What a wonderful way to start a Tuesday morning! So energising! 2.25 hours of Barcelona Gipsy balKan Orchestra Live in Apolo 2019 - Sandra Sangiao Last Concert - YouTube. Sandra Sangiao has a beautiful voice.
The problem with buying a tray of 30 eggs from the farm gate shop is when you’re trying to manage a single trip from the car to the house with multiple bags, in the rain. Today 3 eggs ‘escaped’. 😒
I enjoy this series, and just read the final 4 stories: Rachel Prince Cruise Ship Mysteries: Books 1-10. That is one unlucky cruise ship! 😆
Loving this morning’s random listen: Andalusian Spanish Arabic Music: الأنْدَلُس - YouTube.
I glimpsed this juvenile Kōtare, Sacred Kingfisher through the window, managed a couple of shots and then it took off. I love my 100–400 zoom camera lens. 🐦


It’s been a busy Sunday. Among other things, I cleaned out the old straw and sawdust from the quail run and topped up with a fresh coating. The quail were pretty stressed by the activity, but seem happy now, especially since they got an extra helping of dried mealworms. 🐦
I’ve signed up for this 30 minute New Zealand Glassworks Make a Paperweight Workshop for August. Deb did it back in June 2018 as a birthday present but logistics meant I couldn’t take part then. Finally I get to have a turn!
Today we saw an Air Force Heritage Flight of New Zealand flypast: the superlative Supermarine Spitfire and three modern Beechcraft T–6C Texan IIs. I thought they were simply flying along the hills then they turned and flew directly overhead.




Today, for the second time in our lives, we have become mortgage-free. We have no debt and everything that comes in now is ours. 🥳
I changed an account password today. Do you think I was too hasty?
What an amazing resource. Thank you @scojjac I’m exploring Arabic:
Language Transfer (languagetransfer.org)
Fantastic audio course that teaches you to think in a language, not just memorize words.…Read: its.scojjac.com
The upside of ending up in Apple Music was I rediscovered a piece of music I adore: Ramirez: Misa Criolla (5 songs, 21 minutes):
Ariel Ramírez (4 September 1921 – 18 February 2010) was an Argentine composer… considered “a chief exponent of Argentine folk music” …
Utterly bewildered that to share with my family an app I’d just bought on the App Store I had to go to iTunes/Music‼️⁉️ I’ve been using Macs and Apple stuff for how long now — 30+ years and I found that process completely confusing and frustrating. Bought Grocery for shopping. (Corrected from 20+ to 30+.)
Fungi season: I suspect this is a fly agaric (Amanita muscaria). I like to see fungi but never know what they are. Found just across the road from our letterbox today.
Sharon Murdoch’s excellent cartoon today:
Forty kororā/little blue penguins found dead on a Far North beach.
FORTY (MORE) REASONS TO FIGHT CLIMATE CHANGE. COUNT THEM.
Kiwis love these little penguins that we see around parts of our coast.
A few years ago I bought a Korg Nanokey 2 keyboard. I can’t play… Today I finally labelled the keys and began to learn to play Mary Had A Little Lamb! Woohoo! I don’t aim to be a musician, just to learn how to play some stuff. This is my year for Variety. ⚡️
Since I suggested today’s Challenge word (mountain) — I can never remember which mountain is which in the central North Island of Aotearoa New Zealand. This is one of: Ruapehu, Tongariro or Ngauruhoe as seen from the Desert Road. Taken years ago with my Canon EOS 300D.
This morning’s new-to-me music: Siberian Altai Turkic Traditional Music. I like it.
Mum. Mum. Mum. Mum. Spoonbill parenting…
Seen at the beach this morning: a juvenile Spoonbill with its parents. 🐦




When I didn’t leave quickly enough one of the adult swans warned me off. I left. 🐦
Language Transfer