Mother Nature must have known I was feeling sad ...

Mother Nature turns my skies beautiful!

Sometimes life isn’t fair

It attacks us with a suddenness and ferocity we don’t always expect. The feelings can be overwhelming and, for a brief period in time, unmanageable.

I’m glad it was raining this morning.  Raindrops and tears became one and, as each tear fell, a calmness enveloped me.  It’s good for the soul to cry.  It’s necessary.  

A release from the anguish and hurt felt inside.

Yesterday's sunrise

It doesn’t put my world to right but it helps me deal with it better. 

On the beach yesterday .... there was sunshine!

I am the eternal optimist.  I always have been.  I smile and laugh and bubble because that’s who I am. Even eternal optimists have their down-days though.

.... and HUGE logs!

One day I might feel compelled to write a book about the last few years ... more as catharsis for myself than anything else.  “I wake each morning and pinch myself, hoping it was only a dream ....” 

For now though, I’ll just focus on each day and try to make it a good one.

The sun rise this morning wasn’t visible from the view site.  Dark storm clouds were covering the sky as raindrop after raindrop trickled down my nose. By the time I hit the beach those dark storm clouds had turned the most amazing shades of yellow and orange.  Mother Nature must have known I was feeling sad this morning so she painted those skies in the most riotous of colours.

Today's sunrise .... awesome!

She even added a rainbow.

Rainbows and sun rises don’t do it for the hound though.  She wanted to chase logs in the waves. Espying the oldest lemming arriving on the beach, she barrelled on over and vociferously instructed him to tend to her needs.  He’s good like that though and well trained. Log after log after log was thrown into the waves for an enthusiastic hound to retrieve.

She’s had a bonus today. Not only did she get to ramble in the rain this morning but she ALSO got to ramble with her buddy Sam at Waiatarua this afternoon.  Guess what .... it was STILL raining.  

TWO rainy rambles in ONE day ... how LUCKY is that!

Waiatarua is water-logged in a way I’ve never seen it before.  Even the bridge that I photograph the ducks from was under water.  The pathways are under water.  The grass is under water.  It’s a WETLAND in EVERY sense of the word.  The hounds thought they’d died and gone to heaven.

We quite literally splish-splashed our way around the reserve throwing rugby balls in every direction.  Some of the puddles were as deep as the river.  

In some parts of the reserve the puddles WERE part of the river.  

The river on the right side of the wooden fence and the path on the other.

It was so much fun.  I’m not sure WHO enjoyed it more ... the hounds or us.

The bridge ... water-logged .... I'm standing on it, in the water!

“Life is not the way it’s supposed to be. It’s the way it is. 

The way you deal with it is what makes the difference.” 

~ Virginia Satir

The dogs are heading onto the path ... it looks like a river!

This is how deep the water on the paths was .... up to my ankles.

A wetter than wet hound!