We missed out on an eye-candy overload!

“THIS moment is all there is.” 

~ Rumi

“He’s NOT fat.  The breeder said ‘true’ Labradors are built that way.”

A rather rotund Cosmo, Chocolat and Sam

He's a LARGE boy.

So said the owner of a rather large, rather rotund Golden Lab this morning.  What was scary about his size was that he was the same age as Sam the Man, a month younger in fact.  

He might have been the same age and the same colour but that was ALL they had in common.  

This chap was as roly-poly and round as Sam is lithe and lean.

What a contrast in Labs.

Carol couldn’t resist it.  She had to go and find out where he was from and WHY he was so round.  That was the answer she got.  This young hound weighs in at 50kgs, that’s over 12kgs heavier than the hound and a whole 20kgs heavier than Sam the Man!!

He might be loved but his weight is a death sentence.

It’s behaviour more than anything which determines a true Lab.  These guys are meant to be muscular and athletic with a strong nose and a gentle mouth.  They were bred for the water ... to haul nets, fetch ropes, to retrieve fish that escaped the nets ... as well as be a family dog.  They’re smart with a capital ‘S’.

They found a log ... that I had to carry

History proves their usefulness and versatility as they’ve easily shifted from fisherman’s companion to field retriever to show dog to modern working hound.  Is it any wonder that they’re one of the most popular hounds in the world. 

I think she wants it thrown .... but it's too big for me to throw!

Yes, they LOVE to eat but they’ve been bred for physically demanding jobs and they have the high energy that goes with that.  They NEED exercise ... lots of it .... as Carol and I well know.  Poor Cosmo NEEDS to lose weight if he’s to have any chance at a long active life.

... so Gareth threw it!

Carol was still muttering away about Cosmo’s weight as we headed back up the beach with hounds and balls and a log in tow.  

Fergus joined in the log chase and we heard all about HIS adventure this morning.

He was RESCUED by some DISHY fire-fighters!

Moira should have phoned us ... after she’d phoned the fire-fighters, of course. 

 We’d have been their in a heartbeat to ‘help’ if we’d known Fergus was in trouble. 

He’d got himself trapped in some scaffolding at the house next to Moira’s.  

The owners have builders in and Fergus ... typical terrier .... was ensuring that everything was in order.  

He’d gotten himself into a hole and couldn’t work out how to engage reverse gear.  

There was Moira clambering up and over scaffolding in an attempt to extract her hound

 .... all to no avail.  Poor Fergus.  

She had to call in the experts .... and we WEREN’T there to see them in action.  

She did wonder why I’m NEVER around when a camera’s needed.

The reflections were amazing yesterday too

FIVE fire-fighters turned up .... yep FIVE .... for one small terrier.  

Typical of New Zealand’s ‘all or nothing’ attitude.

It would have been eye-candy overload though!

Yesterday's skies were beautiful .... reflections, rainbows and NO rain!

Neither the fur-balls NOR our feathered friends can read!

“Just realise where you come from.  This is the essence of wisdom.” 

Tao Te Ching

This morning's sun rise

Kissing the earth with my footsteps and tasting the air with my tongue.  

What a way to begin a day!

Sometimes I have to pinch myself to make sure I’m awake 

.... to make sure what I’m feeling and seeing is real .... and it is!  

How did I get to be so lucky.

That great big yellow orb in the sky broke through the cloud cover this morning to welcome in the new day.  With daylight saving having ended I’m not QUITE reaching the view-site before it rises.  It’s close and if we RUN up the hill, we might just make it.  I can wait though ... another week or two and the hound and I will get there in time.

The timber decking is being redone in the house we’re living in.  It’s not been looked after properly and has rotted, as we discovered recently when ONE of us put a foot through the stairs down into the garden.

The handy-man who’s been appointed to repair it is doing a marvellous job and it’s looking really good.  I had to chuckle today though when he asked me if I could keep the hound and the fur-balls off the deck outside our bedroom  for a few days so as to give the finishing product time to seal.  

Well, the hound isn’t a problem ... but how do I keep the fur-balls off?

It’s not just OUR fur-balls either.  The neighbours fur-balls visit us too ... and lets not forget our feathered friends who swoop down onto the decks after creepy crawly thingies.  Putting a sign up won’t help.  Neither the fur-balls nor our feathered friends can read.

Can’t leave them a message on FB either.

Don't know WHY she lay down in the sea-weed!

I did tell the grumpy handy-man this .... but he wasn’t amused. It seems like he’s forgotten how to laugh.

He should join me on our morning rambles.  The antics of the hound and her friends would soon have him guffawing loudly. They KNOW how to play.

I think after today, I should let the council know that the tractors aren’t necessary on our beach anymore. They regularly send them to church up the sand and remove all the dead plant material.  Our Labradors do just as good a job though.  Sam and the hound were joined by Bella and another Chocolate Labrador and between the four of them, they had the beach looking fabulous

.... churned up sand and all!

The Labrador Line

The grumpy handy-man might have had a smile on his face like the other passers-by if he’d seen them.

"Everyone who got where he is, had to begin where he was." 

~ Richard L Evans

Hmmm .... good quote for my handy-man I think.

Rolling with laughter!

Sunset this evening

.... and the sun trying to rise this morning.

Carol was probably very pleased I wasn’t on the beach at the same time as her and Sam this morning. Sam, gentle giant that he is, knocked her over while playing with Fergus. Hounds love it when you descend to their level. Sam was delighted and jumped all over her making it almost impossible for her to get back on her feet. It didn’t help that both Moira and Carol were rolling with laughter! 

She is SO lucky I wasn’t on the beach! If I had of been, her manic moment would have been captured on camera for posterity!

How do you lose your zest for life .... your sparkle .... your enthusiasm?

My heart went out to a lady I met in the shop on Monday. So much heartache and tragedy in her life and she felt she’d lost her sparkle. She was merely existing, not living. We chatted for well over half an hour as customers came and went. She eventually bade me farewell but not before coming back ..... to thank me. She hadn’t opened up to anyone in a long time - she said it was special.

I don't think she wants to go home ....

All I did was listen.

The new traffic circle ... supposedly going to prevent accidents at this intersection .... we will see!

 The shop’s quiet at the moment, that’s why I’m writing my blog .... on paper .... I’ll transpose it when I get home. I’ve just heard the weirdest thing on the radio. A Japanese inventor has designed a pair of trousers with a fan in them .... to keep you cool! The only design snag so far is that the trousers inflate when the fan is on making you look bigger than what you would usually be. Somehow I don’t see many women buying into his idea.

Another customer was telling me that she’s having house renovations done and they need to move out as the renovations are extensive. They could go and live on their boat ... an ocean going yacht that they holiday on every year ... but one of their cats doesn’t like sailing! They used to have 3 cats, 2 of them were brothers and always went sailing with them .... John Brown (a tabby) and John Black (black and white) ... LOVE the names!

We’ve had sunshine today .... yay .... and it’s not just the hound and I that love it when that yellow orb’s visible in the sky. People SMILE more when the sun’s shining ... they look around them when they walk ... they stop and chat. Rainy days just don’t seem to have the same effect.

The sun’s forecast to stay around for a few days which is great as we’re off to Waiatarua tomorrow AND Friday. The hound gets the best of both worlds on Thursdays. Beach and waves first with Julia and Indy and then to the reserve with Carol and Sam ... it sure makes up for the shorter walks on Mondays and Wednesdays when I’m working!