It's the COFFEE ... it makes her demented!

Who would have thought that a Labrador could LOOK so positively EVIL!

This is how she SHOULD look!

She looks manic ... as if she’s about to attack.  I suppose she was attacking something .... her ball .... trying to bury it alive.  Pity it wasn’t the Hurricanes ball ... or the Chiefs one.  The oldest lemming reckons I've given her TOO  much coffee.  What nonsense .... you can NEVER have TOO much coffee!

The Hound of Baskerville looks TAME compared to her. 

She’s completely INSANE!!

She dug trenches from one end of the beach to the other this morning. She was on a mission to let everyone know she’d been on the beach!  I just smile and shake my head and click away with the camera.  Shots like this are few and far between as the movement is so fast and furious

... and I have to avoid the sand.  It flies EVERYWHERE!

Oh wow .... a part of the beach she hasn't dug up yet!

Between her and the seagulls it was humour overload. 

The seagull and HIS leaf 

The tide was coming in and one of the seagulls picked up a leaf in the surf.  

Every time a wave washed over him he lost the leaf.

  He’d flap and flutter back to the leaf, pick it up  ... 

AND another wave would wash it out of his beak .... 

and so the cycle continued.

What was so special about THAT particular leaf I’ll never know.  All I do know is that his antics made me laugh.  They even briefly distracted the hound from her trench digging.

She makes people smile in a way I can’t.  I watch their faces as they walk along the boardwalk whilst she’s doing her manic trench-digging act in the sand.  As the bus trundles past I can see the faces of the people on the bus.  Some are smiling and pointing and I know she’s added some sunshine to their day.

Even some of the lycra-clad loonies can’t help but smile when they see this rugby-ball touting hound on her way up to the view site.  She only relinquishes the ball when the going gets tough OR there’s a LOG that just HAS to be carried.  LOGS are fun ..... in her eyes that is .... and you need a HUGE trench to bury a log in!

Oh dear .... it's home time and SOMEONE doesn't want to leave the beach.

After sending Julia on her way to work I returned to the beach with my coffee and sat on the sand whilst the hound dug trenches.  Fraternising with the enemy for my caffeine fix hadn’t been necessary today.  My usual addiction fixing haunt had been open for business with the girls warm friendly greetings and cheerful smiles.  Why on earth would I EVER want to get my coffee elsewhere.

This morning's sunrise ... too gorgeous!

Hercules ... our friend down the road

This village has become ‘home’ in a way I never expected it to.  It’s my little piece of heaven on earth.  This journey I’m on is moulding me, it moulds us all. It’s been exactly what it’s needed to be.  Each and every situation I’ve encountered was necessary.  Each and every person I’ve ever met was relevant for however long or however brief a period of time.  Nothing is wasted.  

I am in the here and now and I’m right on time ...

 .... and I’m smiling, as usual.  It’s my FAVOURITE form of exercise!

This picture has a story ALL of its own.  The hound wanted to chase after WHAT she thought was a BALL in the water.  It's NOT a ball though, it's our friend GOM with his swimming cap on!!  Wouldn't it have been FUN if I'd LET her CATCH the ball!!

.... and men complain about women!

I know seagulls freak some people out but I really like these little guys. They’re persistent ... opportunistic .... brave, despite being scared .... and they have amazing recollect.


I’d always thought one seagull was pretty much like the next .... but they’re not. They’re the same - but different - pretty much like they’d define humans I guess ..... or dogs. They have such expression on their faces and a very definite leader of the pack ... or colony, as in their case.

The beach this morning - it's not raining but it's sure windy!

I could sit for hours on the beach photographing them ... they’re such comical characters with their posturing and posing. As for the noise .... gosh .... they’re noisier than my 16 year old and I didn’t think that was possible. He’s the MASTER of white noise ... you know the kind I mean ... a continuous drone that eventually fades into the background because it just doesn’t stop. 

I’ve compared him to a flock of sheep before ... and it’s very apt. If you’ve never heard the sound a large flock of sheep make, do yourself a favour and go and listen. You’ll be surprised at the din they create. They just don’t stop communicating .... and men complain about women! We are QUIET in comparison to a flock of sheep - or colony of gulls! 

Sam just LOVES helping her carry the logs!

My interlude with the gulls is short-lived when Sam arrives on the beach. He gambols across the sand, his mind fixed on one thing and one thing only .... getting a hello cuddle and pat from me. The gulls head skywards ... they know when their time’s up! Even the hound only gets a passing nod as he races past her.

She's not so keen on his help though.

He’s such a gentle giant but gosh, he sure has a hard head. I’m obviously not throwing logs quite as quickly as he’d like so today he decided to help me. Unfortunately his timing’s a bit out of kilter and, as I threw the log, our heads collided and I was left staggering across the sand. He’d sure make a good rugby player!

Help ... it's gone too far!

The weather the last few days has reminded me of Wellytown. It’s been WILD and WET ... and very WINDY. Julia and I nearly got blown away yesterday and we got soaked ... EVEN Indy was wet when he got home. Carol, sensible soul that she is, decided NOT to join me in the waves. I think she had the right idea ... it was NOT 

The hound to the rescue

pleasant out. The camera remained firmly packed in my backback .... safe and warm in it’s watertight hole.


It didn’t even improve during the day. We participated in the Moreton Miles again last night and battled driving rain and a strong headwind as we bustled our way around to Mission Bay and back.. The highlight of the fun run/walk 

... and she hands it over  and runs back to her log

for me were the huge puddles the rain left behind ... I LOVE jumping in puddles .... it brings out the child in me ... and in my lemmings! Hot Chocolate .... as opposed to cider .... was the order of the day as we trickled, quite literally, back into Moretons. 

It's just too cute the way she fetches the ball for him ... but only when there's no logs of course!

Never take life for granted. It is better to live trying to treat each moment as if it was your last chance to make a difference.

Waiatarua on Friday

Just love the Pukeko!

A sense of humour is mandatory ...

“Our five senses are incomplete without the sixth ... a sense of humour.” ~ unknown

These guys always make me smile!

Yes, a sense of humour is mandatory in our household .... and the ability to laugh at oneself. How would we survive life without laughter. Our house is in upheaval at the moment ... Cayl’s and Dave are moving into a flat tomorrow and the rest of us move home in 2 weeks time. The house is about to become full of boxes and unsettled spaces .... I hate the thought of it.

“Hate” is a strong word indicative of a strong emotion but I do have VERY strong emotions about feeling unsettled ... in limbo .... no fixed abode. It makes me feel out of sync with myself and disorganised.

I know the feeling’s transitory and I know there are ways of dealing with it but I STILL don’t like it. 

The last few years have taught me a lot about being flexible ... about going with the flow and embracing what’s happening instead of fighting it. It’ll be interesting to see if the skills I’ve learnt enable me to cope with this move in a more equitable fashion. Fortunately we’re not moving far ... just to the other end of St. Heliers .... but any move, regardless of distance, requires the complete packing up of a household.

Rambling will be necessary .... probably essential.

Lots of logs and sticks on the beach

Our purpose in life is NOT to allow ourselves to get lost in the dark, but to be a beacon of light so others may also find their way. Keeping that light shining isn’t optional .... shine on!

That’s my mantra for so many things in life, including my attitude to our move. Would that the sun in my part of the world had taken heed of it this morning too.

It was noticeable by it’s absence ... grey and overcast skies were the order of the day. No wind though and it wasn’t as icy as what some recent mornings have been. It was the type of morning where, if time were no obstacle - and packing unnecessary, I would have been happy to spend all day on the beach. The only downside was the lack of sunshine ... I love being able to see the sun and feel it’s warmth. 

Found this on the beach too!

Not being able to see the sun never deters the hound though. She wallows in the waves regardless of the weather and regardless of the temperature. Chasing balls, unearthing huge logs and making me smile are what she was put on this earth to do ... and she’s an expert at it!

Oscar the Labradoodle

Oscar, a wheaten Labradoodle we’ve met on the beach before, joined her in the waves today. I’m sure he’s got springs in his feet! He bounces along the sand and into the waves like Tigger from Winnie the Pooh ... enthusiasm and energy emanating from every pore! He zips along from one thing to the next ... easily distracted but instantly likeable. Whilst loving the waves he’s not quite as besotted by them as my hound.

They love the food I bring to the beach.

Carol’s new hound Sam the Man arrives tomorrow. She’s a bag of mixed emotions at the moment ... sadness at Sebastian no longer being here but hugely excited at the imminent arrival of a new hound. He has quite a journey ahead of him. He left his breeder today and will be overnighting at the airport ready for his 8 hour flight to NZ tomorrow. Carol and Pete have to clear him through Customs and MAF tomorrow afternoon, an exercise that could apparently take a few hours. Sam the Man is going to be one very confused hound by the time he eventually arrives here.

Standing on one leg scratching it's head.

I cannot wait to meet him!

Reflections