Matariki …

Matariki, a time for reflecting on the past and planning for the future, has given us helter-skelter weather in Tamaki Makaurau since the 28th of June.  Fogs to help us see old Ranui street signs in new ways, sunny days to encourage the garlic shoots, still mornings to frame spiderwebs, wild storms to drive us inside. We tried to walk at Te Henga […]

More Matariki Moments…

We’ve been to several exciting events. Uku Tatai Whetu (“Earthbound to the Stars”),  at the Nathan Homestead- Manurewa Community Arts Centre, included many stunning works.  We especially liked these:  in clay by Noelle Jakeman, recycled materials by Bethany Edwards, and muka by Tuaine Strickland.   On the last day of Floral Art at Fresh Gallery, in Otara, we were given […]

Ranui…

We love the colour and friendliness of the wider Ranui community. Children play after school in the little park outside the library We meet friendly new people: Mary, of Croatian ancestry, has lived in Ranui for more than thirty years, and is now 100 years old. Lema, from the Republic of Congo, is a refugee who crochets the vibrant […]

Arts and Parks

Slowly we are exploring parts of West Auckland that are new to us. Close to home there’s a series of lakes which are part of the stormwater system of the city, and which, like Lake Paremuka here,  feature extensive native plantings and interesting sculptures. At Hobsonville Point, a huge new subdivision on the old Air […]

Views from our Earthsong windows…

A boat race on the lake at the beginning of winter… …a winter day dawning, from our bedroom window and Mio feeds the worms in the new orchard worm farm..