Rough winds do shake the darling buds of…October.

This morning it was on with summer clothes and sandals and my friend and I paddled in the high tide at the beach. By the afternoon I was staying inside out of the hot, dry, enervating nor’west wind. It is weird to remember that last weekend we were hunkered down by the fire while steady rain and cold temperatures continued for two and a half days.

Yesterday was hot, but with only a slight breeze, and I took the opportunity to power-wash the house. It dried quickly in the heat, as did I. It was lovely to have all the doors open as the house dried, and to wander in and out freely in the warm air.

This evening, the wind died down and I ventured into the garden. Lots of cabbage tree leaves are down as is usual after strong wind. I am pleased I tied the Cecile Brunner rose to its archway yesterday as it was getting blown down one way in the southerly and the other way in the nor’west. The growth is phenomenal; it was just bare sticks after I pruned it in July. The apple tree and the kōwhai trees are flowering vigorously. The kōwhai flowers glow in the evening light.

My ‘new’ macrocarpa fence and gates were installed in June 2017 and feature at the top of my blog. Today, the fence is barely visible and the timber has silvered with time. The clematis at the gate is beginning to flower.