It doesn't feel like we've had a proper summer here so far this year. When the sun does come out we have to make the most of the opportunity to enjoy the heat outside. Although I much prefer sunshine to rain, it has been a blessing to have bursts of rain a few days every week as that means we avoid droughts and water restrictions.

Because of the many earthquakes around Christchurch in the last year or so, some of the water reservoirs were damaged and the city's capacity for holding the necessary huge amounts of water for its population is limited. In the long run it's good that there we haven't had a long hot summer - that's what I tell myself anyway.

There was a few beautiful fine days last week and on one of them, I decided that the driveway could do with some bright designs and drawings. The rest of my siblings thought that was a great idea- they actually made it outside and started on their pictures before me!
Before long numerous colourful doodles and patterns appeared on the concrete. As the drawings progressed, quite a lot of the pastels we were using made their way onto the limbs and faces of the artists. Some of the boys were beginning to take on a distinctly blue tinge by the time we finished.

I was attracted to the fuchsia flowers that were growing in the garden alongside the driveway and attempted to draw one with oil pastels.

The others each created circular designs with chalk pastels. Here are some photos of the afternoon.