I enjoyed the movie Space Oddity. 🎥

Alex is going to Mars — it was a dream he and his big brother had. But then Daisy comes along …

Space Oddity poster.

This littlie was hopping / fluttering along the beach. 🐦

Small sparrow-like bird with spiky hairdo.

Research and a bit of guessing led me to believe it is a Kairaka | Eurasian skylark:

A small brown and creamy-buff bird with off-white underparts, streaked breast and throat, variegated brown upperparts, a sturdy horn-coloured bill that is yellow-brown at the base, and pink legs and feet with a long slightly curved hind toe. Adults have a faint mask of pale feathers around and behind the eye, and a small streaked crest on the hind crown that is raised when alert.

I tried this Vegetable Lo Mein recipe and was very pleased with how it came out.

I couldn't get snow peas or chow mein noodles, but random noodles worked fine. I added snow pea shoots.

Easy to cook and delicious.

Bowl of vege lo mein.

OK, this excellent word puzzle is going in my daily puzzle set: Gisnep | Daily Quote Puzzle.

Screenshot of a word puzzle where you have to fgure out a quote from letters and empty squares provided.

Via: Lynneguist List.

The Poaka | Pied Stilt babies can only be seen from quite far away. There are 3 here, between their parent and the log. 🐦

Pied stilt chicks behind parent, just entering a pond.

Here's a very cropped view.

Stilt babies closer, as they enter the pond.

This Tūturiwhatu | New Zealand dotterel parent is keeping a very close eye on me. 🐦

Dotterel adult.

Why? because I was taking photos (at some distance) of its baby.

Tiny dotterel chick.

Good grief! Hanging out in the public library while my car's serviced. My phone has no signal so I'm using the free WiFi. When I try to do Lex's word games I get this notice:

URL blocked: newly observed domain.

Weird notification as I hotspot on my MacBook Pro from my iPhone:

Low Battery Do you want to disconnect from Naida Phone?
Low Battery Do you want to disconnect from Naida Phone?

My iPhone charge is 100%; my MacBook Pro charge is 92%. Huh?

Sand scarab closeup.
Sand Scarab.

 

Sand scarab track weaves all over the sand, circles round a few times, as though the scarab was very drunk.
Man, that party last night was a blast!

Recently hatched Oystercatcher sticking close to mum. 🐦

Baby Oystercatcher on the beach, close to an adult.

This little mite hopped away from our front door when I went out. Eventually it found a spot in a pile of shingle. Sparrow presumably. 🐦

Baby sparrow.

Messages from a friend yesterday that I only spotted today 🐦 :


Bad news, dotterel eggs are gone, good news, baby dotterel!
At least 2
Baby oyster catcher too
3 pied stilts too

I see a beach walk with camera in my near future. 😁

While looking for something else I came across my citizenship certificate. Almost exactly 20 years since I became a citizen of NZ.

Citizenship certificate.

In 1840 Māori signed a treaty with the British crown. It's thanks to that treaty that I'm able to live here in Aotearoa. Kia ora e ngā iwi.

God defend the breast screeners of New Zealand | The Spinoff:

After having her first mammogram, Anna Rawhiti-Connell finds efficiency, reassurance and care in a beleaguered public health system.

Hear hear!

Today's Crusty French Bread Rolls went quite well. They are crusty, and delicious.

8 crusty rolls fresh from the oven.
Crusty rolls inside with butter.

The farmer next door was busy yesterday. This morning I got up to see this and thought: rural idyll. 😁

Green paddocks in sunshine with round haybales wrapped in pale green plastic. Further away and slightly misty: darker green hills.

Sigh. By the end of next year this will be our Council: Whangārei District Council votes 7-6 against adding fluoride to water supply | RNZ News.

Double sigh, as if following the US were a good idea, especially these days:

A spokesperson for Fluoride Free, a group against fluoridation, praised the decision.

Mary Byrne and WDC councillors cited recent court rulings in the United States as justification for their concerns about fluoride in water.

Kiwis : Submission Opposing Treaty Principles Bill:

Submission template created by lawyer, author and educator, Roimata Smail.

She also has a book — Understanding Te Tiriti:

Leveraging her two-decades of legal expertise in Te Tiriti o Waitangi, Smail presents the facts in this short book in a way that is easy to digest. The handbook uses accessible language and beautiful design to make it easy to understand

Aargh, between anti-Money Laundering Measures and anti-scam and anti-fraud measures, trying to do anything relating to money these days, like paying for a piece of land, is a nightmare. Lots of proving identity, getting signatures witnessed, calling the bank and so on. 💲💲

Lengthy email from a bank explaining about keeping safe from scams and sources to contact.

I've been benefiting from these books for years. If you use Mac, iPhone, iPad etc do yourself a favour and learn something new. The Take Control Books Black Friday Sale 2024:

Black Friday sale, which runs through Tuesday, December 3 at 11:59 PM CST. For this one-week period, 24 of our books—that’s half the titles currently in our catalog—are half off. No coupon codes or special links are required; just visit our catalog page and look for books with a “Sale” tag (regular price crossed out, sale price next to it).