black and cold outside) and secondly because I shouldn’t really leave the kids here by themselves.

So I walk to school with the boys and once I have dropped them off, which is at 7:40am on a good day and 7:45am, when the bell goes, on the not so good days, I continue walking randomly all around the neighbourhood.

I have discovered some pretty streets and am still amazed how close we are here to a rural feel.  Since last week I keep the same route, mainly because it is very pleasant and so I will share some pictures with you.

This morning was one of those really foggy days when the fog doesn’t really lift until close to midday.

I start off through this little forest area which is just past the school and then along the main road.

Doesn’t the path look mysteries with all that mist?

After about ten to fifteen minutes I turn off the main road into ‘Der Gruene Weg’ ‘The Green Lane’, which totally lives up to its name.  The first bit is private houses, then a couple of farms, a couple of stables and paddocks,

This building has two families in it. It’s called ‘Doppelhaushaelfte’ a double house half and I think they are quite a common concept in England as well where they are called semi detached house.

The horses having their breakfast of hay (at last I think that’s what they are eating, could of course be bacon and eggs for all I know).

then some more housing, then a country road

The children love the mole hills and wonder how many moles it takes to make all those hills.

Even the fields are neat and tidy!

This is one of the farms and more horses.

and more housing after that.  All within thirty minutes of the school. I then turn round and take a slightly different route back and am out for an hour all together.  I am really enjoying those morning walks.

I have noticed that many houses are not separated by fencing but rather hedging.  There seem to be some precision hedge cutters around this area…check these out…

I particularly like the birch hedge as it show cases the season so nicely.

Wow, this one was done with nail clippers I think.

Sharp designer corners are all part of the skill level on display.

Two species of plants intertwined to form a walk way, crikey.

I couldn’t help but notice lots of garden ornaments as well…

Ok, so this one shows the wood peckers what to do, in case they are having a blond morning…

I think this one tells us that a Harry Potter fan lives at this address.

Ahm, ok, not my favourite, not even a lake in sight.  Wrong season, too, looks too much like spring. And are those weeds I can see?

I have never understood ‘little windmills in gardens’ and what’s with the sheep? By the way, I actually saw some real sheep on our way to Ostsee last weekend.

Ha ha, this is kind of funny.

What the … ???

This is beyond bad…even though it was a dog groomers gate…

I don’t think I have actually seen a weed yet, anywhere…either they don’t grow here (which could be entirely possible as I haven’t actually seen anyone gardening either) or people are out gardening on the weekend when I don’t do the walks, or perhaps when I am back home doing my sit ups?  Look this is one of those totally weed free gardens…Prue you would love it!

Small section of an entirely weed free garden…there are lots of these around, lots!

Oh, and the vast majority of drive ways seem totally leave free, too (not to mention kids’s toys, garden hoses, ladders, rubbish bins, yesterday’s afternoon tea plates and odd pieces of clothing and dead cars, the kind of stuff one tends to see when passing our drive way!)

Spotless, even the bins are lined up in the back (do you think it’s coincidental that they are in height order???)

There is one house I have spotted where the garden looks a bit like 32 Maungakiekie Ave…

Yup, that looks more familiar, this one might actually be unoccupied….I should check tomorrow.

And then look what I saw…

A little house just for the rubbish bins. I so want one of those. Andrew please can we have one of those???

Today I seem to have gone a little over board with photos…perhaps making up for the other day when I didn’t have any photos at all.  I promise to be more selective next time.

Good night all and good morning to the readers down under.

Tanja

PS Ben and Nick did a nice little presentation on New Zealand today, mostly in English and I translated and yes added bits here and there.  It did include You Tube clips of the All Blacks doing the Haka and Hayle Westenra singing the national anthem, which I might add not all German children know (the German one that is).