They're seething cesspools of all things yummy ...

“The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same, yet our lessons come from the journey .... not the destination.”

~ Don Williams (American Novelist and Poet 1968)

Let me never forget that THIS is what makes my day special. The little things that would pass by unnoticed were I not in the waves with my hound each morning. No matter the weather, no matter that the sun sometimes goes AWOL .... it’s low tide and the heron’s in the shallows. 

Yesterday morning in my bay and it was ICY!

Moments like this take my breath away ..... the heron’s fishing so he’s oblivious to my presence. The further I squelch across the mud the more aware of me he becomes. It’s a bit difficult to be stealthy when your trainers keep sticking in the mud though!! He still doesn’t take flight .... not until the hound BARKS !

The Ferry looks so close to the shore when the tide's way out.

She’s had enough of me taking photos of the heron and is letting me know .... LOUDLY!! 

Mr. Heron takes to the air.

Me and my muddy trainers make our way back to the sand to kick her ball. It’s only since I’ve been photographing the heron in the bay that I’ve truly understood the meaning of the term mudflats. It’s so descriptive and exactly what the inter-tidal zone in our bay is. The birds love it .... it’s a seething cesspool of all things yummy for them to eat. To me, it’s just smelly mud I have to squelch through to get the kind of pics I want.

Two completely contrasting opinions of a mudflat.

It wasn’t just the heron I saw through my lens today though. We’ve seen glimpses of the black swans at Waiatarua before but never up-close. This morning Mom ... or maybe Dad .... was out with all the little cygnets and they were alongside Pukeko Island. 

They were being annoyed by a hound  .... not one of ours .... a very LARGE, very VOCAL Doberman. At least that’s what this hound looked like though it was much bigger than the average Doberman I’ve seen. It was another case of the human needing training as he/she/it .... gender was a bit suspect .... didn’t have control of their hound. 

The hound eventually realised it’s master/mistress ... and I use the term loosely as it wasn’t the human that was in control .... had disappeared, and went racing off down the path.

With the threat gone and tranquility restored the Swan swam closer to the bank. I was a little apprehensive as I’ve had run-ins with Geese before and they can be vicious. The Swan floated about 3m out and looked me up and down as I snapped away. I’m not sure who was sussing out whom .... I think it was mutual. After a few minutes the swan decided the photo shoot was over and floated back to its babies. 

I love moments like that!

We seem to be encountering several of these untrained humans at Waiatarua at the moment .... would that we had business cards for Flip the Dog Trainer to give them. I don’t think it’s going to be long before Carol snaps and uses a few choice words on one of them .... possibly the man with the rather vociferous Ridgeback type hound that doesn’t know when to stop barking and insists on trying to grab Sam by the scruff of the neck. 

He arrived at the Dog Pond again today whilst our hounds were chasing their balls. They’d been joined in the pond by Ebony ... the ‘wannabee’ submarine Labrador. As her name suggests, she’s black and gorgeous, but rather rotund ..... I guess all that blubber makes for a good flotation device when you’re espying what’s lying at the bottom of the pond.

We didn’t stay at the pond long. The constant barking and aggression of the other hound was a tad disconcerting. I had visions of my legs or arms being accidentally snapped by him as I tried to throw and kick the ball for Sam. 

My hound eventually had enough of this intruder and turned on him .... not that it stopped him for long. A few minutes peace and he was back tormenting Sam again.

I hope he’s not there on Thursday.