Last day of winter

Tomorrow is the official start of spring. Which is not to say that wintry weather is behind us, but rather that the chances of spring weather are improving. After a wet week the weekend has been glorious.
Jenny’s friend Kate was up from Dunedin for a week. They did various cultural and social activities and went out on the town on Friday night in all their finery.
On Saturday night Ingmar held his farewell party at the Barnes’. He made a speech and received a gift.
He then amazed his work colleagues by showing his expertise at Morris dancing.
Today we went for a walk in the Gardens. The blossoms are blooming and the flowers budding. This is magnolia
and these, I think, azaleas.
The first tulips are emerging.
One of the special places in the garden is the Peace Flame, originally lit from the Hiroshima memorial in Japan.
Nearby, families were preparing for a picnic in the Dell,

while above them a group of tui were noisily expressing themselves. (We decided the collective noun for tui should be talent.) There are at least five in this photo.
The Rudderstone provided an opportunity for a self-referential composition of the bloggeur and his companions!
We know spring is approaching when the kowhai flowers.
Finally, the classic tourist view of the Cable Car approaching the Kelburn terminus overlooking Kelburn Park, the city and harbour. Mount Victoria (where last week’s walk took us) is towards the top, slightly right of centre.