The next morning, Sat-Dec-23, I awake to a loud dawn chorus of native wild birdlife singing for suitors. Can you believe it? - less than 48 hours before Christmas Day and the sky is alive with the sound of early summer birdsong. I'm curious, so I get up to feel the first early morning rays of sunshine; then see, not for the first time, this huge palm thriving in our next door neighbour's garden

Mark's self-maintained lemon tree is in full fruit and shedding windfalls. It's still just a little too dark in this shady corner for the camera to receive enough natural sunlight to capture a decent picture, so the flash sensor automatically cuts in

The peaches alongside are ripening nicely too. Incredible, but I suppose an entirely reasonable sight up in these almost sub-tropical latitudes at this time of year on the opposite side of the globe from the UK. Indeed, in this northern area of NZ, the inverted European parallel might typically be compared to southern Portugal.