Our day in Christchurch

We started today (Friday) at a tiny local art gallery in Lincoln, named for Liffy, the town's first library and the town's Irish namesake. It's a one room gallery, today featuring three local artists including a potter. The volunteer for the day, whom we caught sweeping up and preparing the tiny room for visitors, took time to tell us about each artist, and about the work. One of the most memorable pieces was four white rectangular canvases, each painted with strokes of black outlining the various behaviours of cows during the 2011 earthquake. He described—and the artist had illustrated--how some clustered together, presumably for safety and reassurance, while others were isolated. Some, he pointed to, engaged in bizarre behaviour such as storming a fence (to get out) or collapsing in despair on the ground. The canvases themselves were torn, and he told us the artist had bought them because they had been damaged in the earthquake and she felt it fitting that her work be painted on them. As he described the painting, and pointed out its features, it was apparent that the reaction of the cows was not unlike that of the people who experienced that defining event three years ago. It was a fitting introduction to our day in Christchurch.

We started in the Botanical Gardens. The gardens themselves are a small part of a large park much like Central Park or Golden Gate Park. They look natural, but obviously carefully planned and we spent a lot of time among the pink, blue, mauve, purple, rose and white hydrangea, cameras clicking. A well- planned herbaceous border was in summer bloom (click, click, click). 

Out of internet time at the Auckland airport--more later.