Spring has Sprung and Scarecrows (?)

Spring is here! I decided, in the interests of actually seeing some of it, to release my soul from study for a few hours and visit the Lincoln Market.

Lincoln is a little university town close to Christchurch that has a small market every Sunday. Sometimes they have a theme; today's was SCARECROWS.

The judges were scarier than the scarecrows, wending serious and stealthy around the entries with their clipboards and muttering about number 20. I think 20 was the winner. You just can't beat Lone Ranger Tinsel Hair Butterfly Scarecrow with a Sunflower Hat.

I bought a thyme plant. My herb garden took a beating over winter and I think the thyme has gone forever. The basil disappeared last winter and didn't revive as I thought it would. I'm a bit clueless about herbs, but I'm learning. I'll take cuttings next year in Autumn.

Wandering around a market without a fresh coffee in hand was a bit trying, plus it was a small market so after half an hour we invaded an icon of Lincoln: Hillyers Cafe. Being in a cafe without espresso was a bit trying (do  you sense a theme here?), but I ordered a green tea and almost dominated a venison, red wine and bacon pie with salad.  That pie is a pretty hefty piece of culinary real estate, and the waitress did look sideways at the top crust left lonely on the plate once I'd "finished'. haha. I always do that with pies. It's the middle bit that most interests me. I'm such a kid sometimes.

On the way home we visited the HIVE exhibit of modular homes. This is a cool idea, a home that is built in pre-fabricated modules that can be put together in any number of ways and quickly. From dirt to finished could be less than a month. I'm surprised that designs like the Cube now appeal to me so much. I used to love old and ramshackle. Then I discovered two disturbing realities: 1) old and ramshackle is often badly insulated, not very soundproof and requires 'upkeep' and 2) old and ramshackle falls down in earthquakes.Our next house may well be stacked cubes, you just never know.

Just for fun, I dug up some images of 1st Sept's past. 

In 2011, Hagley Park was turning it on.

In 2010 I was on my last day in Zurich having spent a fantastic 6 weeks with the gorgeous Miss J and family. Strangely enough, while there I mostly photographed food and coffee shops... so unlike me.

This is a 'before' picture. A record of the days when I could be in a big city without giving a thought to  how the cookie might crumble, so to speak, if the ground shook. This pic is three days before the first big Christchurch quake. It hit at 4.30a.m. and I was still jetlagged enough that I was already awake for it.

And in 2009 The Programmer was out taking pics of the estuary.

Woah, 11.30pm already? I'd better get to bed if I'm going to spring into a full body spring workout tomorrow morning.

How is it where you are? Springing into Spring, or falling into Fall?