The Year in Photos: September to December 2011

Somehow January seems to have raced away on me, but I didn't want to abandon the "year in photos" series half done. So here is a very quick round up of the rest of the year.

September (after returning from holiday);

I started hill walking again

The "Earth from Above" photo exhibition was part of the Christchurch Arts festival.

October:

We had a minor flood.

Which soaked these flags - displayed on a pre-school fence for the Rugby World Cup

The new temporary "Restart" shopping mall opened

But the city's water reservoirs still have earthquake damage that needs fixing - hence, water restrictions this summer.

November:

I took the opportunity to walk into Cathedral Square (the temporary walkway has now closed again, as there are ongoing demolitions)

I took a weekend trip to Wellington, where I had the uneasy feeling of being among high rise buildings for the first time in a long while - here the new reflects the old.

December:

I visited the Antarctic Centre. The penguins are there because they have injuries which mean they are unable to be released into the wild.

Made the traditional Christmas pudding..

Even the most temporary buildings were getting into the Christmas spirit.

A Year of Photos: August 2011

Engineers appeared in our area, checking the soil strength for rebuilding.

There was a craft fair in town:

I found a new area to walk in, which included this beautiful garden:

where I photographed this fellow:

These two were captured at twilight, closer to home:

We had a second big snowfall (this street is near my work - I walked there as it was easier than driving through the snow)

The central city was still cordoned off:

At the end of August we flew away on holiday for ten days, but that deserves its own post.

The Year in Photos:April & May 2011

My April and May photo files include plenty of photos of damaged buildings (many of which have now been demolished) but also show that I was seeking out distraction of a more positive nature where I could find it.

In April the army were still manning the central city cordons:

but the Botanic Gardens were open:

and autumn colours were being to show:

I managed to find a walking track on the Port Hills not too far away which was still open:

I visited the Riccarton House craft market:

A certain wedding caused neighbours to celebrate by decorating their fence:

In the carpark of our local supermarket, now being rebuilt, the gulls had taken over as the bumps and hollows caused by the earthquake turned into a bird pond with sandy beaches:

I didn't take many photos in May, but couldn't resist this shot of an earthquake damaged building, revealing the giant papier mache mushroom stored in the shoe shop attic:

Portaloos were still common on the streets, due to damaged sewer systems. Thousands of residents were using either portaloos or chemical toilets. The portaloos came in many different colours - this dark blue one had been turned into a Tardis

and I took this photo, the icon which denotes the Windmill Centre, a shopping area in Riccarton, just because I liked the colours:

The Year in Photos: March 2011

In March I took photos around the city of ruined buildings

and soldiers in the streets

and then flew out for a week's break on Norfolk Island where the ruins are somewhat older.

We photographed the wildlife:

watched a historic reenactment

enjoyed the scenery

and watched the sunset.

It was a perfect time for a week of doing not very much. Tomorrow I'll explore what happened in April.

The Year in Photos: February 2011

I didn't take many photos in the first part of February, but I did spot these child sized hard hats lined up on shelves outside a child care centre...

and this fellow posed on top of my recycling bin...

My daughter's peach tree bore a bumper crop. The bottling was done on February 21st...

and miraculously the jars didn't fall off the bench on February 22nd, though much of the rest of the city fell down:

The above photo shows where I was sitting (on the left) when the earthquake struck.

Below, our chimney in the driveway.

With power out for two days, candlelight quickly became unromantic:

Much of the city turned into a giant wet and sloppy sandpit:

and the banks of the river moved together, with the result that most bridges had rather odd V-shaped humps on either side: