Miraz Jordan

In March 2022 I posted about planting cabbage trees by the gate. Here's how they looked then:

And here's how they look today, some 2 years later. I'm very pleased with their growth. The tips of the leaves on the tallest are just above my head.

Today I tried making Fluffy Flapjack Pancakes. They were good and indeed very filling. I reduced the sugar to 2 tablespoons and might next time try less.

Warning: it made more like 12 than 8.

Photo shows what's left on the plate after we'd eaten about 6.

Although the weather is gorgeous — I've been sitting in the warm sun reading and napping — today's a real brain fog kind of day. A wee nap helped a bit, but not enough.

This Karoro | Black-backed gull was enjoying the comforts of a clump of washed out river weed.

Zoomed in, it looks like both Caspian Terns are wearing bands on each leg.

The middle Variable Oystercatcher has grey legs … this may be one of last season's breeding pairs with offspring.

Today's refreshing Oolong tea — Himalayan Beauty, Nepal:

a beautifully balanced, delicate and fragrant tea with a smooth, creamy texture. Initial floral notes give way to fruity aromas - orange peel, apple skins and muscatel grape – which happily marry with its woody undertone.

Such an interesting 6 minute video. Do watch: Sea lions - The return of a native taonga?:

Up to half a tonne of big-eyed, long-whiskered, galumphing curiosity, feeding, breeding and cavorting in the shallows, slumping across roads or snoozing on beds of kelp along the Otago coastline.

I often show the Tararua ranges as seen from our house, but this morning thought I'd try a video from the beach where you can see so much more.

I was intrigued that the Fuji X-T5 didn't maintain focus very well as I panned. In real life the mountains were sharp against the sky.

This 11 minute video explains how dishwashers work, and how to load them. Are you loading your dishwasher wrong?:

We dug into the science of dishwashers to finally put an end to all your dishwasher debates.

Definitely worth watching.

Yesterday's beach trip revealed lots of driftwood 'mulch' near the river mouth. In it were many five-armed starfish.

I also saw my first ever Hermit Crab, in quite a big shell.

When I touched the shell the crab retreated.

I love the challenge of the The Guardian Cryptic Crosswords; they're so hard.

On first pass I may get one or two answers at most, then I worry away at it, sometimes exclaiming Of course! when I see how an answer works.

Anagrams are my secret power, so those clues are sometimes the easiest.

I do all my book reading on a Kindle. Today I upgraded from a Kindle Paperwhite to a Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition. It feels much snappier, the text feels sharper and it charges wirelessly on my iPhone charger or can use a USB-C cable.

I'm looking forward to seeing if I enjoy it more.

There's a blue marker post on the beach that (theoretically — it's almost invisible behind beach grass) shows where one of the pedestrian tracks to exit the beach is.

This morning I took a photo of it, noting it's now half buried in sand.

Here it was on 15 July 2020 for comparison.

Ours isn't the kind of beach that has seaweed. Except today it does, and a lot of it.

If you're into dogs at all this 11 minute video is a must-watch. So interesting! The Canine Rainbow and How Dogs See the World 🐶 :

The first episode of Howtown from Adam Cole & Joss Fong is all about dog vision

I've subbed to the Howtown videos too. Looks like a nice series.