It's winter, but not as we know it

As I write this it is day 5 of spring in the Sunshine State and already temperatures are in the high 20s and even early 30s.

I have nothing against blue sky and sunshine, but I do miss the rain, grey clouds and chilly temperatures. I have a couple of drawers dedicated to winter clothes and no chance to wear them. The locals though were spotted on occasion rugged up with scarves, gloves, beanies and puffer jackets like you wouldn't believe...and the coldest it has been is 5C...one morning !!

Anyway, I decided that while "real" winter was happening in the southern states that  it was time to go and get bone-chillingly cold; to remind myself what it was like. We booked a weekend in Canberra, but ended up with one night in Sydney as we couldn't get direct flights at reasonable prices.

familiar landmarks

a rainbow walkway

lived here for 10 years, never saw this building before !

look at THAT light

...and THIS building facade

terrace houses - my favourite of all time, will I ever get to live in one ?

rainbow bike outside an INDEPENDENT bookstore

check out that window box !

waiting for pizza, in an authentic italian pizzeria

corner Oxford Street & Crown Street

Convicts built this bridge, on the original roadway to Goulburn at Towrang

Bungendore houses, did convict ancestor Joseph Dickinson, the plasterer, work on these ?

The entrance gate to Willeroo, Lake George; place of birth of Joseph's daughter Sarah

floating sphere sculpture - reminded me of Welly, just a bit, capital city art

Little National - perfection

St John's Church, Canberra

School house at St John's, built by the Campbells to benefit the children of the Scots shepherds working his land and which looks like it has been transported straight from the Highlands

Great-great-great-great-great-grandparents

Rainbows in the spray

So as you can see - gorgeous days - definitely chillier than home, but not as freezing as we had prepared for. Also, not enough time to do everything or go everywhere, so next year we will be back...maybe earlier in the season too.

#52Ancestors, Week 49, Winter

Winter in this hemisphere is at a different time of year. Strangely though, even 200 or so years after emigrating many of us cling to the images of snowy frosty rural scenes at Christmas, red breasted Robins on fenceposts, branches or spade handles in snowy gardens. All the while we plan Christmas dinners which don’t involve standing in a hot kitchen for too long – salads, cold meats (if any), barbecue, pavlova and look forward to afternoons in the shade, at the beach or by the pool.

How topsy turvy it must have been for those early immigrants to celebrate Christmas in the heat of summer and Easter in autumn rather than spring. (interestingly we still celebrate Easter with spring-like symbols too – baby chicks, baskets of flowers and other baby animals). What about birthdays? How did it feel celebrating your mid-summer birthday in midwinter and vice versa? Was seasonal affective disorder a thing then? Did the change affect people at all or was it just a “Oh that’s right, I live HERE now” type of realisation. I wonder did anyone even consider or realise that these moments in their lives would be forever changed after emigrating to the southern hemisphere.

Winter itself is not in the same realm in the southern hemisphere as those in the north which we perpetuate in our imagination. It does get cold, there are storms, we wear warmer clothes and heat our homes. But we don’t have snow, apart from on high mountain ranges (normally), or days where the darkness of evening begins mid-afternoon. We all say we are cold, but in reality, most of us have no idea what it must be like to live and work in temperatures of -15 or more; just as many of or northern hemisphere cousins cannot comprehend living in 30+ or even 40+ temperatures through summer.

I like winter. The one great thing about it, compared to summer, is that you can dress for the occasion. Put on more layers to keep the chill out, take them off when you have thawed out or reached an agreeable Temperature. Summer doesn't have that advantage, it is just hot so you wear minimal clothes to begin with.

Perhaps in 2019 a white Christmas might be on the horizon.

#52Stories, Week 51, What do you look forward to as each new season approaches ?

Spring

I’ll start here since I have a spring birthday. Blue skies, trees and shrubs bursting into leaf, blossom buds appearing – sometimes even before the leaves, spring showers and soft breezes. Slowly lengthening daylight hours. Cool nights. Birdsong. Baby animals and birds.

Summer

Sunshine, dappled shade, trips to the beach, lake, river. Barbecues. Warmth. Water play. Christmas, holidays, salads. Blue skies and sudden downpours. Stone fruit and berries – picked fresh if possible. Crickets and cicadas singing. Gentle breezes.

Autumn

Cooler mornings. Changing leaves, red, green, orange, yellow, brown. Dew lingering on leaves and flowers, first frosts. Clear skies. Indian summers. Cool breezes, surprise showers.

 Winter

Shorter days, longer nights, cosy evenings, comfort food. Stormy days, stormy nights, rain, frosty air, maybe snow ? Woolly hats and scarves. Camellia, Magnolia, Rhododendron, Daffodil braving the chilly air, a sign of what is to follow.

Indecisive weather

I know that last time I was here I was predicting the arrival of winter, but I have to say despite the temperatures being a smidge cooler this past week, I'm struggling to believe my own prediction.

Look at these gorgeous flowers which brighten my days at work from the garden outside the window. They don't seem to think it is going to be winter anytime soon.

And then look at this !! 

Pohutukawa in flower in late May - what has happened to our native Christmas tree ? Isn't December "the time" to bloom ? Has anyone told the jolly fellow in red ?

We need to cool our wee planet down  I reckon !

Winds of change

Well gosh darn it - I haven't been here for what seems like eons.

I have been taking photos and making mental notes to update life's happenings, but woops.

This time last year I was an emotional mess which resulted in making what now seems like the dumbest decision in my life. However, life goes on and in the past 12 months I have experienced many new things. New jobs, new cities, new journeys, new friends and new beginnings.

But those winds of change have blown in again and unsettled barely formed plans. Christchurch has been farewelled, and home looks like it could be further north than ever before - in this country at least.

Sometimes this seems like a half baked idea, but then I think..."My job was just not doing it for me anymore, and the likelihood of my contract being extended past the end of the year felt pretty remote. So best to cut bait and run now ahead of everyone else hitting the job market" I also don't think I ever considered that Christchurch would be my forever home - though I am open to returning if the time was right.

We had some winter weather - even a teeny bit of snow - not enough to cause chaos, or even to hang around for long and look pretty, but snow after all. Another new experience.

We had a spur of the moment road trip to Dunedin (for lunch) as you do. If I had realised how close this great city was to Christchurch I would have made many more regular trips. We found this yarn-bombed tree.

and this on the way back

Spring was definitely in the air over our last few weeks in Christchurch, but we ended up missing the best part of our beloved rental property's garden -the Magnolia tree and Cherry trees coming into flower.

...and definitely going to miss this drive to work,

and the fun times with new friends. It's been great. What will the next 12 months bring ?