It's just not cricket

“Sometimes people are beautiful.

Not in looks.

Not in what they say.

Just in what they are.”

~ Marcus Zusak

I have many of THOSE kind of beautiful friends in my life.

I love each and every one of them.

Even when they disagree with the teams I support.

Cricket fever is HUGE in NZ at the moment.

Courtesy of last night’s semi-final I’m thinking.

No guessing which team I was rooting for.

Talkback on the radio this morning is all about the cricket.

What’s surprised me though has been the number of callers who have nothing but praise for the gentlemanly behaviour of both teams last night.

And especially of AB De Villiers.

He too is one of THOSE kind of beautiful people.

The Proteas, despite their loss, made me so proud to be a South African supporter.

I’ll be rooting for the Black Caps in the final regardless of which team they play.

The bag has some of her balls in it's pockets and she's making sure no other hound takes them.

All the chatter on our ramble this morning was cricket related too.

Whispers of conversation as we passed in the dark.

Yes.  It’s still pitch black when we leave on our ramble.

All the better to NOT see where you’re walking.

Lamp posts and trees have a nasty habit of leaping into our path.

The hound’s path more than mine.

She’s got her nose to the ground as she “reads” the early morning p-mails.

Reading and replying to p-mails takes time.

Some messages are longer than others.

It’s a quick dash to the beach when she’s finished.

Still in the dark of course.

Sadie, running down the beach to say hello

Daylight saving ends on Easter Sunday.

It can’t come soon enough.

Live SIMPLY.

DREAM big.

BE grateful.

GIVE love.

Laugh LOTS.

(Courtesy of Halo Smith’s page on FB)

Today I shall behave ...

Some of the gorgeous roses bought to market by White Tree Floral Design

“We sometimes GIVE so much that we end up LOSING ourselves.” 

~ anon

“Persistent people begin their success where others end in failures.” 

- Edward Eggleston

TWO quotations that I NEED to remember.  

Tamaki Drive Market on Saturday

Life can be disillusioning at times and I have to remember that I CAN’T fix EVERYTHING ... much as I might want to.  Other  people and situations HAVE to fix themselves IN their own time, AT their own pace and to the best of THEIR ability.

I just have to carry on being me ... a wonderfully whacky and weird kinda person

 .... but definitely me. The hound doesn’t have a problem with that.

Daylight saving kicked in on Sunday so this morning’s ramble began in the dark.

Any illusion I might have had about seeing the sun rise was quickly dismissed as the hound and I exited the house.  Cloud ... cloud .... and still more cloud.  The waning moon was visible .... briefly .... till it too was engulfed by cloud.

The hound doesn’t really care.  

The sun can rise ... or not.  

The moon can set .... or not.  

It can rain .... or not.  

As long as the waves are kissing the shore and she has a ball or a log,

 then she’s a HAPPY hound.

Very happy hounds on Friday

Little does she know that without that moon rising or setting there’d be NO waves.

The wind took care of any company we might have had on the beach today, human, canine or otherwise.  

We got blown inside out and upside down ... BOTH of us.  

In some ways it was fortuitous we had no company. 

With caffeine fix to hand and rugby ball firmly grasped in the hound’s mouth, the hound and I headed home only to be stopped by a passer-by who wanted to know if the hound’s name was Chocolat.

The reputation of this hound of mine appears to extend beyond the boundaries of our wee village. The passer-by in question is new to the village and is about to take ownership of a 4 year old Chocolate Labrador called Molly.  She was advised to seek out ... in her words “a beautiful Chocolate Labrador called Chocolat who plays on the beach every day with logs and a rugby ball.” 

Her first words to me on having the identity of the hound confirmed were 

“They were right ... she’s so beautiful.”

Mom and Dad Kingfisher on Sunday morning.

She is.  Even if I say so myself.

Not close enough but finally one with the wings outstretched.

I even have a larger than life canvas pic of her now, courtesy of Pixel Paint.  

For some reason, known only to themselves, they’ve printed one of my latest prints on an A1 canvas instead of the A2 I ordered.

Doesn't it look cool!

The size of print I ordered on the left, and the size of print I received on the right.

And finally in the words of Dr. Seuss

"Today I shall behave as if this is the day I shall be remembered."

Oh yes!

My youngest babies ... human and otherwise.

Grrrr .... summer time beach restrictions.

“Those who were seen dancing were thought to be INSANE by those who could not hear the music.” 

... a quote credited to Friedrick Nietzsche, a German philosopher and poet.

I MUST be insane.

Grrrrr .... along with daylight saving come summer hound times on our beaches. NO hounds on the beach between 9am and 7pm .... not even on lead. Yes, I know .... I’ve been on my soapbox about this issue before and the times ... they be a-changing .... but not at a speed that I’m happy with!!

Very low tides mean more fish than the gulls can eat

I’m NOT even supposed to let her off-lead before 9 in the morning. I’m on the beach from 6.30! 

Who in their right mind is going to be on the beach at that time in the morning unless they’ve got a hound?

The Dog Wardens ... that’s who! 

I CAN’T wait for the new regulations that have been proposed, to come into force! It will be a victory for dog-owners throughout Auckland. BAH HUMBUG to those who said it couldn’t be done and an avid THANK YOU to all those who’ve made it happen.

It was WORTH collecting all those signatures!

Our weather is STILL dismal. I think summer’s gone on holiday and it’s certainly NOT here in Auckland. Rain is the order of the day .... and clouds .... heavy grey ones. I’m even beginning to forget what that big yellow orb in the sky looks like.

Despite the rain, despite the gloomy weather outlook, I LOVE my rambles. I don’t mind getting wet .... or cold .... and I certainly don’t mind getting muddy! Thankfully my camera’s quite robust and able to tolerate the drizzle and mud and sand and whatever else rambling with the hound might throw at it. Smudges in photos are more often the result of raindrops or mud splatters on the lens. It’s one of the pitfalls of rambling with water-loving Labradors ....  and "pseudo"  Labradors.

The reflections on the beach today, albeit sans sunshine, were brilliant! Low tide was at 7.10 and the ocean was like a mirror ... even Rangitoto at that early hour in the morning had a reflection. 

Not only can I photograph raindrops on roses but raindrops on swans too! The Black Swan family put on an impromptu photo-shoot this morning to introduce us to their babies ... though their babies are NOT so little anymore. 

Neither adult swan was happy with Shadow (he of the pseudo Labrador fame) prancing around like a lunatic on the water’s edge ... yes, he’s insane too. Dad sailed rapidly forward hissing loudly at Shadow as Mom, hissing just as furiously, gathered the youngsters around her. They didn’t seem to mind US being there but they weren’t happy with the hounds. 

I’ve seen the swans regularly in the distance but it’s the first time I’ve seen all of them up close and personal. They’re so beautiful and just so elegant .... it was awesomeness and beyond to snap photos of them like that this morning!

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

~ Roald Dahl