Framed by flax seed pods

With the help of relocating gulls. One of the consistent sights at the time of the evening I was out on today's run, is that flocks of gulls abruptly relocate from one place to another. These ones had left the flats beside the mouth of the Waiwhakaiho River and were flying up river. where to I don't know. 

I was there to see if the pheasants I had disturbed a weeks or so ago, would be in that same place again; just on the Rewa Rewa side of Te Rewa Rewa Bridge. I didn't have time to run there before dark as my last day of the locum went on later than I had hoped, as staff arranged for me to assess a number of patients.

I drove the few kilometres, and on the way saw that not only was Taranaki not covered by cloud, it had gained a lot more snow in the last few days of cold and wet weather. I stopped on the way for a couple of quick photos, in case the clouds that were nearby covered the mountain for view. I was also aware that the sun sets quite rapidly at this time of the year.

They didn't and I was able to take quite a number of photos near, beside, and including Te Rewa Rewa Bridge. I still did look for the pheasants, but not surprisingly they were not to be seen.

This photo was taken from beside the bank of the Waiwhakaiho River through a break in the clumps of flax bushes growing there, across part of a golf course (the clump of trees is on the far side of the course). The setting sun is just catching the very top of Taranaki, and the shadows were growing almost by the second. 

I did make a few adjustments to return the photo to what I saw, as well as cropping it a bit to cut out empty sky and uninteresting foreground vegetation.

My last night here, and then the drive back to Auckland in the morning. I'll stop just south of Hamilton to visit my sister and her husband on their farm. It will be good to be home again.