Now here's an interesting thing. Have tried both the Dominion Post and the Christchurch Press as mulching material. The Press takes about twice as long to break down.....

This is what happens when you leave your garden unattended for a week!

The kea is our NZ native parrot, endangered because of introduced predators. There are a pair who fly over our house every afternoon- hearing them call makes me think about being up on the top of the nearby mountains in  the mist, with damp tussock around me and only the kea's cry for company. When you see kea hopping about on the ground they are a dull olive green, but when they fly above you they have the most beautiful red and orange feathers underneath their wings - magic. My painting is available as an unframed watercolour.

I 've just heard that this painting has won a plein air competition run byImpressions Art Supplies. I painted it on the top of Dansey's Pass in Central Otago- a wondeful rugged gravel road that winds it's way over the range. I was painting away happily when suddenly a very angry bumble bee attacked me. I had forgotten that blue makes them agressive - guess what colour my jacket was?