Let the flying begin!

Tuis are just so acrobatic as they syphon the nectar out of all the blooms.

“When we walk to the edge of all the light we have

and take that step into the darkness of the unknown,

we must believe that one of two things will happen;

There will be something solid for us to stand on,

Or

We will learn how to fly.”

~ credited to Herta Payson

 but not confirmed.

I know I’ve said this before, but I LOVE Fridays!

Especially when they’re accompanied by clear blue skies, 

gorgeous sunshine 

and a low tide.  

Could have done without the icy wind though

but that’s a small price to pay for such a magnificent day.

My little piece of paradise gleams and glistens!

It MORE than makes up for the tumbled-up world I’m living in.

We’re on the move again.

Moving home that is.

Not quite sure yet where to but we’ve handed in our notice

and the search for alternative

 ... and less expensive ...  

accommodation begins.

I’m putting it out to the universe

KNOWING that it’s the right thing to do.

I keep asking myself why I’m having to leap these hurdles on my own though and, 

as is usual when I ask questions of myself, 

the answer soon sprung to mind.

I have to learn how to fly!

It’s quite ironic then that the low tide this morning elicited a glut 

of Kingfishers and Herons for me to photograph.  

If anyone can teach me how to fly, they can!

Except that we’re talking flying of a different kind.

And it’s hard.

That’s why mornings like this are necessary.

A quiet reminder that, whilst life might not be quite perfect, 

there are still moments of magnificence in the midst of the mayhem.

Let the flying lessons begin.

I lost the hound this morning ...

Manic moments pervade my life.

Early morning skies

We’re moving tomorrow ... I might have mentioned that in a previous post. It’s happened in a hurry as we were fortunate enough to find a hound-friendly home sooner than expected. It’s even closer to the beach AND it’s available immediately.

.... and early  morning reflections!

All well and good .... except when it comes to the packing. 

I should have left the kitchen for last.

We ran out of milk the other morning. Not a huge problem normally, but our house is anything BUT normal. Gav usually has cornflakes for breakfast and when there’s no milk, he has toast.

That would have worked .... but the toaster’s been packed!

I lost the hound for a moment this morning and a sudden totally irrational thought went through my head. I just couldn’t help it. 

Had she been packed too??

Rambling was necessary, in fact, rambling was ESSENTIAL 

... but I had to find the hound first!

It didn’t take long. The sun was shining and the waves were beckoning. I’d ordered sunshine especially for today as it’s the oldest lemming’s birthday. Mother Nature has obliged and we’ve had a blissfully sunshiny day. The hound has had the best of both worlds .... she’s chased ball after ball through the waves in the Bay and then carried her beloved Chiefs ball around the reserve.

If leaping into rivers was an Olympic event, Sam the ‘wannabee’ Chocolate Labrador would win hands down! I’ve yet to meet a hound that jumps as high or as far as him when he’s leaping after the ball. 

He DEFINITELY has springs in his hind-legs

 .... it must be ALL that kangaroo in his blood.

Often his leap starts BEFORE I’ve even kicked the ball. The look of confusion on his face when he hits the water and can see NO ball is priceless. My hound always watches the ball when I kick it but NOT Sam, he watches ME .... it’s the oddest thing. He’s quite obviously decided that Carol .... other Carol that is ..... DOESN’T kick the ball hard enough or far enough. 

I’m the one he always brings the ball back to and the practice I’m getting has improved my kicking no end.

Tomorrow might be interesting. Carol’s taking BOTH hounds to the reserve .... WITHOUT me. I’m working in the morning and .... oh yes, MOVING in the afternoon. There’ll be no photographic evidence of WHAT they get up to .... or DON’T, as the case might be.

“I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once!” 

~ the title of a book by Ashleigh Brilliant, author and cartoonist.

One of the neighbourhood kitties that's made itself quite at home ...

It doesn't even mind the hound.

What is it with these BOY dogs?

“Life is an emotional journey. It’s all about how it FEELS.” 

~ anon

A CLEAN Sam .... an UNUSUAL sight.

.... and some days feel worse than others and then some weeks just top it all off. 

It’s been one of those weeks.

.... and already he's starting to turn brown.

We’re moving next week ..... again. It’s the lowest of the low on my list of things I dislike doing ... as low down as visiting the dentist and I HATE visiting the dentist. 

The weather hasn’t helped. It’s been WINDY ... a FIERCE and UNSETTLING wind, with rain .... heaps of it. Our rambles have been rather damp and, because of having to help out at the shop on Friday mornings this month, rambles have been shorter than they usually are.

.... and it’s a Sunday morning and I’m up at 4am.

I was asked by one of my fellow stall-holders at the market yesterday why I don’t just record the rugby and watch it at a more acceptable time ... but I CAN’T. No matter how hard I try NOT to HEAR the score, or SEE a result, somehow, someone will blurt it out.

I thought we had it sussed but the SA/Puma match in Argentina a few weeks ago proved me wrong. We walk into the Co-op for our usual Sunday morning caffeine boost after a long ramble only to have Pete say “your guys didn’t play great this morning” .... thanks Pete!  

We’d recorded THAT match.

Oprah’s words come to mind 

“Breathe. Let go .... and remind yourself that this VERY moment is the only one you know you have for sure."

The wind DOES have ONE redeeming feature ... but ONLY one .... it forces the clouds to depart my air space more rapidly than what they might usually. That’s why we’ve had brief encounters with  the sun over the last few days. 

It’s not just me that the wind’s left feeling unsettled ... it’s affected the hounds too ... well, the other hounds, the male ones. Indy and Sam were DELINQUENTS DELUXE at Waiatarua on Friday afternoon. The canine teenager in Sam came to the fore and as Indy wandered off where he shouldn’t, Sam trotted right on behind him. They both went visiting houses outside the reserve .... sans humans. 

Julia and Carol hot-footed it off after them whilst the hound and I shook our heads in despair.

What is it with these boy dogs?

Despite my ever-vocal support my Bokke were just NOT able to take down the mighty Flightless Fowls. I’m going to go sulk .... and ramble.

“Gratitude is the art of painting adversity into a lovely picture” 

~ Kak Sri

Just to prove that the dogs CAN read!