Friday, December 1, 2023

It's the first day of Summer today!

First day of Summer
Happy first day of Summer! 

December the 1st is the first day of Summer in New Zealand. It has been a lovely warm 24 degrees C today, slightly overcast and no wind. A perfect day to start putting the Christmas tree up, decorating the house and opening door number one of my advent calendar.

I walked around the garden, barefoot, this afternoon, with Otto following me. He is such a curious cat, watching what I am doing all the time, apart from when he is running up the trees or climbing onto the roof of the house! 

In the garden I found a few ripe boysenberries and raspberries, which tasted delicious, lovely and juicy and full of flavour. The small passionfruit vine is flowering and there is one fruit forming already.

The Feijoa (pineapple guava) is full of red flowers, but I didn't see any Tui birds nearby to pollinate them. Hopefully the Tuis will find them so we can enjoy feijoas this year.

The Pohutukawa tree overhanging our fence from next door, is absolutely full of flower buds. It's going to look spectacular when the red flowers are open. Nice and Christmassy.

I hope that you are enjoying the first day of advent too.

Do you follow any traditions for December the first?

Hugs, Rose x

14 comments:

  1. Our feijoa had lots of flowers this year but no fruit. Nothing to pollinate it!

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    1. Hi, that's a shame that you can't get your feijoa flowers to set fruit. There is one variety of feijoa called "Unique" which is self-fertile, but the tree needs to be established for 2 - 3 years before it will produce fruit. Other varieties need another tree to cross-pollinate with, as well as having the pollinator birds. Hugs, Rose x

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  2. It makes me smile...you have the first day of summer, and we just had our coldest night so far - 19 F. It's great to compare and see what's happening on your side of the world...it just makes things a little nicer to know there's someone who enjoys the same simple things that I do, even so far away!

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    1. Hi Mary, thank you for your lovely comment which also made me smile :o) I can't imagine having a Winter as cold as yours. We only had a few light frosts last Winter, which disappeared once the sun came out. It is overcast today with light rain and quite humid at 22 C. I have my window slightly open so my cat Otto can come in and out. Otto hates getting wet, so just sits with his nose poking out the window. Hope you have a great week. Hugs, Rose x

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  3. Lovely to hear about Christmas customs down under. Hard to imagine putting up a Christmas tree in the heat of summer. B x

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    1. Hi B, after over 40 years of living in New Zealand I'm still trying to get used to Christmas in Summer. The Christmas tree looks lovely today, with its lights on, because the weather is grey and overcast at the moment. I am trying to imagine what Christmas would be like on Jersey. Hugs, Rose x

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  4. Happy first day of summer! We are just beginning winter here and I'm already dreaming about spring and summer. How lovely to have flowers blooming at Christmastime! And fresh raspberries in the garden - those are my favorite. Happy December!

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    1. Hi Julia, thank you and Happy December to you too :o) Our lavender, pink roses and foxgloves are in full bloom at the moment and are looking quite pretty. Our red amaryllises have just finished flowering (we grow them in pots outside). I had wished that they would still be flowering at Christmas, but they were early this year. Maybe I will buy a red poinsettia this year. Have a wonderful week. Hugs, Rose x

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  5. Happy Summer Advent, Rose.
    Not sure if it will become a tradition but this will be the second year of writing a blog post everyday for me.

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    1. Hi Beverley, thank you. Happy Winter Advent! I love that you are doing a blog post every day for advent. That will be a lovely tradition for you to keep, and one that you can look back on in years to come. Have a great week. Hugs, Rose x

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  6. Oh you have summer and we have winter! It´s snowy and icy here. Not my favourite month...
    Love from Titti

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    1. Hi Titti, at last you have snow to make your grey days brighter! But I don't wish you the cold which comes with it! I hope that you are keeping cosy and warm inside. Have you put up any decorations yet for Christmas? Hugs, Rose x

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  7. That all sounds wonderful! It's a bit cooler here :)

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    1. Hi Jules, thanks! the weather has cooled down a bit here and has been overcast most days for the past week. We have no idea whether or not we will have a sunny Christmas. It would be nice to sit outside on our new outdoor furniture. Hugs, Rose x

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