Beware Crocodiles! NO swimming.

Loved this sign on a pole across the creek!

The youngest lemming is tired.  For the first time in I don’t know how many years he was in bed asleep before we were on Saturday night.  His lights WEREN’T still on at 1, going on 2 in the morning!

He has a job!

He’s working at the same Pub as his sister, but as a kitchen-hand over the week-ends.

The chocolate brown hound is becoming a sandy brown hound ... 

When asked by the manager during his interview if he minds washing dishes, his reply was 

“No, I have to do that all the time at home ... at least here I get paid for it.”

The end result ... before the shake!

Cheeky lemming!

She looks like something out of an alien movie!

He IS paid at home .... but in the currency of life - LOVE - and he’s loved abundantly, as are his siblings.  I look at them sometimes ... each a unique individual in their own right and wonder what on earth we’ve done to produce such wonderful caring young people.  They make my world and each day, infinitely more special.

... a Zombie maybe?

This weekend has been a busy one and the hound lost out on her ramble yesterday morning.  We participated in the inaugural Browns Bay Market and it was vibrant and humming!  When a new market opens up, there’s always the fear that it won’t live up to the hype.  There are SO many “Art and Craft” markets springing up and knowing which ones will draw in the crowds is a hit and miss affair.

This one was a hit.  It was in the Plaza of a busy village and we had an awesome position with street and plaza frontage.  They had live music ... a duo called Stray Dogs ... who played a great selection of music and created an awesome vibe. This is a market we’ll definitely be going back to!

So much happens in my part of the world some week-ends ... it gets difficult keeping up with it all!  Our roads and beach were inundated with visitors this morning as the Weetbix Kids Tryathlon took place in our bay.  It’s in its 21st year of running and St. Heliers is one of the 13 locations throughout NZ that it takes place in. 

We had to queue out the door for our caffeine fix at 8 in the morning!!

The hound couldn’t understand WHY she couldn’t go play in the waves with all these little people.  The race started at 9 and hounds have to be off the beach by 9 so we were leaning on the railing on the boardwalk watching the start.  Pete came along and joined us.  The hound was lying in the sand beneath us .... yes, illegally .... burying her ball ... until she saw all these bobbing heads in the water.

The wavery warbling started .... and it didn’t stop.  She was letting all around us know in a highly vocal way that she wanted to go join those bobbing heads in the water.  From her perspective it was a zillion different coloured balls, each of which needed to be retrieved.

We’d been discussing the cricket with Pete .... he’s a closet Protea fan I reckon.  He told us about the Heroic Garden Festival which takes place each year and raises funds for Hospice. 

This particular festival was started 17 years ago and was designed to showcase gay and lesbian owned gardens, and garden creators.  It’s become so popular and widespread that it now includes the gardens of other Hospice supporters too.

We only went to two of the gardens ... the ones Pete told us about .... which border on Churchill Park and have the creek running through them.  They were amazing and well worth the visit. 

Unbeknown to me, my friends the Lahoods sponsor this Festival through their business!  

Well done Pete and Carol!

An eel in the creek ... there were several .... but couldn't find any crocs!

How original is this!  An old car tyre turned into a Horse swing!

The mural painted on one of the walls at the back of the Phoenix Plaza in Browns Bay

... the husband won by default as the hound died.

Such a cute Indy!

Another glorious morning .... a nip in the air as I exit the house ... hound eagerly pulling at the leash as we head down the road.  She knows just where we’re going ... she knows exactly who we’re going to meet .... and exactly how to get there.  No hesitation as we hit the corner .... she knows that when we walk this early we 

turn right, along Carol’s road,  towards Ladies Bay and not down to the village.  She is just so smart .... she knows we’re on our way to meet Julia and Indy!


Depending on Sebastian’s alarm clock, we sometimes meet him heading out for his morning ablutions as we pass his abode.

I just love these sun rises ... it's like the sky's on fire!

Wouldn't be complete without a picture of my tree!

We say a friendly hello to the lady with the push-chair who’s taking her elderly hound for his morning stroll ... there’s no child in the push-chair ... it’s for the hound when they come back up the hill.  It tugs at my heart-strings whenever I see her ... her dedication and love for her hound is as intense and special as Carol’s 

love for Sebastian. They are people after my own heart ... they love their hounds and, just because they’re old - the hounds that is, doesn’t mean their quality of life and enjoyment of it should be diminished in any way whatsoever. 


These are the kind of people that populate my world

... the people I’ve become friends with .... people with heart and compassion ... people who care.


It was the same on the beach ... I stopped to chat to a lady who was amused by the hound’s antics with her mini-ball.  She was a bit 

Indy's pinched her baby ball!

apprehensive though of Chocolat coming too close ... but only because she had two ... yes TWO .... artificial legs!  Her doctor had advocated walking on the sand to help with balance and strength ... so walk on the sand she does.  She used to have a chocolate hound and, tongue in cheek, said she’d had to choose between the hound and her husband ... the husband won by default as the hound died!  One wonders what would have happened had the hound not died ..... hmmmmm

I’m overwhelmed by the support I’ve had from my fellow humans with hounds, and some humans without hounds, with regard to my fine. They’re all as aggrieved as I am and eagerly await the outcome of my objection. Offers of character references have flooded in ... I knew the Dog By-Laws and enforcement of them were a sensitive issue, but hadn’t realised just HOW sensitive an issue it has become.

There have been suggestions of organising a protest on the beach .... a march to the Council Offices with Sebastian heading up the march - could be a slow march .... drawing up a petition to ban GOM’s and GOB’s from the 

boardwalk and beach ..... tying up the Dog Warden with our long ropes.  Whilst there’s a touch of humour in some of these suggestions ... and we do try and laugh about how small-minded and petty certain individuals are .... there’s an unpleasant side to it as well.  

We shouldn’t have to be considering taking action ... the Dog Wardens should have the discretion to enforce the law if it’s necessary but to take into account the circumstances surrounding the alleged breach of the law.  My hound, despite me not holding her leash, was under control, sitting quietly 

next to the bench when the Dog Warden decided I’d broken the law.  I’ve seen people struggling to hold, sometimes unsuccessfully, more aggressive hounds on the beach but, according to the law, the hound is deemed to be ‘under control’ because someone is holding the leash ... it’s absurd and makes a mockery of 

the very laws the Dog Wardens are trying to uphold.


To all the wonderful people out there who’ve sprung to my defense ... and who I know read my blog .... thank you so much for your friendship and your support .... my daily rambles wouldn’t be the same without you all in them!

Question: What makes you smile?

In life you get what you put in.  When you make a positive impact on someone’s life, it has a rebound effect on your own .... this I KNOW to be true.  I guess the reverse is also true .... my run in with the dog warden on Saturday morning had a negative impact on me ... it left me feeling miffed!

Early morning sun trying to shed some light on my world

I struggle to understand why they target the beaches during the times we’re allowed on with our hounds .... surely the time to enforce the law is during the hours when our access is restricted.  There are seldom any bodies on the beach before 9 in the morning apart from my fellow ‘humans with hounds’ so his excuse of  “complaints from the general public” doesn’t wash with me .... certainly not during the hours we’re allowed on with our hounds.  If members of the general public don’t like hounds, then don’t walk on the beaches when we’re allowed access ..... it’s so simple!!  

My hound spends most of her time on the beach in the waves ... but, according to the warden, the minute she’s out of the waves I have to put her back on lead ... yeah right!  I’ve now bought a 20m length of rope which I’ll fasten on when we’re on St. Heliers Beach ... now let them come and try and tell me she’s not on a leash.

 

I’m not sure if I’ll get a warning or a fine ... but regardless ... I’m miffed.  

Rant over .... onto other, more positive and uplifting thoughts! I’ve read some interesting articles this weekend ... articles that are both inspirational and thought provoking ..... not just at the moment when I first read them but often later, when I find myself reflecting on them sub-consciously.  “50 questions that will free your mind” was one of the articles I read .... it was written a couple of years ago but I guess the questions are still pertinent.

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Question no. 1 was “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?”  

Absurd ... no, not at all!!  

So many of us go through life not feeling as old as we really are ... looking in the mirror sometimes comes as a bit of a shock ... where did all those wrinkles come from!!  

My mind, whilst absorbing new experiences, doesn’t always feel like its ageing, but the body certainly is.  I do enjoy the wisdom that comes with age .... and I can hear myself saying “Yeah right”.... Tui moment.  Would that I could have the body I had when I was 30 but the wisdom and knowledge I have now! 

Very low tides this morning 

Age does bring some advantages ... I’m far less judgemental than what I was when I was younger and, surprisingly, far more flexible .... both body and mind though I'm meaning mind flexibility ... I’m inclined to “go with the flow” more nowadays and adapt the way I do something, rather than fight the current upstream.

This one, Question no. 20, made me chuckle “Do you push the elevator button more than once?  Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?” ... I’m sure it’s a certain personality type that stands there furiously prodding the button ... I have to suppress a smile when I’m in the elevator with someone doing that!

Indy ... on Sunday

What about this one - “What activities do you do that make you lose track of time” .... I can answer that one in an instant! There are so many things that make me lose track of time but rambling with the hound in the waves has to be right up there at the top of the list!

Saturday's rainbow .... very faint

“What makes you smile”.... oh wow .... where do I begin!!  Sunshine and rainbows and raindrops on roses ..... butterflies and leaves as they flit in the breeze .... sand between my toes and doggie art on my lens .... friendships and love and caffeine!  There are so many opportunities in life to smile ... I often spend most of my day smiling without even being aware of it! 

I think that if I had to choose 5 to 10 questions that were most pertinent to me they would say an awful lot about me and the stage of my life that I’m at.  A good question is sometimes more important than the answer.

And a last question before I end .... I really like this one!  “Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?”  Oh yes ... and yes .... and yes again .... depending on your perception of insanity that is, but from my perspective, nothing can be created without there having been, at the very least, a small spark of insanity in the beginning!

“Most of us think that perception works a lot like a flashlight in the dark, illuminating whatever it's aimed at. The truth however is, that instead of revealing what’s there, perception often creates it.” ~Anonymous