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.

I'm looking for a translator in Jaffawood who speaks DOG.

One of these days I’m going to trip over the hound and do myself some damage. She’s like a shadow in the mornings ... follows me around from pillar to post until we depart for our ramble. Heaven knows what she thinks I’m going to do .... leaving without her would be unthinkable, and nigh on impossible as she doesn’t let me out of her sight ... even following me into the bathroom!!

Trying to sort a few chores before I leave is like moving through a minefield ..... not only have I the shadow to contend with but a bleating ... yes, bleating .... pussy cat too. He seems to think that when I wake Callum in the morning it means I’m going

to feed him ... the cat that is .... he’s wrong .... I have more than enough to do before I head out on my ramble without adding his breakfast to the list!


Julia and Indy rejoined us this morning ... they were supposed to be away until Thursday but came home early. Sometimes it’s good to

be made aware of how perfect everything in your home environment is .... we are so blessed with where we live. We have the waves right on our doorstep .... our daily fix just down the road ... plenty of humans with hounds to chat to ..... good company to ramble with ... what more could a girl possibly want!  Hmmm ... men didn’t even come into that equation .... but I guess they’re necessary sometimes too.

Our friendly bunny was out and about again!

It’s overcast again this morning and looks like it might rain ... not that any rain will deter us from rambling. Julia was on the rocks between the two bays when the hound and I hit the beach. I was shocked at the amount of gull guano on the rocks ... there’d been none yesterday but the rocks were covered with

it today.  I can only assume the tide has been higher than normal and fish have been stranded on the rocks ... that would explain the huge flock of gulls I’d seen yesterday and the resultant mess today.


The hounds were delighted to see one

another and sniffed noses and bums and talked DOG for a while .... I’m still looking for a translator in Jaffawood who speaks DOG.


We’re taking photos at the moment of our empty beaches during March .... ammunition for Dog Friends to use to persuade Council to remove the summer restrictions earlier. Day light saving in NZ ends this month and our hounds will be allowed on the beaches off-lead until 10 in the morning from the Tuesday after Easter weekend until Labour Weekend in October. It will be bliss ... no more having to keep an eye out for the Dog Wardens .... no more rushing off the beaches at 9 in the morning.

My sand-dog!

My hound will be thrilled ..... she won’t have to sit on the boardwalk and whimper as the other hounds play in the waves ... she’ll be able to play in the waves herself!


I had such a chuckle at Carol this morning. I caught up with her and Denise after saying goodbye to Julia ... 

they’d been wondering where I was as neither had known that Julia was home early. They were delighted to see me as Carol had news for me. 


Yesterday when Carol and I had seen Denise, Carol had commented on a top Denise was wearing. Denise had said it was old and 

She's dementedly shaking the ball!

she’d probably be throwing it away soon as that’s what she does when she gets tired of her clothes. Carol, half jokingly, suggested throwing it her way if she wanted to get rid of it. Carol and I often comment on the clothes Denise wears ... we wear walking shorts and T’s for our rambles but Denise is a classy dresser and always looks nice.

Exploring Dingle Dell

Imagine Carol’s surprise when Denise arrived in the bay this morning with the top, all neatly washed and pressed, in a bag for Carol! It MADE my day ..... such a delightful gesture between friends .... now I know why I love these girls and their hounds ... they make me smile!! 

They are their own kind of beautiful!

Update on the migraine .... had to visit the doc today .... it just wouldn’t go away so more medication was necessary. I’m on a HIGH at the moment ... I guess it’s the meds .... but I’m not in pain and that can only be a GOOD thing!!

On of the entrances/exits to Dingle Dell ... there must be 4 or 5 access points

Another road going around Dingle Dell

The view Julia looks out on

We made another new friend on the beach today.