October is a strange month. October is a journey. One has left home, is underway, is going somewhere but is not yet there. Summer might be the destination or not; the escape from winter is like leaving home. October is in-between; nothing has been settled, everything might be possible.October here is unquestionably spring, although the weather might argue otherwise — sometimes it's winter again, as was the case a week ago when snow covered the hills behind Palmerston North; sometimes it's summer and one can bake in shorts and T-shirt on the verandah and think about going for a swim if the river was a summer river, not an October river: if it wasn't discoloured, high and swift. But the lambs are growing fast, the birds are nesting, most of the trees in leaf already or flowering profusely, and the sun sets further to the south-west. This is the time of year when so many animals fight, mate, argue, build, raise young and defend territories. It's a time of trying to claim a patch and settle down.
Yet October, this strange time of year, fills me with restlessness and wanderlust. Maybe I'm as strange as October.
All content © 2009 Pete McGregor
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11 comments:
wow pete awesome photo, i have been home in hawkes bay for a short break and have seen all four seasons, its a really cool time, especially in the hills
back to uk on monday - i havent used the mossy gate photo for the canvas yet but now i think i like this one better.
hmmm what to do...?
Tom Swindells
Were I there you would find me tucked up in the lee of that low fence just on the right, maybe with a notebook (the paper kind;-0) or my camera, just soaking up that scene. It is extraordinary, and I especially love the varying greens of the field. Awesome.
Tom, I suggest you get conventional prints (maybe about A4) of both photos run off, then stick them up somewhere for a while and let them work on you. I find it usually takes a while for my opinions of my photos to settle down. Good to know you like both :^)
Thanks Barbara. This is one of the best places to view the valley along Pohangina Valley East Road (not that there aren't plenty of other excellent viewpoints). It was the clouds that really persuaded me to stop for a few photos — skies like this aren't rare, but the usual sky is either bright and boring or, ... well,... dull and boring ;^) Later in the year the green begins to fade to pale brownish-yellows as summer's heat crisps up the pasture and other foliage. Autumn can be spectacular, though.
I love the contrast between the brooding sky and the valley's lush green. I always want to enjoy this greenness for as long as I can - as you said, it won't be like this by January!
I know what you mean about the restlessness and wanderlust of this time of year :-)
Thanks Anne-Marie. Given this morning's forecast, this scene might be predominantly white by this evening. Crazy weather.
I look at this photo from an end of summer vantage point. For me it is a glance back, and for you forward. We have just celebrated the harvest moon, and there the seeds have not yet gone into the ground, or perhaps have just. That green holds so much promise, our parched meadows can hardly remember.
Robin Andrea, right now it's as if we've been plunged back into winter. An unseasonal snowfall lies low on the hills behind me and has trapped hundreds of travellers in the central North Island. The loss of lambs will be huge. Seems the only thing predictable about New Zealand's weather is its unpredictability.
I hope you find somewhere snug and inspiring for your winter.
October is my fav. month :D thanks for this tribute. the sky is fantastic.u should try more poetry with these pics hehe! much admiration
Thanks D.V.A. :^)
Knowing it's spring somewhere, makes my winter a little warmer.
Glad to hear it, Michael.
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