Those SHEEP are so pathetically cute!

“Being creative is not a hobby, it is a way of life.” 

~ Stephanie Ackerman

The hound at the Memorial on the boardwalk

I DON’T have ENOUGH time in my day!  

That is a light bulb moment.  

I have SO many ideas, so many things I want to TRY, so many things I want to MAKE but I’m always running out of minutes to make them in!

The start of my reflection fetish this morning.

This morning for instance, I found a knitting pattern for some cute fluffy sheep.  
I don’t NEED any cute fluffy sheep but I so WANT to make some.  No, let’s change  that 
“I HAVE to make some!”  
I have NO idea what I’m going to do with them but I just know I have to make some.

In the words of the oldest lemming “Those sheep are SO pathetically cute!”

Photo courtesy of Flutterby Patch

I’m my own worst enemy.

All those baby spiders have eaten their way out of the nest.

Take my photography for instance.  I’m as bad at snapping away with my camera as I am at using a multitude of unnecessary words. I take way TOO many photos and then have to spend hours and hours editing and deleting them.  Wouldn’t it just be easier to take FEWER photos?

Such an awesome reflection!

This morning is a case in point.  I went to Waiatarua for the first time in several weeks.  The hound and I have been keeping our distance from Waiatarua as the vet felt it could be the grasses and pollens there that were causing an allergic skin reaction she’s suffering from. Five weeks later and she’s still erupting in these little hives DESPITE not having been to Waiatarua.  I guess the grasses and pollens are NOT the culprit after all.

Savvy, the Bernaise Mountain Dog we met at the reserve today

I digress though ... back to photography and my penchant for taking too many photos.  The reflections were STUNNING this morning and I just couldn’t help myself.  It’s like an addiction .... I just HAVE to keep clicking away.  One more photo is just not enough.

Not too sure why she's looking so guilty

Same thing when we happened upon the Black Swan.  I’d just been saying to Julia that we hadn’t seen the swans at Waiatarua recently when out of nowhere up popped the head of one of the swans.  He was all on his lonesome and I’m sure it’s one of the babies I was photographing towards the end of last year.

The Black Swan, popping up from the grass!

He must have got used to photo shoots though because he swanned over ....yes, that’s what swans do .... and posed beautifully for us.  He is absolutely gorgeous .... the light was perfect, the setting was perfect and HE is perfect!

Once again I took WAY too many photos.

This is me though.  This is the way I express my insane inner self.  My words, my photography, my inability to know when to stop trying to fit too many things into too few hours.  This is MY way of life and I LOVE it.  I love the chaos I create.  I love the humour in the madness that is this life.  

I wouldn’t have it any other way ...

.... even though there aren’t ENOUGH minutes in my day yet to make those pathetically cute little sheep!

Indy, having a good swim!

Is it possible for a Chocolate Labrador to become even MORE chocolate??

Yep .... an even MORE chocolate Chocolate Labrador!

The vet’s getting to know Sam REALLY well and he’s learning to expect the UNEXPECTED where Sam’s concerned. He’s NOT a Labrador for nothing.

This week he ATE Carol’s hairbrush .... yep, her HAIR-BRUSH
.... he has strange tastes!

The Heron in the bay on Thursday morning

His behaviour the last two weeks lends credence to the belief that if a hound has enough stimulation in their day, they have no need to chew things and dig holes. Sam hasn’t been allowed to swim or walk off-lead since his op and his behaviour at home has been abominable. 
He’s dug holes in the garden and chewed a myriad of Carol’s things .... only Carol’s though  .... cause she SMELLS so good!

This week he’s back to his normal contented self. 

One of the Black Swan cygnets chasing a duck .... boy, did it POWER through the water!!

Phew!

That’s Carol breathing a sigh of relief, not me!

My hound is exhausted this evening. She’s had two days of full-on rambles with her favourite 
4-legged furry friends. 

Oh yeah .... I think she's a TAD muddy!

Sam and her gave the word “muddy” new meaning yesterday. It wasn’t only Sam that turned into a chocolate hound ... my ALREADY chocolate hound made herself even MORE chocolate! That MUD puddle at Waiatarua has a lot to answer for.

Double Trouble!

The Labrador Gang was out in force. The collective noun for a group of Labradors is a ‘party’ ... a very apt descriptive word for these social hounds that inhabit our lives. They definitely recognise one of their own and much tail-wagging and bum-sniffing takes place when they encounter another Lab when we’re out on a ramble. 

Today it was waves and black sand as Julia and I and the hounds headed out to Piha. Summer exposed itself in all its warmth and beauty .... no hint of any wintery weather  ... just glorious sunshine and blue skies. The hounds are allowed off-leash on the North side of Lion’s rock and we took full advantage of it.

It’s an idyllic spot .... so picturesque!

We had the beach to ourselves and spent a magical few hours walking in the waves ... yes, we got wet .... but isn’t that what you’re supposed to do when you go to the beach.

Someone creative has painted the electricity sub-stations in Piha .... not just with a coat of paint but with a colourful mural of the birds that inhabit the area. 

Our little village of St. Heliers has gorgeous bus-shelters, 
Piha has gorgeous sub-stations.

Insane?  Yes, but beautiful!

“Insanity ... a perfectly rational adjustment to an insane world.” 
~ R.D. Lang

ps. This blog was meant to be posted yesterday but google, in its wisdom, decided I have too many photos stored on-line! It wouldn’t let me load any more .... boo hoo. 

I’ve had to BUY more storage space now in order to continue uploading photos for my blog ...... argh!!!

Sam lifted his leg, took aim .....

“Words are the raw material out of which literature is created.” 

~ Francine Prose in her book ‘Reading like a writer’.

The view I wake up to every morning

It’s Friday so it’s rambling at Waiatarua time with Julia and Indy. I really needed to stretch my legs this morning so headed out to the view site first for a quick hill-climb before meeting Julia at the Co-op.

The moon last night, no longer full

Standing up at the view-site listening to the silence all around me is awesome. It’s early morning .... no hum of traffic yet, no voices .... not even the crashing of waves below me as the tide is just starting to recede. Just me and the hound and the world around me. I close my eyes and just listen .... and it’s perfect  .... until the hound farts!

The world comes rushing back in a thousand sounds and reality returns. Ah well ..... I touched my soul for a moment .... it’s enough.

The hound at least had the grace to look abashed.

There was a feathered frenzy at Waiatarua when we arrived..... Black Swans, Pukeko, Mallard Ducks, Scaup ... to name but a few .... all lurking around the grassed area where some of the regular ramblers feed them. The Pukeko are greedy and not at all fearful when there’s food involved.

Indy’s arrival DID send them fleeing back into the water but not before grabbing the remnants of their impromptu meal. Indy even went wading into the wetland after them. I think he was after the food, not the Pukeko but his antics in the water attracted the attention of the Black Swan who started hissing and moving in Indy’s direction. I think he realised the Black Swan was a completely different ball game to the Pukeko and gave up the chase .... thank goodness! I wouldn’t want to tackle one of those swans. When they lift themselves up and spread their wings, they’re HUGE .... even taller than Indy .... and WAY MORE fearful looking!

Carol didn’t join us at the reserve this morning. She took Sam to Glover Park instead. Some of the older humans with hounds .... and I say that tongue-in-cheek as Carol is 63 .... take their smaller hounds to Glover Park once the beach restrictions come in during summer. 

Summer??? Is that what they call the weather we’re having right now?

Sam, being a male hound, loves to leave his calling card on every bush, shrub, tree, wall, post-box etc that any other male hound has left a scent on. Carol didn’t QUITE expect him to add HIS calling card to the rack of hats outside the pharmacy in the high street though!

One of the six Scaup that are in the reserve ... they're DIVING DUCKS and are forever
ducking under the surface!

He lifted his leg, took aim at the hat and let it ALL out

 .... a long, noisy stream!

Carol didn’t miss a beat. She heard the sound, looked down and, realising there was nothing she could do, urged Sam on up the street. She didn’t even glance back. I don’t think she could .... she was LAUGHING too much!

WARNING: DON’T sniff the sunhats before buying them!

She's doing a wee in the puddle!

Shadow pinched her ball and went in the dog pond with it!

An Old English Sheepdog who's been shaved.

My Studio/Shop ... it's starting to take shape!