The foghorn symphony is made up of MALE voices.

Last night's sunset

“If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your face like sunbeams
and you will always look lovely.” 

~ Roald Dahl

... and yesterday's sunrise

It’s usually the bird chorus ... and the hound ... that wake me in the morning.  

Not THIS morning though.

.... and another of yesterday's sunrise.  Wasn't visible at all today.

THIS morning it was the dulcet tones of the FOGHORN symphony .... tenors, baritones and bass.  Yes, the foghorn symphony is made up of MALE voices .... noisy male voices.  Nuff said.

Foggy morning

Using the word dulcet to describe it COULD be an oxymoron because it’s anything but SWEET.  It is soothing though, in a strange kind of way.  It’s a conversation of sorts ... between shore and ship.  MANY ships judging by the diversity of tones this morning.

Can't even see Rangitoto

The foghorns weren’t wrong.  My world WAS completely shrouded in fog.  Rangitoto, that mountain of a volcano that dominates the waterfront was completely obscured from view.  Any visitor to this little piece of paradise could be forgiven for thinking there was no volcanic cone there at all.

The weatherman was forecasting SUN but I think he got it WRONG.

Rangitoto was visible yesterday morning.

Fortunately a lack of sunshine DOESN’T in any way interfere with our rambles. 

We just make our OWN .... sunshine that is.

From ramble to work, but work of a FUN kind!

Artwork on the beach this morning

A friend had asked me to do a photo shoot of some outfits she’d purchased and the jewellery she’d made to wear with them.  It entailed a trip into the city centre which I don’t often do.

The city enthralls me.  I love it!

I love that it’s a city on the shoreline with a working harbour and all that entails. 
I love the architecture and alleyways. 
 I love it’s history ... it’s vibe .... it’s busyness.  
I even love the tourists!

I DON’T love the interminable wait to cross at traffic lights.

That’s a minor detraction though and didn’t impact on our fun day at all.  I’ve had a wonderful time and not JUST because I’ve been able to boss Ems around!  It’s another avenue of photography that I haven’t yet explored ... and I have MUCH to learn and experiment with.

Surely work ISN’T meant to be THIS much fun?

“Life has many ways of testing a person’s will, either by having nothing happen at all or by having everything happen all at once.” 
~ Paulo Coelho

There are TWO hounds living in this house ...

The Oyster Catchers LOVE the low tide

Mist causes madness and mayhem

I really live in an awesome spot in the world. No two mornings are the same despite similar weather conditions. Yesterday’s sunrise was spectacular and so was today’s but in a vastly different way. Yesterday the sky took on the hues of the rising sun but today the rays of the sun turned my world different shades of green and gold.

The mist over Rangitoto and my city added to the wonder of the early morning .... moody memories are made of moments like this. 

The melancholy cry of the fog-horn drifting through the mist only added to the atmosphere. 

For a change we couldn’t hear the ferries racing through the channel .... the mist put paid to any attempt by them to move speedily through the waves.

Sometimes when I look at my photos it’s hard to believe they’re all taken in the same spot. If I stand on the beach and take a photo looking towards Kohi I see green and gold and light and reflections .... a sparkling explosion of colour!

 If I stand in the same spot but turn 180 degrees towards Ladies Bay and the cliff, I see a dramatic contrast between light and dark, there are shadows and silhouettes and no definitive colour. It doesn’t feel real .... it’s FULL of unspoken emotions .... unfulfilled promises.

The flight of the Oyster Catchers over the waves only adds to the mystery.

What is it emerging from the depths .... 

What it is is MAGICAL and it’s all right here in my bay every morning. 

I love this little spot I live in .... I wish I could share it with all those I love and miss.

Two kayakers heading back into the bay

The hound and I had no time restraints on our ramble this morning so we wandered far and wide. The rugby ball got replaced with a log which ended up being carried half way home. I get these pleading eyes looking at me but I’m over carrying logs home for her .... if she wants it, she carries it. It was actually Bella’s log but my hound pinched it cause it was bigger than hers ...... she can be a bit of a bully at times.

Bella .... all of 14 weeks old.

It’s unusual to meet a large hound owned by an Asian family. They don’t generally like hounds and certainly not large ones but the Asian chap we met on the beach this morning had a gorgeous 14 week old German Shepherd pup. She was a confident little thing ... quite comfortable with coming up to the larger hounds then racing back and lying at his feet if she felt threatened. He told us he’d thought it was a good idea to own and train a pup before he tackled children .... I didn’t have the heart to tell him hounds are easier .... they DON’T answer back!

Maximus ... the Bernese Mountain Pup we've met on the beach before.

My hound obviously got fed up of me chatting though .... we’d stopped and passed the time of day with way too many people for her liking. She stood over her log, looked at me and barked.  Enough now, she was saying .... throw my log! The Asian chap was so amused. He thought she was really clever letting me know what she wanted. Hmmmm .... I’m not so sure, I think she was just being a typical beach bitch!

Nico, who's growing into himself beautifully.

In this house we have TWO hounds ..... one lives in a CAT’S body though. To all intents and purposes Tiger is a HOUND ... he’s just been given the wrong fur body, or so he thinks.  When I call the hound he comes running, if she has a bone, he wants one too. 

This morning, after the hound’s ramble, they both found the sun beams in the sitting room and lay down together to sleep .... little “wannabe” hound’s paws touching big hound paws. 

The 'look' I got when I came to take a photo says it all.

Go away Mom .... we're SLEEPING!

Reflections .... reflections .... reflections!

..... and still more!

I'm telling her that I can't see Rangitoto behind her because it's covered in mist
 ... she UNDERSTANDS exactly what I'm saying .... cause she's a GIRL hound!!

... they FILL my mind with SUNSHINE

If I didn’t know better I’d think I was in Wellywood today ... not Jaffawood .... it’s wet, windy and yes ... very woeful indeed. Julia’s back at work this week so it’s early rising in order to be out the door at 6.30 am. Not a soul was about this morning .... no cyclists, no joggers, no cars .... not even the birds!  

I didn’t even get to see the sun rise ... the cloud coverage is just too heavy and all-encompassing. If I didn’t know better I’d have sworn there was snow on Rangitoto .... that’s what the clouds covering it looked like ... they were bright white. They reminded me of the table cloth on

Table Mountain except that Table Mountain is an actual mountain whereas Rangitoto is a volcano .... hmmmm.


We’ve had a full moon this weekend too and the tides have been extreme. I’m sure the full moon has an effect on our moods .... maybe it’s that werewolf thingy. There must be some

relevance there somewhere ... after all, the Latin word for the moon is “luna” ..... and the word lunatic has luna as it’s derivative. It’s been commonly believed that insane and psychologically disturbed people are effected by the phases of the moon.

It always gives me a thrill to see the full moon descending in the sky as I see the sun rising ..... WHEN I can see the sun, that is.  It’s a sharp reminder of the continuing ebb and flow of our world ... nothing is ever static, it’s always in motion - ever changing.  It’s like the seasons at the moment ... Autumn and we’re in a phase of change. In Summer I expect hot sunny days ... in Winter I expect cold crisp days. Autumn and Spring are more mellow ... more laid-back. Spring is a time of new beginnings ... and Autumn - I believe Autumn is a time of coming together, regrouping ... a time of calm ... though one wouldn’t think so today!

Rain .... rain ... everywhere!

The wet weather makes accessing Ladies Bay rather treacherous and it made crossing the rocks treacherous this morning too ... poor Julia took a tumble and landed flat on the rocks. It’s difficult enough keeping your balance when one foot slips but when both slip, you haven’t got a chance. I think she might be finding herself a bit bruised and battered ... it was a nasty fall and quite unexpected. We might be giving the rocks a miss in future when the weather’s this inclement.

A passage from the latest book I’ve just read comes to mind when thinking about early mornings “Those who rise with the sun have one thing in common. They all have a purpose that fans the flames of their inner potential.  Given their enthusiasm and love for what they are doing in their lives, such people live in the moment. There are no energy leaks.”

That’s the bit I loved “There are no energy leaks” ..... the author of the book is talking about worry and he likens it to a bicycle tube. When a bicycle tube is fully inflated, it easily takes us to our destination.  But if there are leaks, the

tube eventually deflates ... unless it's filled with PunctureSafe of course .... and our journey comes to an abrupt end. He believes the mind works in the same way too ... worry drains us of our natural vitality and energy until we have no energy left .... emotional exhaustion.

I know it’s easier said than done but worry is destructive .... this is where my early morning rambles come in.  Just like Google is the arbiter of inane information, my morning rambles are my arbiter of all things good .... they fill my mind with sunshine (and not necessarily from the sun), they fill me with hope ... and they fill me with the belief that NOTHING is insurmountable. When I believe in ME, I can achieve anything .... and so can my rugby teams!

Even the wet weather doesn’t take away from my enjoyment of my ramble. I came back drenched this morning but chuckling at the same time. I love it when I see someone else enjoying their ramble despite the weather .... a big smile and a cheery “hello” at the viewsite from the same man I’d seen on the beach when the hound was swimming. He, like me, isn’t deterred by the rain ... he’s living IN the moment!