People say winter begins on the first of June. To me, it feels as if it’s been winter since May. We’ve had numerous frosty mornings and have been using our log burner in the evening – and sometimes during the day – since mid-April. The washing doesn’t get completely dry on the line – except yesterday, when we had a 21C day. I found interesting explanations of the seasons in Aotearoa New Zealand here. You can take your pick of Astronomical, Meteorological, Solar or Mother Nature. The last one makes a lot of sense to me. Of course, it varies depending on where in NZ you live.

In the Botanic Gardens today I observed simultaneous fallen leaves and new growth. I can picture the seasons here like a Venn diagram with a huge overlapping of the circles in the middle.

At home, just after midday, flocks of birds descended on the garden and took turns to drink and bathe in the bird bath. One blackbird hogged it for ages, while others waited – often impatiently – for their turn. It was entertaining to watch, but impossible to photograph, but here’s where they were:

I identified finches, wax eyes, a sparrow or two, one thrush, a fantail and several blackbirds. The smaller birds took occasional baths or drinks, but seemed mainly interested in the broad bean plants where I suppose they were eating greenfly or aphids.

From my study window I often see birds eating the abundant myrtle berries. They seem to take it in shifts, with blackbirds eating first, then flocks of wax eyes – never at the same time. It’s good to know they have plenty to eat as the weather grows colder.