A Sign of Summer

It’s summertime in New Zealand.  One of the signs of summer near the coast where we live is the appearance of new flax seed heads.  The stems emerge from the flax bushes as long slender green shoots in the spring, produce buds and then turn red in early summer before dying back at the end of the season.  When the seed heads flower they are visited by birds, most noticeably the Tui, and bees.

These images were taken two days ago along the coastal track that leads along the clifftop north of Long Bay on Auckland’s North Shore.

Flax Seed Head

Seed Head Silhouette