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Shag PileStrictly speaking, this is a Miranda page. All the photos are hers, taken while I was elsewhere. However, in her very busy existence, it is all she can find time for to edit her photos. When I saw them, however, it was obvious these had to go public. One of the features of the Helensville Renaissance in recent years has been the effort put in by local service groups and individuals to make the town a totally pleasant experience. The jewel in the crown of this effort has been the creation of a walkway, part boardwalk, part landscaped path, going from the centre of town along the riverbank and eventually out onto Mills Lane. Alice loves this route for an early morning walk. This morning, (060821) the fog was heavy and thick about the town right through the morning. Miranda, finishing a visit at the Birthing Centre, took it into her head to take her camera and check out the riverbank in fog.
The tide is full, and still as can be. The fog softens all outlines.
Out on the river, a cormorant makes its approach
Despite the cold and fog of an August morning, there is plenty of indication that spring is not far off
Warkworth has claimed for its own the yellow kowhai. Imagine this red one in a year or two in splashes of colour along the entire river bank. Unfortunately, these shrubs, unlike the yellow kowhai, are relatively short-lived, and vulnerable all their lives to slugs and snails.
Right near the beginning of the walkway in the centre of town is the remains of an old jetty. I often wonder how much of a cliché the bird on a pole pic really is, and what there is about a pole that attracts not only birds, but photographers as well.
The cormorant has landed. Well, it's Helensville, not Cape Canaveral.
I am amazed at the way these guys have perfect balance in situations that invite an undignified wobble.
Just what do you think you're doing with that camera?
Across the way, the fog still holds the river closely,
in an embrace that heightens the sihouetted forms of nearby trees
So, we'll leave the last word to the cormorants and invite you to walk off the coffee and cream you've piled on at one of our cafés and see for yourself.
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