Autumn

I seem to have this in-built ability to hoard rubbish.  I've cleared a good amount of rubbish out of the workshop, but there's still more to go at and then there's the garage!


The first shot in this post is a 5 shot HDR image of an area in the garage I haven't visited for some time!  I "inherited" a significant number of spares for an old Austin A40 Devon that I used to use as everyday transport.  I still have the car and it'd be great to restore it to its former glory, but it'll involve significant time and money, bit of which seem rather lacking presently!  I suspect a trip to the scrap yard with some of the bits may be happening sooner rather than later.  Who knows, I may even get a few dollars for my trouble.


Today is the last day of my Easter break.  Tomorrow will be an early start and will, I expect, be rather busy as there's quite a few projects coming to a conclusion.  We decided to make the most of today and took a walk around Auckland's Cornwall Park.

The second image in this post is of the obelisk at the top of One Tree Hill.  This obelisk was built to the specification of Sir John Logan Campbell and provided for in his will, but was not unveiled formally until 1948.  It is a memorial to the "Great Maori Race" to use Campbell's term.  Campbell had a close association with Maori when he first arrived in New Zealand. 


It seems rather strange these days to refer to the hill in the middle of the park as One Tree Hill when there's no longer a tree at the summit.  Perhaps we'd better start to use the location's Maori name Maungakiekie from now on?


I've always liked Cornwall Park.  One thing that always comes to mind is the way the designers knew they'd never see the finished result yet designed, planted and built a park for future generations enjoyment.  One great example of this is the Twin Oak Drive.  You can see a little bit of Twin Oak Drive in the third image in this post.

We have a very pleasant climate here in Auckland that seems to be enjoyed by a large range of tree species in the park.  Today, however, we took the opportunity to collect some signs of autumn for the pre-school nature table.  Walking down Twin Oak Drive you couldn't help but notice hundreds upon thousands of acorns ... you can see a small selection in the fourth image in this post.


I think I'll head up to the top of
Maungakiekie next time I visit, take a tripod and try to get a panorama shot.  The views from the summit are superb and it's well worth a visit is you ever get the chance.