Last month I made the most of a beautiful late spring morning and drove out to the Ashley River with the family dog Emily. It hadn't rained for a while, so some of the side streams had dried up, leaving dusty tracks between the overgrown banks. This tiny flower caught my attention because of its dramatic colour difference to the surrounding area.

Not all of the tributaries had completely dried up - but I avoided walking through those ones because of their pungent mud-mixed-with-warming-water smell. It looks much nicer in a photo.

At the edge of the main river, there were thousands of tiny fish - cockabullies. This monster (all of 3 inches long) was the biggest one I discovered, having over-turned a large silt covered rock to expose his home. 

I've been toying with the idea of writing a new story set on a riverbank and somehow incorporating all different types of  NZ wildlife. So far though, it remains only a minuscule  idea tucked away in the far reaches of my mind. 

And lastly, here is our dog Emily. In our previous home on the West Coast we lived close to the Hokitika River, so she was often taken for walks along river side tracks. Now that we are in the city, she doesn't have as much opportunity to run and explore like she used to.  

So Emily was thrilled to be back near the water again!