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Tuesday, October 10, 2006

Haiku: Countryside

This week's topic at onedeepbreath is "countryside". I realised when I saw the topic that I always think of "countryside" as sheep, cows and pastures and that I find them rather boring (despite the fact that Japanese tourists in New Zealand always ooh and aah over the fluffy white sheep).

On the other hand if I take the topic to mean "outside the city" then it expands to include mountains, forests, beaches, rivers, lakes and all the vast expanse of nature. This morning Margaret, my walking buddy, and I, went to the Travis Wetlands on the fringes of the city. A swampy area has been saved from draining and development for housing and is gradually being restored to its natural state. It is a haven for birdlife. Parts of the reserve are still grazed by cattle, as some birds need shorter grasses for feeding. The area was alive and very noisy with birdlife - various species of duck, geese, pukeko (swamp hen - a New Zealand native), welcome swallows, pied stilts and others.

I was somewhat restricted for photographs by the 3x zoom on my camera and the fact that we had to keep to the walkways.



noisy traffic
geese fly honking overhead
come in to land




14 comments:

Julie said...

I love it! Geese are the noisiest birds out there, especially when they are flying in a big flock such as you have captured.

Very apt haiku!

Kay Cooke said...

What a treat! Lovely words and piccies. I like the link that the word honking makes between traffic and geese.

Becca said...

I enjoyed this so much - the photos and the haiku. Along my way to work each day, I pass a little mini preserve that managed to escape the bulldozer when the freeway went in. Yesterday, amidst the colorful fall foliage, the flock of geese that live there were diving in for a landing. I could hear the honking straight through the car windows! It was spectacular :)

SLW said...

How wonderful that this wetland area escaped development and is returning to life! And lucky you to be able to walk there. Thanks for sharing the adventure with dry Colorado...

Crafty Green Poet said...

Geese as noisy commuters! Excellent haiku and photos!

gma said...

Very nice haiku....what a wonderful place to go for a walk

GreenishLady said...

How wonderful! I love to see skeins of geese flying, and when they are landing or taking off - great pictures and haiku. Thank you.

Tammy Brierly said...

What an awesome take on the countryside theme. Honking geese vs cars anyday! Lovely haiku.

Anonymous said...

I like this whole post, the photos were a pleasure, and in the haiku I especially appreciated the parallel between traffic and geese: an unexpected little twist. Great!

Pip said...

I think I've driven past these wetlands on a couple of my trips to Christchurch before, but I've never stopped, which is silly given my interest in birds! Now I've seen your photos I will definitely need to pay a visit next time I'm in town.

The one thing I love about Wellington is that I always feel I'm still in the middle of nature, even though I live in the city!

Ian russell said...

are those Canada geese? boy, those fellas travel!

i think you've got some excellent shots on the camera, the airborne one especially. nice place.

fabulous haiku. it is strange they make that noise when flying. you hear them before you see them. ;o)

paris parfait said...

What a treat to see these lovely photos. And haiku to match! Wonderful!

Annie Jeffries said...

We watch for and then enjoy the Canada geese every year. Thank you for sharing them from your little corner of the world.

Anonymous said...

I forgot what it was like to see flocks of geese flying south; thanks for the memory