The Changing Seasons: November, 2017

Detail: the Boy-Child’s Advent Calendar. Image: Su Leslie, 2017

November has been a month in which the phrase The Changing Seasons was particularly appropriate. The weather gods finally tired of delivering endless soggy grey skies, and the sun burst forth. The beach beckoned and the Big T and I managed to escape the city for a week on the Coromandel Peninsula.

Time to relax. Pre-dinner drinks in Stoked cafe, Whitianga, NZ. Image: Su Leslie, 2017

Image: Su Leslie, 2017

Image: Su Leslie, 2017

Image: Su Leslie, 2017

Image: Su Leslie, 2017

Even at the end of the week, under increasingly lowering skies, the smell of the sea and the feel of sand between our toes felt like blessings.

The end of the golden weather, Waitete Bay, Coromandel. NZ. Image: Su Leslie, 2017

Sunset, Whangarahei Stream, from the boardwalk at Jacks Point, Coromandel town, NZ. Image: Su Leslie, 2017

November saw the beginning of locally-grown, affordable strawberries. As the month has progressed, plums and cherries have begun to appear too.

At the beginning of the month, I cooked my second meal to be delivered to the City Mission as a contribution to the daily opening of its doors to Auckland’s hungry. I’m doing this through an initiative called Mum’s Mince — started by two local woman and named after the first dish they cooked (based on a mother’s recipe for minced beef). Each month they post an empty calendar page on FaceBook and invite people to sign up to offer a contribution of food — however large or small — on a particular day. They can usually fill the calendar with at least one person’s name each day.

The Mission feeds an evening meal every day to as many as 120 people; not only the homeless, but increasingly those who simply cannot make ends meet. The demand only increases at this time of year, so all contributions are welcome. It’s such a small thing for us — and both the Big T and the boy-child have embraced the project with great enthusiasm too.

The first strawberries of the season. Image: Su Leslie, 2017

The first strawberries of the season. Image: Su Leslie, 2017

Strawberry sponge, dessert to be delivered to the City Mission. Image: Su Leslie, 2017

Coleslaw, rice, backed chicken. A contribution to the City’s Mission’s daily commitment to feeding Auckland’s hungry. Image: Su Leslie, 2017

Baked chicken, for delivery to the City Mission. Image: Su Leslie, 2017

Ready for baking; wholemeal sourdough loaves. Image: Su Leslie, 2017

The month ended, as it always does, with me making the Boy-Child’s Advent Calendar. Now that he’s outgrown the Winnie the Pooh version my cousin made him (about, um, 15 years ago), I’m trying to re-invent the format to work in his flat. Hopefully 24 little envelopes pegged to a line and hung from a couple of removable hooks will do the trick.

Detail: the Boy-Child’s Advent Calendar. Image: Su Leslie, 2017

The Changing Seasons  is a blogging challenge hosted by Cardinal Guzman with two versions: the original (V1) which is purely photographic and the new version (V2) where you can allow yourself to be more artistic and post a painting, a recipe, a digital manipulation, or simply just one photo that you think represents the month.

These are the rules, but they’re not written in stone – you can always improvise, mix & match to suit your own liking:

The Changing Seasons V1:

Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
Each month, post 5-20 photos in a gallery.
Don’t use photos from your archive. Only new shots.

The Changing Seasons V2:

Tag your posts with #MonthlyPhotoChallenge and #TheChangingSeasons
Each month, post one photo (recipe, painting, drawing, whatever) that represents your interpretation of the month.
Don’t use archive stuff. Only new material!