A moment can seem like an eon ...

I was going to write tonight about how busy my week has been and how tired I am

 ... then I had a light bulb moment.  

How dare I complain.

Despite the heavy clouds and the rain, sun rise this morning was beautiful.

I have a part-time job that I thoroughly enjoy.  The rest of the time I get to indulge in beach rambles with the hound, and satisfy my passion for being a crocodile.  I earn an income from it too ..... albeit a small one .... at the moment. 

 It will grow though, of that I'm certain.

Viewing life through a lens is magical.  I get to capture moments in time that would otherwise be forgotten ... like this morning’s rainbow.  It was magnificent.  The most vibrantly coloured rainbow with another sneaking up behind.

There for a brief moment in time ... then gone.  

The "extra" left me a message in the sand.  One of those moments that was here one minute ....

That’s what life’s like too.  Moments in time slapped together in haphazard order with no logical rhyme or reason to their placement .... or so it seems.  A moment can seem like an eon but when viewed as part of the whole is actually quite insignificant.  

.... and gone the next.

Press PAUSE.  I want to REWIND.  I want to catch up.

Oh dam .... it's that Chiefs rugby ball.  Saturday night is the night of reckoning.

“Take ONE moment just to be here .... to be still

.... regardless of what is passing through you.” 

~ Gangaji

ONE moment.  That’s all I need.

The hound understands what I mean.  She would have her time on the beach over and over again if she could.  She would press rewind EVERY day, but especially on Tuesdays and Fridays..

They’re her catch-up days with Sam.

They chase rugby balls and unearth logs and dig trenches to China ... and drink coffee. Their energy and enthusiasm is boundless. 

 I nearly lost my coffee this morning to an ever-vigilant Sam.  Taking photos of rainbows took a back seat to save my caffeine fix. 

 It was my FIRST one of the day

 ... there was NO way NO hound was pinching it!

Sam and Bailey having Labrador playtime!

We’ve had King tides this week and there’s been an abundance of driftwood on the beach ...until yesterday.  The powers-that-be sent a tractor to clean up our bay and it removed a lot of the driftwood.  The hounds still found some though.

It looks aggressive .. but it's not.  It's all mouthing and noise.

I’m being very careful to avoid being stabbed again by a wayward log.  I am STILL having to visit A+E to have the wound dressed. Tonight was my 6th visit and I have to return again on Monday.

 I think I’ve learnt my lesson.

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” 

~ Henry David Thoreau

Marshmallow fetishes ... and other such things!

I am as relevant as the moon .... and beyond.  We all are.

Even when I feel like I don’t belong or that I don’t fit the mould, I will always be relevant.  Even when I feel like I’m missing something of myself, I am ALL there.  It’s just a cycle I’m going through. I can never disappear. I can never become part of the ether because, just like that moon in my sky that sometimes seems to be missing a part of itself, I am whole and always will be.

The Pied Shag we happened upon at the reserve on Friday

I DO matter, we ALL matter.

Life matters.

I am as relevant in my hound’s world as she is in mine.  Without her I wouldn’t have walked the thousands of kilometres I have.  Without her I wouldn’t have found humour in the simplest of things. Without her I wouldn’t have had moments where I’ve laughed so much I’ve wanted to cry. She is my best friend and constant companion and I’d be lost without her.

What big shoes she fills.

I never expected when I moved to New Zealand that a four-legged chocolate brown hound would become such an integral part of my life .... but she has.

She’s the inspiration in front of my lens.  She’s the reason for our daily rambles.  She shares in my caffeine addiction and marshmallow fetish and would eat Dolly Mixtures all day if she could.  

Yes, I know they’re bad for a hound but have you ever tried telling her that?

She’s TOP dog in this household of humans and fur-balls and the feline fur-balls are happy to say that.  They MORE than tolerate her and to witness the manner in which both of them wind themselves around her legs gives new meaning to the word “love”.  These feline fur-balls love the hound in a way I’ve never witnessed before between cat and dog.

She’s opened up my world .... walks in the waves take on new meaning.  Through her, I’ve met a ‘PUDDLE’ of Labradors, each with their own distinctive personality. It’s not the correct collective noun for a Labrador but it’s just SO apt. 

Wherever there are Labradors and water, there is BOUND to be a puddle!

Each of the PUDDLE we’ve had the privilege of getting to know has their own distinctive personality. 

Sebastian - the gentleman and statesman of the Labrador Puddle.  I can still remember watching Carol walking patiently down the hill with him, at his pace,  for his daily constitutional to the beach.  I only knew him in the golden years of his life but in those few short years, he left his mark on me.  

Sam the Man - his little ‘brother’ is proving just as delightful but in such a different way. Social, engergetic and mischievous .... with a bit of a lingerie fetish .... he’s keeping Carol on the tips of her toes.

Indy - hoover deluxe. The Indiana Explorer of the Labrador Puddle who’s nose gets him into ALL sorts of trouble! He’s way too clever ... and he knows it!

Ebony - the submarine Labrador who loves chasing rugby balls and swimming ALMOST as much as my hound ... AND can carry MULTIPLE objects in her mouth!

Bessie - who always joins in the rugby ball races and log retrievals on the beach. She’ll ALWAYS bring the log back to you and drop it at your feet 'cause once more is NEVER enough!

Bella - the ADD hound of the Labrador Puddle. Bella does everything in double-quick time, even taking a wee! She’s small, agile and a bundle of pulsating energy .... sitting still ISN’T an option.

And let me not forget the Psuedo Labrador - Sha-dock.  He who wants to be a Labrador but wears the wrong coat.  We forgive you for that Shadow and love you just as you are.  You belong with our Labrador Puddle.

There’s still Barney and Pepsi ... and Lilly and Molly .... Murphy and Jet and Coco and Luca. So many Labradors .... so much diversity.

Each one as relevant as the moon.

Find the UNIQUE ....

“LIFE is like a camera .... FOCUS only on what is important and you will capture it PERFECTLY.” 

~ anon.

Rock Pool reflections

To understand perfection one only needs to pause and take in what’s right in front of one’s eyes. As the hound and I walked down the road yesterday we were greeted by the tabby cat that lives a few houses down. There aren’t any dogs in this tabby’s  life but he wasn’t perturbed by the hound’s presence. Little furry kitty nose met large wet doggy nose. The hound’s tail wagged and kitty’s tail swished as he arched his back and stretched forward for a closer look at the hound. 

For just a moment, time stood still. 

I couldn’t help it. I was grinning from ear to ear as hound and kitty sussed each other out. Trying to take the camera out the backpack broke the spell and kitty moved off on his morning meander. I didn’t get a photo but the image I have in my mind of those two noses touching is vividly clear.

The Rosea were VERY vocal on the way up to the view-site this morning

I LOVE looking at life through the lens. I see so much more than what I ever did before I started taking my photography so seriously. 

FIND the unique, GET the angle, KNOW when to snap .....it’s so SIMPLE! 

I wish it WAS that simple. 

Sometimes the moment’s gone before you even know it’s happened. Pete drove past in his Black Mini Shorty as we headed over to the Co-op for coffee. Next to him in the Shorty was his hound, Bert. It was the most incongruous image ... this really cute LITTLE car .... filled to capacity with Pete and his hound.

They were away round the corner before I even had time to think of lifting the camera!

Mini Shorty + Pete + Bert = FULL!

Moments in time are exactly that .... a BRIEF interlude in the hustle and bustle of life that make you stop and think. Little pieces of your life that stick with you forever. I try to only remember the good ones .... it doesn’t mean there aren’t any bad ones but it means I’m making a choice not to give them prominence.

I LOVE life. 

Up close and personal ..... and the hissing didn't stop.

Carol and Sam were both happy bunnies when they picked me up outside the Co-op this morning! Sam’s first ramble at Waiatarua since THAT op. I’m NOT sure who needed it the most .... him.... or Carol. Sam wasted NO TIME in turning himself chocolate. He found the muddiest puddle and splashed through it with ball in mouth. 

I swear I could see him grinning as he raced back to us, mud splashing EVERYWHERE!

Sam turning chocolate brown

Daddy Swan doing his best to scare me away.
I don't frighten easily though.

The Black Swan Cygnets are growing. They’re almost as big as their Dad now .... and just as vociferous. They were at the filtration end of the wetland and close to the bank. I left both hounds at the top with Carol and quietly knelt down on the bank. It’s scary enough having one large Black Swan come racing through the water hissing at you ... three paint a very different picture! I stood .... or should that be knelt ... my ground and focused on their eyes. 

One of the babies who'd been hissing at me

They really are magnificent birds. The hissing is all a ploy .... though I wouldn’t like to test that theory. They were happy enough to hiss at me and ruffle their feathers without feeling the need to come charging out the water. I think if the hounds had been with me, Daddy Swan wouldn’t have hesitated .... he would have been out there and defending his babies in a flash.

The mad blonde with the camera doesn’t have sharp teeth though so all I got was a warning .... and some great photos!

Awesome reflection of Carol and Sam before Sam shattered the mirror-like surface of the river!

Even Sam's reflection as he jumped was crystal clear!