A world gone crazy.

"Build pockets of stillness into your life."
~ Maria Popova

Our air waves this last week have been filled with differing opinions on the presidential candidate race in the US, 

on the referendum 

in the UK, 

on the sentences that should be handed down to baby Moko’s killers

 and the possibility, 

remote or otherwise,

  of Donald Trump 

and Boris Johnson 

presiding 

over their relevant

countries.  

Views over the Kaipara coastline

Everyone has an opinion.

Even the talk show hosts who’re meant to remain impartial.

The cows have the BEST view!

If my passport hadn’t of expired, I could have chosen to vote in the referendum.

But it has, so I couldn’t.

I’m not sure that it would have been right for me to vote in any event.

I don’t know enough about the pros and cons of remaining in the EU to make a rational decision.

My personal opinion is that Xenophobia has tainted the voting process somewhat.

Immigration is a such a hot topic.

But I’m open to correction.

The Winter Solstice full moon

As the dust settles on the EU referendum battleground, 

the world braces itself for the expected repercussions from the result.  

What happens next?

Of one thing I’m certain.

Change is inevitable.

As the seasons lurch dizzily from one quadrant of the year to the next, 

seasonal change is all around us.

The creek in Churchill Park is burstig it's banks

The unpredictable weather that Auckland’s been experiencing continues.

Autumn leaves still adorn the trees as the mildest of winters engulfs us.

It’s already almost the end of June.

July is calling and I’ve yet to see frost on any of our rambles.

It’s been cold but not freezing.

With no markets this weekend I headed out to the Kaipara Coast.

The rain chose to keep me company.

We’ve walked dogs.

Got caught in said rain.

Drank bubbles.

Sat in the spa.

Lily trying to drop her ball in the spa

We’ve talked politics

and fashion

and life.

And a myriad of things inbetween.

The most unusual tap and basin in the loos at the Plant Park.

We've found our pockets of stillness in an insane world.

And that's all good.

Liquorice Allsorts cows

A dragon slayer in the making

“The sun is a daily reminder that we too can rise again from the darkness, 

that we too can shine our own light.”

~ S. Ajna

Some mornings are breathtaking and a privilege to be a part of.

You know when you’re walking along saying ‘wow’ under your breath as you walk that the morning has something EXTRA-ordinary about it.

Especially when the ‘wow’ is coming from someone who sees the early morning beauty on a regular basis.

AND never tires of it.

It was the way the light was falling.

The reflections it created.

The other worldliness of it all.

Not all mornings are like that.

Nor does a photo do them justice.

You had to BE there to understand.

Light.

The very essence of it.

In every shape, shade and form.

It’s on these kind of mornings that I feel invincible.

A dragon slayer in the making.

I love that the sunny days linger long into autumn.

Even though the sun’s rising later in the day there is

so much to look forward to on our rambles.

The explosion of colour that autumn brings for one thing.

It’s anything BUT brown and drab!

Brilliant hues of yellow, gold and orange 

all set against the bluest of blue skies.

I love the stillness of it too.

Even the leaves seem to dance in slow motion as they twirl to the floor.

No dragons chasing them.

The hound of course is oblivious to all this.

There’s water.

A ball

... or a log

And someone to throw it.

She leaves the dragon slaying to me.

Chaos in my soul.

 “You need chaos in your soul to give birth to a dancing star.” 

~ Friedrich Nietzsche

Autumn’s here! 

How do I know?

The sun’s still shining as brightly

and only setting at 8pm in the evening.

The temperature during the day is a gorgeous 22/23 degrees.

BUT

my scarf has become a necessary accessory as we exit the house in the still-dark morning.  

Shorts and a short-sleeve T ... with the addition of a sleeveless fleece .... is still the outfit of choice but it’s the scarf that indicates the changing of the season.

That nip in the air is off-set by the addition of this scarf to my rambling ensemble.

Yes.  A knitted scarf.  

Orange.  

Sunrise and sunset colour. 

Bright.  Vibrant.  Cheerful.

A bit like me!!

The orange scarf is my calling card during autumn and winter.  

Sam recognised it INSTANTLY this morning.

I’d been making word art in the sand and was trying to capture it on camera 

when the feet-seeking missile hit my feet.  

He was DELIGHTED to see us!

He’d come to the beach SANS rugby ball though so a tussle ensued 

between the hound and him as to WHO was to have ownership of the ball. 

 It’s a Labrador thing.  

Only they understand it.

Even the sparrows were confused as to ownership.

They’re used to seeing TWO hounds with TWO balls.

TWO hounds and ONE ball just doesn’t look right, 

unless they’re retrieving it from the waves together.  

Even then you can see the tugging as they try to out-muscle one another.

Even Coops, the mighty-mouse hound of the hound world 

knows not to come between the hound and her ball.  

His usual ginormous leaps in and out of the waves to help her retrieve it were rather subdued this morning.  

I’d forgotten though that he’s NOT a Labrador

and isn’t as partial to cold water and weather as the hound.

Chaos in my soul?  

I think so.  

Dancing in the waves?

Mandatory.

THIS has been a good day.

“When we can do nothing else, we can still love, 

without expecting any reward or change or gratitude.” 

~ Paulo Coelho