Isn't that what everyone does when it's raining??

“When it rains, look for rainbows.  When it’s dark, look for stars.”
~ unknown.

It’s uncanny when thoughts that go through your mind whilst rambling pop up on line or in an e-mail when you get home. This morning’s ramble was a wet and windy one.  Heavy grey clouds scudding across the morning skies ... few photo opportunities as it was just too dark.  As I was walking up the hill on the way home I turned around and scanned the sky for rainbows 
.... isn’t that what everyone does when it’s raining?

No ...?  Ok .... well I do.

Having that quotation pop up in front of my eyes was ironic.  It’s a philosophy I try to incorporate into my life even when I’m at my lowest and this morning I needed that reminder.

Lessons in Life - Lesson 1 relearned.

That polar storm that the weatherman’s been ranting about has finally arrived.  The temperature has plummeted .... dramatically.  Winter is here with a vengeance. 
 I’ve just chuckled at the forecast for Wellywood 
“Wellington - calm where you are because the centre of the low is over you ... it really is the calm before the storm. Winter hits overnight.” 

That mountain-goat friend of mine ... yep, the OTHER Carol ... is heading down there tomorrow to participate in yet ANOTHER half-marathon on Sunday.

She needs her head read ... and Pete needs a medal!

Low fronts are my nemesis.  Whilst I love the changing weather they bring I hate the impact the change in pressure has on my head.  Migraine medication is a necessity as I’ve yet to find a way of avoiding the impact of the low.

There’s a wildness to this particular storm ...... it’s dark and brooding and angry.  There’s a mood to it that’s VISIBLE. It blows the sea-gulls backwards and the hound’s rugby ball sideways. It whips my hair into my eyes and the stinging sand against my legs. It’s invigorating!   
We gave up on the rugby ball and used a log the hound had found instead.  
Fierce waves + log = hound’s kind of heaven.

A rather COLD kind of heaven.

The eerie colours of the sky this morning as the sun and the clouds jostled for position.

The fur-ball's found a sunbeam to snooze in.

I’d enjoy the cold more if it was actually snowing like it is at Mount Ruapehu.  They’ve had lots of snow.  I’ve not yet had the opportunity of photographing snow and I’d love to.  It’s a few hours drive from Aux and I have a market this weekend so snow photography’s unlikely to happen.  I’m wondering what the hound would think of snow!


This is a photo posted on line by the Chateau at Mt. Ruapehu
 .... LOOK at all that SNOW!

This kind of weather brings a myriad of rainbows and Sarah captured the most magnificent one at Waiatarua today ... on her phone nogal!!  It totally encapsulates the contrast in the sky.  She paid the price though ... her and Sha’dock’ got caught in the hailstorm that followed it.

Gotta LOVE those rainbows!

.... and Sam the Man tried to pinch mine when he came to visit me at the shop today!

This gorgeous black Lab was left outside the Mall whilst his owner met a friend for coffee. She'd forgotten to bring his collar so very cleverly used her scarf as a collar and fastened his lead to it.  
He looked SO cute and got plenty of pats and cuddles from passers-by!

Rainbows that only I can see.

“Don’t grieve.  Anything you lose comes round in another form.” ~ Rumi

My stall at Matakana today

Some days are good and some days are bad and when I have a bad day I need to remind myself that it’s not going to last forever.  Yesterday was a BAD day but today has been gorgeous .... a sunshiny kind of day when what’s wrong with my world seems repairable and when I feel invincible.

My world is full of rainbows .... but only I can see them.

I’ve been experimenting with Chocolatandco and lugging stock to markets further afield.  Whilst it’s fun and exciting exploring new areas and meeting new people it means earlier starts on my weekend mornings!

Yes, yes I know ... people like my friend John get up when the sun’s still sleeping EVERY morning ... but I don’t have to.  I CHOOSE to get up early to ramble with the hound on weekdays.  Hmmm .... I say it’s a CHOICE but since the teeniest of fur-balls arrived it’s like having an EXTRA alarm clock.

She has her very OWN internal clock and woe betide ANYONE who DOESN’T respond to her early morning cuddles. 

They start off gently enough .... albeit noisily.  You HEAR the purring before you FEEL the body.  She’s normally warmly ensconced between us but as her internal alarm clock goes off she stretches and stands on tippy toes ... and stretches again.  You feel the vibration of the purr as she moves up the bed and the purring intensifies as she lies on my neck.  I can not only HEAR the purring LOUDLY in my ear but my whole head is VIBRATING with the intensity of it too!

It’s designed to get me to move and, if I ignore her for long enough, she’ll head over to Gav and try her luck there.  She is one CLEVER fur-ball.

Returning it all to the studio

But back to the early mornings .... and my desire to sleep a tad longer on weekends.  It just doesn’t happen.  If we aren’t rambling, we’re at markets .... and both require an early start.  You can guess which one of those activities the hound DOESN’T like! 

Rumi’s quote comes to mind but I don’t think he meant it from a loss of sleep perspective.

Talking of Rumi, here’s another of his quotes I like ... and this one REALLY appeals!

“Forget safety. Live where you fear to live.  Destroy your reputation.  Be notorious.”

Be NOTORIOUS .... 

Tonight's moon .... before the sun set ...

.... and after the sun set.

Hercules

Oyster Catchers in flight

Bessie and Chocolat

Mornings are MANIC!

From the most beautiful of sun rises to dark skies and rainbows, I see a gamut of colour in my world each morning. Sometimes it’s more muted and less fiery than it was yesterday but it’s all still so very beautiful. I LOVE early mornings and the thought of a new day awakening.

Yesterday's magical sun rise!

My hound loves early mornings too .... the earlier the better. The minute she hears the alarm clock ring, she’s there .... eager, excited, raring to go. I’m still trying to wake up .... still trying to make my arms and legs function in-between trying to stop her washing my face!

Mornings are MANIC!

I don’t mind though. I love heading out when the world’s still sleeping .... when the sun hasn’t quite made it over the horizon. What light there is has tinged the clouds with a pink glow. The early morning chorus hasn’t reached it’s crescendo yet but it’s already attracted the attention of the big ginger kitty down the road. She’s an early riser too.

There’s seldom a soul about when I leave in the morning. Sometimes I feel I should be tip-toeing down the road so as not to shatter the peace and tranquility that the new day brings.

Gorgeous pink clouds over Rangitoto

Lycra clad cyclists .... the collective noun MUST be a STRETCH of cyclists!

It’s broken soon enough though. The beachfront is a hive of activity even at that time in the morning. We see early morning commuters heading into the city to work, scantily-clad joggers pounding the pavement with way more energy than is necessary at that time of day. There are lycra-clad cyclists racing down Cliff Road unaware of how their voices carry in the still morning air and wake the sleeping inhabitants of the houses they pass. 

My favourite piece of real estate from the view-site .... not much clarity in my world this morning!

I often wonder if these other early-morning devotees that AREN’T on their way to work share my enthusiasm for being up and about at that time of day. Do they rise with alacrity and excitement for what they might see or who they might meet as they jog, cycle or walk ..... or is their activity merely a form of exercise, participated in purely to stay fit and healthy?

The hound and I are the lucky ones .... the health benefits are merely a BONUS of our rambles. 

The first of a multitude of rainbows I saw today ... there's even a faint second one visible too!

What really rocks my world is what I see around me, the people I  meet and sometimes ramble with,  the everyday beauty that a lot of us take for granted. 

We see SO much without REALLY seeing it.

We are the fortunate ones, we get to witness the world waking everyday. Whether it’s a glorious awakening like it was yesterday or a wet awakening like it was today, it’s still magical and brings a kaleidoscope of colour to my world.

The double rainbow .... far more visible now.

I taught Moira a thing or two about rainbows this morning. She’s never seen a double rainbow before and there was a magnificent one in the bay today ..... something to do with all that rain.

 I told her to look at the rainbows and see how the second one was a mirror image of the first ... and then to put her umbrella up as the rain was about to start! 

That’s the thing with rainbows .... they’re beautiful .... rarely there for more than a few seconds .... but they NEVER fail to bring the rain with them. 

A Pot of Gold at the end of a rainbow .... not on your nelly ..... just raindrop after raindrop after raindrop.

She's preparing to give me the MANIC look.

Hmmmm .... not quite as MANIC as normal.