Boo bloody hoo.

So South Africa lost the rugby.

Boo bloody hoo..

To be fair, the All Blacks did play the better game but the reffing left a lot to be desired.  Impartial it was not. Even the Kiwi commentators were left bewildered by some of his calls.  Poor Bismark took the brunt and he’s one of my favourite players.  The best moment of the match for me was when our man Lambie scored his first international try. Way to go Lambie!  

It’s quite an education being an opposition supporter in what is an All Black stronghold.  Despite the number of SA supporters there, we were totally drowned out by the sea of black.  All Black supporters are passionate ... to the extreme.  I guess the same could be said of South African and Welsh supporters.    

There’s a blood lust to their support which is both awe-inspiring AND intimidating .... especially when you’re wearing the opposition’s colours and sitting amongst the home crowd.

We had traitors in our midst though.  The ‘extra’ understandably was supporting the AB’s

 ... and SO was my delinquent other half!

We forgave him though ‘cause it was his birthday.

Regardless of the outcome it was a SERIOUSLY fun evening ... and yes, that’s an oxymoron but a very appropriate one.  Fun was had by ALL, even those who HADN’T expected to enjoy a rugby match!

I think we might be doing that again.

Today saw us slip-sliding across the rocks between St. Heliers and Kohi.  It was low tide and the birdlife on and amongst the rocks at low tide is phenomenal.  

The only pitfall is how slippery the rocks are and how muddy it can be. 

The depth of the mud became apparent when the hound disappeared up to her bum in what appeared to be a solid surface.  We gave it a wide berth. 

The other half chose to try and keep his feet dry by avoiding the rock pools and puddles.  That was too much like hard work so the hound and I just waded through them .... shoes, socks and all.  We did get a little damp.

Apart from the Skua, the Shags, a variety of gulls and the usual skittish Oyster Catchers we  found several herons, a pair of Kingfishers and a couple of Antarctic Terns.

Good job I didn’t slip and drop the camera!

Carol and Pete were walking down to Hammerheads but Sam
wanted to join us on the beach!

Herons have bad hair days too.

“Do your little bit of good where you are; its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” 

~ Desmond Tutu

Overwhelm the world .... I kinda like that.  I like the thought of harnessing a power so huge that it would overwhelm the world with love, compassion and kindness.

Bandit, the Australian Shepherd, loves to join in the hound's game.

I can dream, can’t I.

He's a dreadful tease and their play gets rather vocal.

Mornings like today make me think ANYTHING is possible.  With the right attitude and the right approach to life I’m capable of achieving anything I set my mind to.  

And yes, that would INCLUDE overwhelming the world

 ... one ramble at a time.

He only wants to help .... yeah right!

You know that you spend TOO much time on the beach with your hound and a camera for a face when, whilst taking photos of the heron having a bad hair day, you get asked where your hound is.

She was on the beach with the middle lemming having her log fetish satisfied.  I was sat on the sea wall trying to capture the heron’s outlandishly frazzled hairdo.  

The heron WASN’T having a good day.

Not only was the tide incoming but the large Brown Skua that frequent our bay weren’t happy about his proximity to what they perceived as THEIR territory.  Skua are naturally aggressive and rob other birds of their food. There were 2 of them on the rocks where he’d landed and they cackled and cawed at him in a very vocal display of this aggression. 

The more he tried to restore some semblance of order to his hairstyle, the more these 2 cackled at him.  The Red-billed gulls didn’t give a toss, they were too busy with their own ablutions.

I left him wandering disconsolately out into the incoming tide. 

“There’s nothing more beautiful than the way the ocean refuses to stop kissing the shoreline no matter how many times it’s sent away.” 

~ Sarah Kay (Spoken Word Poet)

When I first moved to New Zealand a few years ago I had thought there was a dearth of bird life here.  How wrong have I been proven.  The more I ramble and see the variety of birds around here, the more astounded I am by the diversity of them .... especially amongst the seabirds.  

On my beach alone there are Red Billed Gulls, Black backed Gulls, Brown Skua, Pied Oyster Catchers, Black/Variable Oyster Catchers ... which are quite rare .... White-faced Heron, Reef Heron, White-fronted Terns, Black Shags and of course one of my favourites, the Kingfishers.

There are other more elusive visitors to our bay but I’m seldom able to get photos as they’re rather camera shy.  They don't seem to like being stalked up and down the beach.  I guess it doesn't help that I have a chocolate brown 4-legged furry photographic assistant.

The water feature at the Memorial Park.  It was an awesome day on Sunday so we did an extra long ramble!

Close-up view of my city

These Black-backed Gulls aren't stupid.  There's a sensor on top of the light and he's sitting on it.
The street-light's on and he's as warm as toast.

Rippling reflections and silhouettes as the sun gets higher in the sky.

This morning's double rainbow ... followed by a spot of rain.