Hobbiton Shire, Green Hill Country and Beyond

The pictures above are landscape photos I took while on The Hobbit Film set in Matamata, New Zealand.  The second photo from the top is the famous Party Tree from Lord of The Rings, the third photo is Bag End with the Oak Tree growing on top of the roof. The shire is surrounded by rolling hills in the distance. The location is picturesque at every angel.

The Old Mill on The Water at "The Hobbiton Shire"

Bilbo Baggins ran by the Mill and a mile beyond to get to the Green Dragon to meet Thorin and Company.  The Old Mill was the water-mill of Hobbiton, owned and run by the Sandyman Family.  The Old Mill was a corn mill powered by a large water wheel. It lay directly adjacent to the bridge across the ByWater Pool and next to the Old Grange as well. The Hobbiton Movie Set is located at Alexander's Sheep Farm, Matamata, New Zealand. These are some of the pictures I took during the film tour.  ByWater Pool was very picturesque under the gathering rain clouds and reflected the surrounding trees like a mirror. 

Tire Swings and A Coastal 'May Day'

 

The first day of the month of May is known as May Day. Warmer weather begins and flowers and trees start to blossom.  As I walked along Shores Blvd, the tree swings and boats were idling quietly in the breeze.  I could find the energy coming from the warm weather.  The cold fronts of the North is lingering with snow falls in Colorado and in the mid-west, but in St. Augustine, winter is over and sunny days are here with mother nature's vibrant colors abound swirling around my head.

Sir Thomas Malory (died 14 March 1471)
Le Morte d'Arthur


"The month of May was come, when every lusty heart beginneth to blossom, and to bring forth fruit; for like as herbs and trees bring forth fruit and flourish in May, in likewise every lusty heart that is in any manner a lover, springeth and flourisheth in lusty deeds. For it giveth unto all lovers courage, that lusty month of May."
(Le Morte d'Arthur Book XVIII, ch. 25)
In 1469-70, a man named Thomas Malory (1405-1471) sat down to write a book about the adventures of King Arthur and his knights – a book that indirectly gave rise to works ranging from the novels of Sir Walter Scott and the poems of Alfred, Lord Tennyson to the Prince Valiant comics and Camelot musicals of the twentieth century. More information:

"How the Red Bud Came" and other Trees Georgia Hwy 82

Ga. Hwy 82 from Tifton to Columbus is the route I travel to my home town.  It is mostly farm fields and pecan orchards.  In March, the Bradford Pear trees and Red buds were blooming along side of Hwy 82.  New leafs were just starting to grow on the Pecan trees.  The visions of spring was worth a stop along side the road. The colors of the Red Bud capture my eye and I had to embrace it's beauty.

 

How the Red Bud Came by Kate Stephens
1853-1938

 

Once upon a time, the old books said,
A winsome girl in a Riding Hood Red,
Fell prey to Mr. Wolf when he searched for his bread.
 
But the books are wrong (as books may be),
For a strange thing happened, as we shall see.
 
Red Riding Hood did on a fair spring day
Visit her Grandmother - then, singing a lay,
With basket and flagon take homegoing way.
 
'Twas in woods Mr. Grey Wolf came on her path .
And his lips were curled in a wolfish laugh.
 
As the fierce old rogue walked hastily towards
The red-cloaked girl speaking promise-fair words,
(For those were the days when the animals talked
In a speech like to humans'), when towards her he stalked,
Stood Little Red Riding Hood fast to the spot
Rooted, eager to fly but daring not.
 
(Now what we here tell of those days of old,
Her Grandmother Tanager in carols has told;
Also Smoothcoat Chipmunk has chatted from the mold.)
 
And as Mr. Grey Wolf neared and snarled
in those far-away woods 'neath an oak tree gnarled
And grown with ivy, yet standing there
And raising its head in the glad sweet air,
Then came that strangest of things to see -
(Far out of the ken of you or of me)
For Riding Hood changed all at once to the tree
That now we call Red Bud.

And, too, suddenly
Her cloak turned to blossoms, which once in a year
She puts forth to tell Mr. Wolf drew anear.
A moment of doubt and a moment of fear.
 
Her basket and flagon (this likewise is odd)
Became the seed covers, brown silvery pods,
Which fall to the ground when the winds blow loud.
 
And this is the reason, the wood-folks agree,
That we now have each spring the cloaked Red Bud tree,
Who never grows tall, as other trees grow,
She loves her old child-like stature so.

 

by Kate Stephens

1853-1938

(Winds of Delphic Kansas, Woodstock, N.Y.: The Maverick Press. 1911)

A Fallin Fisherman at Sunset

RT Fallin loves to fish until the setting sun.  He probably fished all day and never gave up until he caught his supper.  His grandpa Louis Brown would have been very proud!

Poet Abbie Farwell Brown was an American author who lived from 1871-1927.  One of her famous children poems was The Fisherman.

The Fisherman

The fisherman goes out at dawn 
When every one's abed, 
And from the bottom of the sea 
Draws up his daily bread. 

His life is strange ; half on the shore 
And half upon the sea — 
Not quite a fish, and yet not quite 
The same as you and me. 

The fisherman has curious eyes ; 
They make you feel so queer, 
As if they had seen many things
Of wonder and of fear. 

They're like the sea on foggy days, — 
Not gray, nor yet quite blue ; 
They 're like the wondrous tales he tells 
Not quite — yet maybe — true. 

He knows so much of boats and tides, 
Of winds and clouds and sky ! 
But when I tell of city things, 
He sniffs and shuts one eye !

Bilbo Baggins Missing Birdhouse

When we toured The Hobbiton movie location, I noticed several birdhouses made with various materials that made them unique. These are pictures I took of the birdhouses located throughout The Shire.  I wanted to show some different images that most people would not find On Line and show the thoroughness of detail that went into constructing and building The Shire.  Probably, only die-hard fans of the LOTR and TH will find this interesting but the scenery was gorgeous and I was in awe of the entire countryside.

 

 I liked this blue birdhouse located in a flower bed.  Bag End is located at the top of the hill.


  This birdhouse is located in the garden with a straw roof.

 

After we toured The Hobbiton movie location,  I reviewed the film scenes of The Shire and noticed that at Bag End, Bilbo Baggins had a very rustic birdhouse in front of the window.  I took a lot of pictures of Bag End and the birdhouse is no longer there.  Instead, on the left side of Bag End is a smaller round birdhouse that was not in the movie.

The Hobbit screen cap with Rustic Birdhouse behind Bilbo (my edit).

 

Front view of Bag End at the Hobbiton Movie Location on Alexander Farm outside of Matamata.  A birdhouse is located on the left side which has a different design.  This is a movie trivial point but why did they remove the birdhouse?

 

 

 

Mt. Maunganui Rabbits - Radagast the Brown would be Proud

In The Hobbit, Radagast the Brown rides on a sleigh pulled by giant “Rhosgobel Rabbits” — creatures that were very much not in J.R.R. Tolkein’s beloved book.  On Mt. Maunganui, I saw these large rabbits feeding on the side of the mount.  They are not as large as Rhosgobel rabbits but they could probably pull a small sleigh made of sticks if they had too! 

Screencap from The Hobbit

It was a lovely surprise to encounter them with so many people walking the trail.  They basically ignored us and were not afraid.  On the harbour side of the mount you could see Tauranga Port in the distance.  Mt. Maunganui is surrounded by so many different activities from the busy port, recreational sailing, campers, the beach, and of course the "Rabbits".

Mauao 'Caught by the morning Sun'

Nancy and I visited Mt. Maunganui and I only walked a short distance on the track due to blisters.  I read the Maori mythology about the mount and thought it was as beautiful and as mythical as any Greek mythology I studied in college.

The Maori Mythology of Mount Maunganui (Mauao).

"There was once a hill with no name amongst the many hills on the edge of the forest of Hautere.
The nameless one was a pononga (slave) to the majestic mountain called Otanewainuku.
Nearby was the shapely form of the hill Puwhenua, a woman clothed in all the fine greens of the ferns, shrubs and trees of the God of the Forest Tane Mahuta. The nameless one was desperately in love with Puwhenua but her heart was already betrothed to the majestic form of the chiefly mountain Otanewainuku. There seemed to be no hope for the lowly slave with no name to persuade her to become his bride. In despair he decided to drown himself in Te Moananui-a-Kiwa ( Pacific Ocean). So he called upon his friends the Patupaiarehe (fairy people) who dwelt in the dark recesses of the forest. The Patupaiarehe were people of the night and possessed magical powers and they plaited ropes with their magic and began hauling him from the hill country towards the ocean. As they heaved and pulled they gouged out a valley and with his tears formed the Waimapu (weeping water) river. They followed the channel past Hairini, past Maungatapu and Matapihi and past Te Papa. They pulled him to the edge of the great ocean. He had one last look back at where he came from before plunging himself into the water to drown.  But he hesitated too long; it was already close to daybreak. The sun rose fixing the nameless one to that place. Being people of the night the Patupaiarehe fled back to the shady depths of the Hautere forest, before the light of the sun descended upon them. The Patupaiarehe gave the name Mauao ‘caught by the morning sun’. Today he is known by most as Mt Maunganui."   Source:  www.eske-style.co.nz

Native Trees at Tauranga Harbour, New Zealand

The park at Tauranga Harbour was outline with trees which provided shade and they cast-off a golden hue from the setting sun. Tauranga Harbour is a natural harbour located next to Mt.Maunganui and is the country's largest port.

Sunset at Tauranga Harbour, New Zealand

We were fortunate enough to be at Tauranga Harbour when the sun was setting.  Boats were settling in for the night, people had setup their canoes and returned home for the evening.  It was cool, breezy and with a serene peaceful night coming in. I am studying landscape oil painting and I definitely will try my hand at painting this beautiful Harbour at sunset.  Afterwards, I experience driving at night on the "wrong side of the road!"  Missed my turn and ended up going to never never land with road construction, blocked exists, detours, and the GPS was completely lost.  It was "An Adventure" better than anything Bilbo Baggins had with the Company of Thorin Oakenshield and his dwarves in The Hobbit.

Mount Beach at Tauranga, New Zealand

Tauranga is a popular place in New Zealand for families on holiday. It is New Zealand's premier surfing city. Mount Beach was crowded with students, families, and tourist on their summer vacation.  The beach and sky were gorgeous shades of blue.  What I liked about staying in Tauranga was the motel had no air condition and windows were opened to allow in fresh air.  The temperature was in the low 70's and it was wonderful to have fresh air circulating in the rooms. I have not been able to do that in the U.S. since I was a teen living at  home with my parents.  Due to security risks and crime, we have to keep our doors and windows locked.

Black Sands of Te Henga (Bethells Beach) New Zealand

Bethells Beach is a black sand beach in the Waitakere Range.  It is located at the mouth of the Waitakere River where it flows into the Tasman Sea.  From Auckland, it was a lovely drive with a long winding road through the country side to get to the beach.  The beach has been used as a filming location for the U.S. TV series Xena:  Warrior Princess and for the Disney movie "Avalon High".  The black sand glitters in the sun and the wind was so strong it was a struggle to walk on the beach.  Sand was whirling and hitting my face so hard I had to cover my eyes with my hands and try to hold on to my hat. I felt like I was in a sandstorm similar to the dust bowl in the US mid west.  It is a strong rugged coast with large dunes and was interesting to see but not my favorite kind of beach.  Living in Florida, I prefer white sandy beaches with plenty of seagulls and birds. The surfer club had members there but the beach was mostly deserted.  On this particular day, the sand was too hot and winds too strong to enjoy.