Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Luke 12.27

In awe of nature’s interactions

By Roger Childs

From our dining table we look out at trees of many colours. However, at this time of the year the deciduous species are the most fascinating and the birds.

Every day there are more leaves or flowers, or both. And the birds are tucking into the nectar, especially the tui.

We have a kowhai tree next door and yesterday we counted 10 tui at one time, often upside down, burrowing into the flowers.

On the run with Joggers this morning, I recounted this amazing story and got the response Oh, we had 12 yesterday!  What could be more deflating!

 

Maintaining the sequence

The flowering of trees is a magical experience and always occurs in the same sequence. If you have flowering cherries, magnolias and other deciduous trees in your street, you know that they always bloom according to a natural order.

We appreciate that the neighbour’s tree will be an early one, the one down the road will be a little later and after that, our magnificent cherry will bloom for all its worth.

The sequence is always the same. It’s great to have some predictability in a changing world.

Courtesy of the sun and the tilted Earth

The Sun is the engine that runs the weather. Because the Earth travels around the Sun every 365 days or so, and revolves on its tilted axis, we get our seasons.

The spring (vernal) equinox for the Southern Hemisphere occurred late in September. At this time the “overhead sun” is heading south across the Equator on its “journey” to the Tropic of Capricorn in late December.

Consequently, because the angle of the sun’s rays is more “direct” and the southern hemisphere is slightly closer to the sun, temperatures are warmer. Down in Antarctica they get the first rays of sunlight for many months.

Using the longer daylight hours

It does the heart good to get the warmer weather and the longer daylight hours, as it brings more social interaction, and maybe the barbeque gets a well-earned clean.

There is more time in the Kapiti evenings to get out in the garden; stroll, run or bike along the expressway tracks, on the sand, or along the Waikanae River banks; all communities have their special places for exercise and relaxation.

However, what every area has in common, is the opportunity to relax in a place which is warm and comfortable, and maybe have a coffee, wine, beer or G&T along with a chat.

Hopefully this year we will get a summer!