Flowers for Shabbat - a day early

I am heading to the "top of the north" for meetings over the weekend, so these are early photos to bless you on the Sabbath. The two roses I took with a macro setting outside my office window. The third photo is in front of our parliament building. Happy weekend everyone.

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On Customhouse Quay, Wellington

Holiday Cheer?

I am still extrapalating if this is intended as an annual event to ruin one's year, or something else which has eluded me entirely. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

Sunday Ascent

Contemplating the cabbage tree

  

Running up the tree (in less than 3 seconds)

Thinking about jumping onto the neighbour's fence

Wondering about going into the fronds

The descent

Having a little think about the next adventure

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Art Deco building, Parnell Auckland

Foxgloves in a flurry

Every year our home, which we have dubbed "Foxglove Hollow", seems to have a bumper crop of foxglove. This year, a few white cousins have appeared in the garden, a first. The sound of bumble bees wiggling inside the bells is a real joy. They exit backwards, covered in white pollen.  Our elderly cat still licks the leaves, so spends the month of November semi-stoned!

checking out the Sunday reading

Ever since she was a small kitten, Cumin has loved books (she came to the right family). It is difficult to read in bed because she has to smooch the corner of the book and then delicately place herself between myself and the pages (jealousy?). This morning she has "loved" all of the books in the book stand - purchases from a book fair this month and possibly bringing with them numerous kitty smells from other households. She also likes to fall asleep on bookshelves or hide her silk mouse underneath them. Madamoiselle Library Cat

Flowers for Shabbat

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New Zealanders still make things, they make anything and everything! The ladies still make clothes, and they are VERY good at it.

Cuba St, Wellington

Some flowers for Shabbat

Photos taken this evening at dusk in our garden. When we first got our Orange blossom cat, Cumin, I could never figure out why she always smelled so great. Eventually the penny dropped, she loved to hide in our jasmine bush! If anyone can tell me what the top flower is, I would be grateful. It grows in abundance on my "wild patch" and although I suspect it falls into the weed category, I can't bring myself to dig it up, it is so delicate and exquisite.

Coffee @ Fidel's

Fidel's Upper Cuba St, Wellington.

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Former Ministry of Defence Building on Stout St, Wellington. Art Deco gorgeousness!

A tale of two kitties

Today we had the best surprise EVER at the office. Two and half years ago, a mother cat gave birth to five tabby kittens under the Bishop's house. She left two behind. The four ladies of our organisation (all cat worshippers to a woman - we had 8 between us at the time), took care of them, feeding them and giving them lots of water. We had tried to catch them in humane cat traps, in order to get them neutered, but the wily critters escaped every time.
One of the kittens vanished when he was almost fully grown, and we were left with the glorious cat in the picture above. I took this photo a week before I went on annual leave at the beginning of May. When I came back, my colleagues broke the news that the cat had disappeared..... until today! We had left his box on the balcony in the hope he would return, and he did.
I suspect he had gone looking for an amorous encounter and had to walk a very long way. We are in the city centre, and there aren't so many residences close by. There are apartment buildings, but even if there were cats in residence, the chances are they would have been "fixed". No howling females at dusk within a 10 mile radius!
So, here is our boy, in the very top photo, snuggled on a woollen jumper inside the Wellington weather-proof box we bought him. The wanderer has returned. He had three plates of food and water, then dropped off to sleep.
No doubt he will be shouting for breakfast at 8 am when I arrive tomorrow, and we will be back to having conversations with him at lunchtime through the kitchen window.