Don't forget to smile today!

Art is DEFINITELY in the eye of the beholder.

Mother Nature blows my mind.

It’s been the first weekend in I don’t know how many months that I haven’t been working or participating in a market or fair.  I’ve slept late, rambled longer, had numerous caffiene fixes and tasted temptation at a newly discovered coffee haunt.

Temptation of the Donut kind.

I’m in love with weekends like this.  

So is the hound.

I’ve watched a Tui have breakfast, a Pied Shag fishing in the waves and a Sparrow plucking seeds from a Sunflower.

Simple moments .... but beautiful.

Everyday kind of moments

My kind of moments.

.

Today I’ve seen colourful blooms in abundance, in every variation of colour, shape and size.  When Mother Nature opens her petals to the world, she does it in style. Summer is the BEST time to witness this floral proliferation of  Mother Nature so a visit to the Botanic Gardens was in order.

It was an educational visit in a way too as the Significant Other hasn’t been there before.

Time to broaden his horizons.

The hound’s been there frequently so she knew EXACTLY what to expect.

What I didn’t expect was for her to SWIM in the fountain.  

She’d already had a swim in the pond in the off-leash area of the gardens 

so was nice and cool as we ambled back up through the rose gardens.  

Obviously NOT cool enough though.

Swimming in the fountain aside, it was a magical morning.  

The Sculpture in the Gardens Exhibition is on at the moment 

with some weird and wonderful pieces.  

Art is DEFINITELY in the eye of the beholder as some of the sculptures left me baffled.

One of my favourites would have to be the steel parasols suspended between two trees

 ... seven of them.  

So fragile and dainty to look at but made of rusted steel!

Mother Nature even came to play in the exhibit titled

 “Regeneration: Oak Garden Fork and Oak Garden Spade” 

Is it neglectful gardening or magical realism?  

Whatever it is, it depicts an inability to stop Mother Nature unless we work in harmony with her laws. It’s a playful look at the false notion we have that man dominates the world. 

So clever.

Days like this .... MOMENTS like this ... are just SO necessary.

No GOMS, no Dog Wardens, no Traffic Wardens.

My kind of heaven.

“Whatever’s good for your soul ... do that.” 

~ unknown

It's a HAPPY place.

The elusive Tui .... yep, I stalked him too!

"Sometimes you find yourself in the middle of nowhere, and sometimes

in the middle of nowhere you find yourself."

~ unknown

Sitting on the steps drinking our caffeine fix whilst the hounds dismantle the beach is NEVER quiet.  Not only do Carol and I talk nineteen to the dozen .... Carol’s much noisier than me .... but we’re usually joined by 1 or other lemming, and sometimes an extra, as well as a motley crew of regular ramblers.

It’s a happy place to be.  Voices fill the air .... as does laughter AND the occasional bark.  It’s an opportunity to forget the busyness of life and the stresses and just BE.

The beach could be another setting in our soap opera, another story-line where unfamiliar characters are introduced .... characters that DON’T frequent the more familiar location of the wetland that’s known as Waiatarua.  

(If you’re lost at this stage, taking a peek at this previous blog might help!)

I’m not sure that many of the hounds that ramble the boardwalk would be permitted to go to Waiatarua.  For one, they’d get muddy and two, they’d get wet.

The beach is slowly becoming as social a place for the hounds though as Waiatarua.

Patiently waiting on the beach
for the others to arrive.  Cayl's is
playing with her phone.

We didn’t know WHAT was happening this morning when we heard a thunderous noise on the boardwalk behind us.  It sounded like horses galloping.  As we all turned to look Charlie, the Golden Lab shot down the stairs with her human in tow.  I’m still not sure if her human’s feet even TOUCHED the stairs.  Charlie had dragged her slipping and sliding all along the boardwalk in his determination to say hi to our hounds. She bemusedly apologised as we all chuckled.  Who would have thought that a human and a hound could make SUCH a racket!

Not quite the gentle morning stroll her human had envisaged. 

Charlie after having said hi to the hounds

Carol's learnt how to retrieve rugby balls too!

The hound takes her role as Sam’s minder very seriously.  No wannabee Labrador is going to pinch her mate’s ball .... not on her watch.  The wannabee Labrador in question got put in his place in no uncertain terms when he grabbed Sam’s ball as Sam came bounding out of the waves.  He hadn’t counted on being chastised by my girl.  She bounded over as only she can and charged between the hounds, snarling at the new comer.  He understandably let go as Sam, rather smugly, trotted up the beach with his ball proudly held in his mouth. 

Her look as she trotted along behind him said it all.  DON’T mess with me and my boy.

The hounds are loving the higher tides we’re having this week and they’re all thanks to the perigee full moon.  It has been breathtakingly beautiful.

A full moon on a clear night is magical but a full moon setting over my city on a clear morning is even more mind-blowing.  I’ve had the best of both words this week and have captured some awesome shots of this spectacular full moon.  Yesterday the clear skies meant I captured the start of the sunrise over Browns Island AS WELL AS the moon setting over my city.  How cool is that.

I LOVE Full Moons .... and not just because I get to ride on my broomstick.  It’s been way too cold to fire THAT up in the evenings this week.  There’s an extra kind of energy around at full moon .... I think the hounds feel it too.  It’s difficult to explain but it leaves me feeling buoyed, upbeat .... energised even! 

That moon is a connection to all I hold dear ... love, friendship, family .... and at full moon, I feel that connection even more deeply.  To all my friends and family out there, no matter where in the world you are, I love and miss you all!

Some of the photo art on display at last week's Orewa market.

That kitty that lived .... she's back!

"The cat who lived"

“One should never consent to creep when one feels the compulsion to soar.” Helen Keller

Sometimes the compulsion to soar is missing and one resorts to creeping because it kinda just feels right .... and it’s kinda what you need. Even me, eternal optimist that I am, isn’t immune to feeling overwhelmed by life at times.  Hugs were needed this morning .... and hugs were what I got. Even the sun gave me a hug.

Rambling, just like a roll in the hay or a really good laugh, lifts my sprits and makes me feel so much better. The Tui even put on a show ..... amazing aerial acrobatics before squabbling and squawking over the fruits on the Cherry Blossom tree. They make me chuckle with their antics.

Today ended on an absolute high though .... “the cat who lived” lives again! She’s been missing for FOUR weeks but announced her presence at a friendly feline-lover’s door this evening to ask for help. 

I received an excited phone call from Cayl’s “Mom ... someone’s found my cat! Dave’s not home, please can you come and fetch me?” 

Bella, the baby Shepherd we met the other day was on the beach again today

So we did. 228 St. John’s Road was our destination and there she was. A VERY thin, VERY bony Shimmer .... a VERY vocal Shimmer. I nearly burst into tears. Cayl’s nearly burst into tears. We hadn’t expected to ever see her again.

I couldn’t thank the couple enough who phoned Cayl’s .... they have no idea of how much this kitty means to us. With all that she’s been through these last few months, losing her was heart-breaking. I think Cayl’s understood for the first time why I’ve never wanted to have a kitty again. They creep into your heart like a hound does but, unlike a hound, they don’t give up their independence.

If only Shimmer could talk .... what adventures has she faced .... what other kitties has she terrorised .... where has she been wandering?

She isn’t able to bite down on anything hard anymore since she broke her jaw, so her hunting abilities wouldn’t have provided her with much food. She’s a walking skeleton .... every bone in her body can be felt. This little kitty needs lots of loving and pampering over the next few weeks ... something that will be in abundant supply in the Porteous/Jardine household.

She certainly hasn’t lost her voice .... if anything, she’s even more vocal than normal. She can’t stop talking to everyone.  I don’t know if it’s because she’s so pleased to see Cayl's or if it’s because she’s hungry but the sound just doesn’t stop.

That’s 3 of her lives gone .... 6 still to go. What challenge will she present us with next?