A wee Sweetheart ...

... of a rose. This bush grows below the outside edge of my deck and really enhances and softens the house's structure. 

Sweetheart roses have always been a favourite of mine, right from when I was a little girl and my Nanny had them growing in her garden. She had many rose bushes, and used to cut them, and take them into the markets in Wellington, to help with the war effort! I remember being told that by my Dad, with a certain amount of pride in his voice.

It's cooler today, thankfully, and we've had rain. Not as much out here by the beach as they've had in town, but enough to make quite a difference. It was such a relief when the winds died down too. What a storm! So many places in NZ have been battered and people have had to evacuate from their houses, because of tides and winds. Awful.