A Colvinkiwi Christmas

You are not imagining things... there has been a very long dry spell on this blog. Two things happened: (a) I got overwhelmed with other activities plus (b) I was posting on instagram (which takes a lot less time - a good thing when reason (a) is happening). If you are on instagram you can find me @colvinkiwi.

Anyways, I was having a bit of fun as a way to avoid the chaos of the commercial onslaught purporting to be about Christmas. I came up with an idea which I first posted on a daily basis on instagram but now include for you here; it is based on the traditional Christmas Carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas". So hum along with me here...

On the first day of Christmas what did my canon see?

 A pear nestled in the evergreens.

On the second day of Christmas what did my canon see?

 Two cold geese, standing.

On the third day of Christmas what did my canon see?

 Three french chicks.

On the fourth day of Christmas what did my canon see?

 Four red carnations.

On the fifth day of Christmas what did my canon see?

 Five gold things.

On the sixth day of Christmas what did my canon see?

 Six eggs a laid.

On the seventh day of Christmas what did my canon see?

 Seven swans a swimming (see note at end)

On the eighth day of Christmas what did my canon see?

 Eight milk cows watching.

On the ninth day of Christmas what did my canon see?

 Nine angels singing.

On the tenth day of Christmas what did my canon see?

 Ten pretty blooms fading.

On the eleventh day of Christmas what did my canon see?

 Eleven canes uneaten.

On the twelfth day of Christmas what did my canon see?

 The reason for the season.


Notes from me: it was my interpretation so I got to make my own rules. Many of the photos were taken specifically for this purpose but some of them were taken much earlier and fit the number/theme so I included them.

Yes, you can only see four swans a swimming...three more cygnets had swum out of the frame. However, I really wanted to share this wonderful photo from a series I took on the west coast of new Zealand near Hokitika when we visited there in April 2018.

Yes, the rhyme does not quite work for day 12 but I really wanted to use the manger scene as my final one because it defies all the commercialism that has overtaken us. Also, if you click on the photo and count there are 7 people, four sheep and the feet of one angel (on top of the manger roof) which makes for an appropriate total of 12.

On the 13th day of Christmas I pulled together other items that I had thought about using but ultimately did not. On the 14th day we had the first snowfall of  2020 so I photographed the unused props (above). Hopefully, on the 15th day (tomorrow) I will put them away.

My canon camera and I have been quite active in the past few weeks so keep watching here, maybe I will be back soon. And in the meanwhile go visit me on instagram. If you are wondering what happened to my annual Christmas letter, hang in there, it might still come to you.

Wishing a happy, healthy, safe and calm year for all of us in 2020.