A little black dervish.

 
“I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.” 

~ Louise May Alcott

Orakei Basin as the sun tries to break through the clouds

A little she-devil lives at The Flat @ No. 14.

A little BLACK she-devil that hisses and spits as it bounces.

Who would have thought that the rescued furball I bought home 18 months ago 

would become the little dervish that it is today.

I have Yvonne to thank for that!  Yvonne with her ginormous heart and unpretentious nature, who’s made such a difference in the lives of so many hounds and furballs.

Without Yvonne, this little furball wouldn’t be part of our family.

Even had a rainbow as that sun sent the clouds scudding away

Despite being the smallest of our furball family she’s become particularly adept at keeping the hounds in their place.

Especially the black hound,

although she does confuse the chocolate brown hound with the black one at times.

Loved the abundance of shags roosting round the basin.

The chocolate brown hound chooses to tip-toe around her 

having witnessed the ferocity with which she chases the black hound.

Yes.  CHASES the black hound.

The black hound’s fast learnt when to make a hasty departure.

It’s those claws and teeth and the NOISE she makes.

A spitting hissing ferocious dervish!

The walkway winds around the basin

NEVER a dull moment at The Flat @ No. 14.

Not that I would ever want there to be.

He'd regurgitated a fish and was trying to swallow it again

I’ve taken delivery this morning of a canvas I’ve been dying to see. 

It’s a special request for a photo I love.  

A photo I HAVEN’T printed on canvas before.

I was too scared to.

Too FEARFUL that what I see in the image wouldn’t translate to canvas.

But it has.

In a manner I hadn’t anticipated and BEYOND what I’d expected.

I missed the moment where the fish came back up

I’m delighted.

The ‘shouting it from the rooftops’ kind of delighted.

The hound’s a tad confused.

She doesn’t understand the magic I’ve just seen.

Being able to do what I love changes the way I view the world.

In infinite ways.

It’s not about the financial reward as that can be haphazard.

It’s not about the recognition as there isn’t always any.

It’s about doing what FILLS your soul to overflowing and doing it with ALL of your being.

It’s about FACING your FEARS, like the furball does, and OVERCOMING them.

I’m on a journey of discovery, 

DOING what I love.

“Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; 

it is something you design for the present.” 

~ Jim Rohn

I'm a little frayed around the edges ...

Yep ... I got to stalk the heron today!

I AM because I WAS.

She is just TOO gorgeous!

Every experience, every lesson, every person I’ve ever encountered ... every country, every town, every village I’ve ever lived in ... have all woven their magic into the tapestry that is me.  I might be a little frayed around the edges, a tad insane and a little too radical for some but I am who I am because of all of this. Evolution is an on-going process and I’m DEFINITELY a work-in-progress.  A slightly flawed work-in-progress maybe .... with a demented hound of course

 .... but what a combination!

Hazel, the gorgeous Irish Setter wasn't too sure what to make of these 2 being IN her face!

I’ve changed.  I’m choosing to make life simpler.  I’m not bound anymore by the time constraints of a school calendar and extra-mural activities.  I’m choosing a freedom to pursue what I love and that’s so good for my soul.

I’m right where I’m meant to be at THIS moment in time.

Gorgeous reflections at Waiatarua

I’ve had a magical morning that I wasn’t expecting after last night’s storm and the early morning clouds and rain. Puddle jumping at Waiatarua, rock pool wading at low tide, heron stalking in the rock pools .... what more could a girl and a hound possibly want!

The more time I spend with that demented hound of mine, the more I think that in my next life I’d like to be re-incarnated as her .... with an owner like me!  Her world today has consisted of rambles in the reserve, walking in the waves, bones on the balcony and finally

 .... collapsing on the carpet.  

Who WOULDN’T want a life like hers.

Storm clouds up above but the rain stayed away.

She even had a car ride thrown in too!

Catching a fantail feeding ... the only time it keeps still!

The fur-ball had to have her stitches out today.  It’s been two weeks since THAT op and the wound has healed beautifully. Our local vet wasn’t interested in taking them out without me paying for a consultation though as he hadn’t performed the op.  I guess I can understand his reasoning but there’s ONLY 3 stitches which, after a navigational nightmare of an afternoon, took a WHOLE 3 seconds to remove. 

He led me a merry walk today .... all across the rock pools between St. Heliers and Kohi!

As any of my friends will attest, I am NAVIGATIONALLY challenged. If I haven’t driven myself somewhere before, I’m unlikely to be able to find it without the aid of a navigational device .... ie a satnav or google maps.

So, with the hound, the fur-ball and the youngest lemming in tow .... and the address typed into Google Maps .... we headed off for what SHOULD have been an hour and a bit round trip.

I discovered a few things about Great South Road that I hadn’t been aware of before. It’s long .... VERY long.  It’s numbering system is ass about face.  There is more than ONE property with the number 875 and they are FAR apart!  There are ZILLIONS of intersections with traffic lights!  There is MORE than one veterinary practice on Great South Road.

The Shags sunning their wings

Not only did Google maps take us on a merry goose chase but it also KILLED my phone.  We plugged in the home address after finally finding the vet and just as the instructions came up on the screen, the battery died!!!

Needless to say I did find my way home several hours later than intended, 

no thanks to Google maps.

He's trying to escape again ....

Google nose ..... nothing!

A lifetime is NEVER long enough.

The furball did her usual road-trip of the bed ...

 

“Humour is the sunshine of the mind.” 

Edward G. Bulwer-Lytton (British politician 1803 to 1873)

Sunshine might have been in short supply over the last few days but it sure made up for it this morning.  Sunshine and smiles in abundance! Where did the magic come from!  

Mornings like this are therapy for the soul.

They re-ignite my belief in me and in a world that seems to be falling apart.

It’s Equinox and just for today, the length of day and night is almost equal everywhere in the world.  My little part of the world now starts its tilt away from the sun :( 

This is an image captured by NOAA’s GOES 13 Satellite of the Earth at Spring Equinox.

Isn’t it awesome!

No time constraints today so I walked up to the view site a little later than usual.  Absurd as it may sound I’m actually looking forward to daylight saving coming to an end.  It’s almost 7.30 at the moment before the sun lifts it’s head over the horizon.  The hound and I have been out and about for an hour already by then.  For most of April and May though I’ll be able to watch the sun rise BEFORE we head back down to the beach ... Yay!

I created consternation in the furball’s mind this morning by NOT having the alarm go off at it’s normal time.  She did her usual road-trip of the bed, vibrating noisily as she moved around and between us, then settled back down to wait for the alarm.  In her mind the alarm is an ON switch ... not just for her but for us too.  She is the most loving and most cuddly of furballs.

Sometimes I’d like to PAUSE these moments in the morning and just REVEL in them because they’re so precious and far too fleeting.

The sun rise is calling though ... and so is the hound.  She doesn’t do the PRECIOUS and CUDDLY bit quite as well as the furball.

She was in a HURRY this morning and, unusually for her, quickened the pace on the way up.  Hills are NOT her forte ... nor mine .... but without hills there wouldn’t be magnificent views and sublime sunrise vistas, so we take them in our stride .... quite literally.  Just a random thought .... would my day be any longer if I spent it at the top of the hill rather than in the valley?

It’s low tide and clear skies so I know the reflections on the beach are going to be magical and I also know some of the Heron family will be fishing.  There were THREE herons on the beach this morning.  I somehow managed to chase two of them away and then stalked the third one up and down the beach for what seemed like aeons.

I did get some great pics of him though.  

Brian had HIS camera out too .... yes, OUT of the bag ... I nearly fell over!  If it rains tomorrow, I know just who to blame!

Between Brian and I, that lone Heron didn’t stand a chance.  I lost count of the number of times it flew up and down the beach.  I just changed direction and went up and down the beach in pursuit of it.  I’m hoping one day it’ll get the message that I’m NOT a threat ... just an annoying itch with a camera who wants to preserve these images forever.

Today I’m sharing the sunshine and the love and the peace that’s in my heart .... just because I can!

My little piece of paradise rocks!