Autumn Zebra

When Mum goes on holiday, we go and water the plants, and I scavenge stuff out of her garden. She is not away long this time, so I just got things that were suffering from lack of water (rhubarb) or going to seed (salad greens), strawberries because they don't last long, and potatoes and lemon balm because there is tonnes. I love to see what there is to eat growing in other people's gardens. Salad greens, lemon balm, strawberries, potatoes and rhubarb scavenged from Mum's garden

While we were away on holiday for a week, the rose bud on one of my seed-grown roses opened. I don't know where the seed for this one came from or even what the rose hip was like because I didn't label the first few. The plant itself is not very healthy, maybe it has some kind of disease, or has got too much strong sun. The rose has probably been open a few days at this stage, and the plant hadn't got water for a week as I don't think it had rained and it is only in a pot. The plant is only around a year old and still tiny with only one stem and a few leaves. Pink 5-petal rose, grown from seed

Last year, in November I think, I found this Iris in the garden. Since we have lived here for 8 years or something, I don't know why I haven't seen it before... Normally I am not a fan of Iris's but this is a pretty one. It appears to be an Iris Confusa, aka Bamboo Iris.

A type of parrot in the aviary by the sea in Timaru. Iridescent green and blue, and yellow.

This is a kete I made last year for my brother during a course that I took.  The harakeke (NZ flax) used had been found in the classroom somewhat worse for wear, a bit over-processed in some places, etc. It has a much greater colour variation than the harakeke we had harvested for the class so I think someone brought it in themselves. No one claimed it so I used some to learn to make a four corner kete. I had seen someone else do a flap at the top of one of theirs, so I made up a way to do that on mine to create a satchel. The strap used some harakeke that I had and some dyed blue stuff someone else had left over which was a good colour to match the lining I already had planned to use. So it was very serendipitous. The toggles are made from pieces of apple wood from a tree in the garden I had to prune quite severely. I cut little pieces of the branch with the bark still on, and carved out a bit of the wood around the middle to the tie attaching the toggle to the bag would...