NEWS FROM THE ISLAND

IT HAS BEEN A PRETTY GOOD WINTER OUT HERE BUT still with enough rain to stop me from walking as far as I would like to.

Showing part of Bay

There are no stairs to Bay

Beautiful Lady's Bay, an all weather safe swimming beach, managed by the Department of Conservation, looks like it is going to be inaccessible again this summer for the Island tourists ( and me) since a storm took out the stairs to it four years ago.

Tractors use the walking paths through the park often making them impassable, so I left the sunlit path

and  took a detour through the dark forest of pines, lit everywhere with the pillows of luxurious moss  snuggling up to trunks or rambling through the pine tree litter.

then walked on around the remains of this huge Pinaster Pine



and on to the remains of an old farmhouse where all that reminds it was there is the old water tank. Even the doorstep, that was there a couple of years ago has disappeared into the small heap of bricks being covered by pine needles. But the  young Redwood up behind is growing into a handsome tree from being so sheltered from sea storms by the surrounding pines.

And back home where the first blossom has appeared on the new little peach tree. Maybe it will be this week that they'll patch the road to the wharf so I'm not scared to use the car after we have rain?