It's all about finding the calm in the chaos.

This morning's sunrise clouds and a rainbow .... I got a tad wet during my ramble today!

“Your intuition knows what to do. The trick is getting your HEAD to shut up so you can hear.” 

~ Louise Smith

This is what I see as I walk onto the platform at the view-site ...

Hmmmm .... so it’s NOT just that I TALK too much .... it’s that I THINK too much too. 

 It’s no wonder I can’t hear what I SHOULD be listening too. 

As it gets brighter in my sky, the orange and yellow of the clouds subsides.

In-tu-i-tion (definition) .... the ability to acquire knowledge without inference and/or the use of reason. Intuition is our brain on auto-pilot ..... oh wow .... that’s a scary thought.  

Non-conscious thinking.  

Sometimes we think too much and then become paralysed in the process. 

 I’m guilty as charged.

Sun-lit clouds over Rangitoto

Why can’t I be more like my hound!

Sand castles and sea-shells!

She doesn’t THINK too much ... she just DOES. 

We do have some things in common.  I love our early morning rambles almost as much as she does. I love getting my feet wet in the waves.  We BOTH love coffee ... and orange marmalade ice-cream .... and dolly mixtures.  I have a PUDDLE of like-minded friends, just like she does ... only my friends don’t retrieve balls or logs .... and they’re seldom as wet as the hound.

They do however have something I cherish ... unquestioning support and love for me.  My world would be so much poorer without their presence .... both physical and cyber..

So would my hound’s.  She gets to create mischief aplenty with her puddle of Labrador friends.

She’s missed them this past week.  Carol’s been away at the farm so there’s been fewer visits to Waiatarua and no catch-up with Ebony and Shadow.  Julia’s hurt her hip so Indy and her have been absent from our early morning rambles.

Julia’s missed some amazing sun-rises.  I’m reaching the view-site just as the sun pokes it’s head over the horizon and it’s a magical vista to see in the early hours of each day.  It’s been just what I’ve needed this week and has made me value and appreciate every breath I breathe and every step I take.

Our world is a truly awesome place.

“It’s all about finding the calm in the chaos.” 

~ Donna Karan

Tuesday morning's gorgeous sun-rise

Labrador owners MUST be crazy!!

“We are here to laugh at the odds and live our lives so well that Death will tremble to take us.”

 ~ a quotation by the poet Charles Bukowski in a book by Time Life called “The Meaning of Life”.

It was BEAUTIFUL when I woke this morning!

It is raining YET again!

It’s not often I manage to get wetter than the hound when I ramble .... but yesterday I did. Both of us did .... Carol and I that is. I’m not sure WHO created the bigger puddle at the front door 

... the hound OR me!

This is the netball she found on the beach a few weeks ago.

It was already raining when we headed to Waiatarua but, being the positive souls that we are, we continued on our way ever hopeful that the rain would stop. Mother Nature had other ideas.

She still prefers Sam's Chiefs rugby ball to it though.

Not only did the rain continue BUT it got heavier .... much heavier! There was a brief lull in the downpour whilst we were at the dog pond. We get wet there whether it’s raining or not ... the hounds and their balls and the impromptu showers they give us take care of that. No matter how carefully you try and avoid the fall-out from the pooch-shake, staying dry is never an option.

Contrary to popular belief, we weren’t the only insane humans walking hounds at Waiatarua yesterday. I’ve just had a thought though .... most of the hounds we met there were Labradors. That tells you something. 

Labrador owners MUST be crazy!  

Oh yes ... that includes all of you, Carol and Julia and Suzanne and Keith and Ebony’s human and all the other ‘wannabee’ Labrador owners that I’ve had the pleasure of getting to know..

The weather hasn’t been much better today. The sun HAS tried to shine and it DIDN’T rain quite as hard but the wind was icy. For some reason unknown even to myself, I wore a short-sleeve T-shirt AND left my raincoat at home. 

The water is so clear today that we can even see the Mallard Duck's webbed feet!

Yes .... the mind boggles.

I need a more waterproof raincoat though. The one I wore yesterday left me just as wet on the inside as I was on the outside.

Shadow took a swim ... all on his own and without any prompting!

If anyone’s to blame for the unseasonal weather it MUST be Shadow. He jumped IN the river of his own accord today AND swam! He LOVED all the praise and gave us all an impromptu shower to thank us.  It’s one thing having a Labrador shower .... a Border Collie shaking is quite another. It was raining again ... but not from the clouds!

These interactions with other hounds and their humans make my day. I love the enjoyment we all take from them. Our hounds NEED these rambles and, in providing for their needs and fulfilling them, we find FULFILLMENT ourselves. 

What better way can there be to start a day!

Ebony got the ball!!

I have another market tomorrow, one of my favourites .... the St. Heliers one. It’s not just because it’s close to home that I enjoy it so much, I also see so many people I know. Every spare moment now is taken up with preparing stock for markets and selecting photos to have printed on canvas. THIS is a busy time of year AND I love it!

Shadow taking ANOTHER swim!