Common and uncommon

Common sheep fence.

I don't often find a helicopter on the other side of the fence.

Linking to Gosia's Fences from around the world.

Morning, noon and night fences

It's that time of year where we often have a foggy morning followed by a clear, sunny day.

And in the evening, we've had some pretty sunsets. I was driving home and hoping to get to a particular spot to capture this sunset but stopped to take this shot when I realized it was going to be dark in a few more minutes.  I had to lighten the image so you could see the fences on either side of the road.

Linking to Gosia's Fences around the World.

Working fences

The majority of fences around here have a job to do.  Either to keep animals in - or keep them out.  I took the first photo a couple of weeks ago and the other two today on my way home from town.

I converted this to black and white trying to show up the sheep on the hill in the background.  They are still a bit hard to see.

 
 Linking to Gosia's Good Fences.

Turkeys and fences

This week there's a small resident flock of wild turkeys roaming beside the road into the Lions Lodge.  Yesterday morning they were acting like they thought that fence was there to keep them in.  It's probably the same fence they roost on at night.

 Wild turkeys are wary and do not allow close approach but these were a little less wild than most.  They hogged the road in front of me and I happily idled along behind them hoping to get close enough for a good photo.

 

 Up over the hill they went.

 And down the other side.

Until finally they decided I was a bit too close and over the fence they went. 

Further up the hill, the same fence was more effective keeping the sheep on their side of the fence.  As you can see, the weather is a bit drizzly.

Linking to Gosia's Good Fences.

A return to Good Fences

A little while ago now I had a quick trip to Warkworth to have morning tea with an old, old friend from Aussie, lunch with my lovely niece, Sharon and then a cooling afternoon drink with a mate who lives locally.  I'm not the most organised person in the world but things just worked out perfectly that day.

While waiting for my morning tea friends to arrive I took a walk along the riverbank to have a look at the Jane Gifford which is this country's last remaining rigged sailing scow and is now available for river cruises.

Later in the day I was up the other end of town and when wandering with my camera, spotted a few fences.

It's been quite a while since I linked to Gosia's Good Fences.  

Wavy fence

I can't go far in search of fences.  Luckily this one is close by.

Linking to Gosia's Good Fences. 

First fences

As a tribute to Margaret at looking for identity,  who is the new hostess for Good Fences, I've found a few photos of European fences.  

 At a railway station somewhere between Inverness in Scotland and Bath, in England.

 

No fence could contain the glory of the beaches in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland

Irish fence

 

I'm afraid fences were the last thing on my mind when in mainland Europe, my head was turned by so many wondrous sights.  The fences here near Hagia Sophia or the Blue Mosque, as it is popularly known, were purely accidental.

Stockyards fences

 A couple of paddock fences and a few more stockyard fences

A fence too far for this lamb

Linking to Teresa's Good Fences

Bike park fences

Todays fences were all found at the Bell Block Children's Bike Park.  It is built on either side of the entrance way to the cycle park, with a replica of a town on the right and a learning pad, obstacle course and pump track on the left.

The town includes almost everything you would expect to find while riding the streets, including traffic lights, a roundabout, railway crossing, disabled car parks, pedestrian crossing and speed bumps, all scaled down to 60 per cent of the original size.

Stopped at the lights

  The learning pad

And, of course, when the little people decide they have mastered all the necessary skills they are keen to put them to the test on the big people's track.

Linking to Teresa's Good Fences. 

Back country fences

I'm lucky to have several 'long way home' routes.   I took one of these last week end.  These photos were taken in the hills at the back of the farm.  

Linking to Teresa's Good Fences.

Roadside fences

I'd stopped to take a photo of something else but these guys distracted me as they came to the roadside fence to check out what I was up to.

Another roadside fence dwarfed by the gum trees.  Love those gum trees.

Linking to Teresa's Good Fences.

Detour fences

It just took a little detour on my way home to find this old unused cowshed with it's rusting fences.

And nearby weathered stockyards.

Linking to Teresa's Good Fences.

French fence

While looking for something else I happened across this week's fence photo.  It's taken looking over the hedge fence from the motel where I was staying in Bayeux, in Normandy, France.  After I'd looked around a bit I discovered the stock yards belonged to a veterinary practice.  They could have been in my back yard they looked so familiar.  

Except here when I look in the other direction I don't see a magnificent cathedral, in this case the Notre Dame Cathedral which was consecrated in 1077 in the presence of William the Conquerer.

It has survived fires, pillaging, the Huguenot rebellions, the French Revolution and even lightning. It sits very close to the coast and the beaches where the Allies landed in June, 1944.  Although it suffered fourteen hits by aerial bombs during the war, it did not collapse, but stood tall in an otherwise flattened city. The twin spires are said to have been used as an easily recognizable navigational landmark by Allied aircraft raiding deeper into Germany in the later years of the war, which may be a reason that the cathedral was not destroyed. 

Linking to Teresa's Good Fences.

The wooly goat

The kind owner of some black ewes and their cute lambs gave us permission to go onto her property to take photos.  But once I got there I had eyes only for the shaggy goat.  He was easily tempted over to the fence for a rub and some freshly pulled grass that Chris found for him.

I don't know if putting his head on this angle helped him to see us better.  Maybe he was just striking a pose.

How he managed to see where he was going is a mystery but he was very sure footed.

Linking to Teresa's Good Fences.

New fence, wonky fence

New farm fence beside the road around the Kawhia Harbour.

I wonder what happened to this section of an otherwise sturdy fence.

Linking to Teresa's Good Fences.

Harbour fence

A farm fence along the upper reaches of the Aotea Harbour.

Linking to Teresa's Good Fences if I can figure out how to do it on the tablet.

Calves

The new calves look keen for a photo shoot. 

Oh darn, there's always one looking the other way.

But when it's dinner time they ignore everyone and everything.  These five are being reared by my grand-daughter, Georgia.  She's doing a good job getting up and feeding them every morning before school and all. 

Elsewhere in the district lambs are arriving. These two were very recently born, having what could well have been their first suckle.  Hope the one on the ground that be bothered getting up doesn't think this will happen every time he's hungry. 

 

This ewe and her triplets (it's a bit hard to make out the third but it is there) are enjoying the grass and the sunshine.

Meanwhile, behind their fence, the cows are also enjoying the break from rainy weather.

Linking to Teresa's Good Fences.