Amid the Fennel

It was an early start for me and the dogs this morning. A busy day was ahead. Our house guests departed during the day. Hannah and Alex and Hannah’s parents have been here for the weekend. They all returned to Nelson for Hannah’s parents last two days here in New Zealand before they return to England. Hannah will be sad to see them go. However they have had a wonderful time here and saw a lot of the South Island.
We missed the violent thunderstorms that hit parts of the South Island last night. The storm system went out to sea well south of Marlborough. However the storm must have done something dramatic to the temperatures. When I rose very early on Saturday for a trek up on the Wither Hills the temperature was 20C. At 5.45am this morning the temperature was 2.5C…. a huge drop.
It was very chilly out walking with the dogs….. I could have done with gloves. The dogs did not care. Here they are in this morning’s image checking out interesting smells in the tall fennel growing alongside this section of Taylor River tracks. The early sunlight on the hills made a great contrast with the coolness of the track at my feet.