Yangshuo County, Guilin, China – Justin Dong – Guest Photographer

Yangshuo County, Guilin, China – Justin Dong – Guest Photographer.

click the above url for an astounding picture from China

garlic & shallots

Yesterday I picked the garlic & shallots we had grown – again, like the potatoes, the season was a bumper one.  The shallots in particular are quite large – almost what we would expect from a reasonable onion.  Our red onion crop was a bit less than what we might expect which is a bit disappointing, but we are well compensated by other alliums!

new potatoes

I picked the first of our Nadine potatoes for tonight’s dinner.  Our first new season crop of Rocket potatoes has already been consumed.
I have planted 30 Nadine seed potatoes for the main crop.  Much to my pleasure the quantity of potatoes is marvellous – 1.90kgs of potatoes off one seed potato!
Some of them are small but we have a favourite recipe that needs small ones so we are not complaining!!

Yum!

Onekaka

Onekaka Wharf at dawn

Anne and I love the Onekaka [on-e-ka-ka] wharf (what is left of it) in Golden Bay – we often spend a half-day there reading and enjoying the wonderful landscape where the river estuary is ever-changing in the views.  We found out that the wharf functioned until the mid-1950’s for loading the iron ore that was mined at Onekaka over many years.  It is hard to believe that so many people once lived in this small community.
The image was taken at dawn – we had risen at 5.30am to travel over to the Wanganui inlet and the brilliant morning light encouraged a quick detour to Onekaka.

gannet on the wing

a gannet turned up to join in the fishing at Puponga, Golden Bay.

Gannet at Puponga

Puponga is a delightful estuary very close to Cape Farewell at the top of the South Island in Golden Bay, New Zealand.  While there last week Anne and I witnessed a young seal out fishing, a mother and children kayaking, the children’s surprise when their father waded into the water naked, a net catch of at least 100 herring (for live fish-bait), and a gannet out looking for a feed.  The gannet would plop into the water in search of a fish and then try to take off with wing flaps and feet going at it like the Flintstones picking up speed in their car.  I caught a sequence of shots on camera, two of which are pictured here…

gannet applying air-brakes

one, two, three... we have liftoff

 

top of the south island

Anne and I got up at 4.45am to travel by car and foot to Wharariki, near Cape Farewell at the top of New Zealand’s South Island for these photographs…

obliging seagull

on holiday#1

A scene I photographed in Central Hawkes Bay…

captions please – help me understand!

My son and his girlfriend at a gig – with spoons… any caption suggestions welcome!

captions please!!!

I have one from a friend…
“Just in case they play ‘on top of spaghetti all covered in cheese'”