Energy Farm goodness at Ruakākā
It's very heartening to read about the positives of the new energy farm underway at Ruakākā.
Renewable innovation: The Ruakākā Energy Park | New Zealand Infrastructure Review:
Wetland restoration and enhancement
An existing wetland on the project site will be protected, ensuring that it remains a valuable habitat for native bird species such as the bittern and dabchick ducks. A new native habitat, including a new wetland, will be created on another part of the site, improving ecological outcomes. This new wetland will help to cleanse stormwater from the energy park and wider catchment before it flows into the Ruakākā River, delivering significant environmental benefits.
Native planting and landscape improvements
The perimeter of the BESS [battery energy storage system] has been planted with eco‑sourced native species like cabbage trees, kōwhai, harakeke and pittosporums. This planting effort, undertaken in partnership with local hapū Patuharakeke, not only improves the visual aesthetics of the site, but also creates a natural habitat for local wildlife. Biodegradable hemp/wool matting has been used to retain moisture, and irrigation will support plant growth during the first two years.
This morning the bricks were half way up the wall on our new build. By the end of the afternoon the photo from our builder's rep shows a lot has been done. 🏡
This photo from the south.
Favourite typo in a book I'm reading (my emphasis):
Fabia got out pickles and took a cucumber from the vegetable wrack and handed it to Dilys.
Vegetable wrack
conjures up images of wilted lettuce, aged mushrooms, sad celery …
Our building company rep sent a photo of bricklayers hard at work this morning on our new place. 🏡
This is a view from the east.
I guess once the brickwork is complete the house will be 'weathertight', triggering another progress payment.
Our government: protectors of profit above all else! 🤮
Forest & Bird Says National Parks Not Game Parks:
“The Minister has today announced he is going to start a process to provide special protected status to Wapiti deer, an introduced feral species contributing to biodiversity damage in Fiordland National Park – home to unique and much-loved endangered species such as kākāpō, kiwi, kea, pīwauwau rock wren, and whio blue duck.”
Our appalling government has cancelled overnight outstanding claims to get equal pay for low-paid women — Government’s political gamble backfires as backlash to pay equity reform grows:
Hundreds of people turned out … to protest the government’s fast-tracked changes to pay equity laws. … Many protesters expressed outrage not just at the substance of the legislation but its speed – introduced on Tuesday morning, passed by Wednesday night.
They're unravelling our democracy and our country strand by painful strand.
In the cafe we visited yesterday an older woman was sitting nearby. She wore about 4 or more gold bejewelled rings on each finger.
Anyway, that led me to dig out a couple of inherited rings and try them out. They must have been either Mum's or my grandma's engagement and wedding rings, I guess.
One of these things is not like the others …
This sign amused me while I was eating brunch across the road.
We visited Kowhai on the main road in Ōtaki for brunch. I had a very delicious French Toast with vanilla mascarpone, maple, raspberries & caramelised pear. Plus a little dab of pink candy floss. 😁 The cafe itself is clean and pleasant. Would happily go back again.
OK, Netatmo wind gauge, you seem to be hallucinating. I think I would have noticed wind gusts of around 170 Kph …
NZ and the space age — I'm angry
I love space. I'm a child of the space age, born just a year or two before Sputnik went up. I've been on and off interested in astronomy since I was a kid. The push into space has brought all kinds of benefits to the people of this world.
This article though has really upset me. Aotearoa is a tiny country and has no business trying to 'keep up' with the big kids. This whole 'per capita' rubbish is so bogus!
NZ lagging behind most comparable countries on space spend per capita | RNZ News:
The government is spending almost 20 times less on space per head than the United States, and half that of the United Kingdom.
The first sector survey in six years shows five out of the seven rival space countries New Zealand compares itself to are ahead on government funding.
And those 'comparable' countries? In what possible way should we compare ourselves to (thanks Claude for the rounded numbers)? :
- United States: 331 million
- Germany: 83 million
- France: 67 million
- United Kingdom: 67. million
- Italy: 59 million
- Korea (South Korea): 52 million
- Canada: 37 million
- New Zealand: 5 million
How about instead ensuring we compare favourably, or even excel at making sure everyone has a healthy place to live, enough food and suitable fulfilling work?
The removal company assessor inventoried our stuff to be moved; now we await the eye watering quote.
Good news: light stuff can go into the drawers in chests of drawers. Also they won't carry certain hazardous items so that solves questions like: take or leave behind the gas bottle for the BBQ?
This week painters have been working on the wooden parts of the cladding on our new house. 🏡
This photo from the builder shows the north side of the house: BGC Duragroove in the (dark) Karaka and BGC Innova NuLine Plus Horizontal in 1/8 Tana (pale).
Sigh, pillows!
After an age of waking in the mornings with a sore neck I researched pillows. Four came well recommended — ranging from $50 to $175 (on special at 50% off).
Given the only real way to try out a pillow is to buy and use it I chose the cheapest, a Dreamticket 'Bliss' Hotel Pillow that arrived this morning.
Used plastic bottles are diverted from our oceans & landfills and get a 2nd life after being processed into super-fine microfiber [filling].
It worked fine for a brief nap, but I guess the real test will be a few nights' sleep.
I want to know who had the job of counting the ants. 🤣 — ‘Ant Gang’ smugglers sentenced in Kenya wildlife trafficking case:
Two Belgian teens caught with 5,000 rare ants in Kenya were sentenced to 12 months in prison or a fine of $7,700.
5 light links 07-May-2025
The world seems dark and grim. These 5 links are about bringing a little light. 💡
Little spotted kiwi to return to Nelson after almost 100 years | RNZ News:
Twenty years after the Brook Waimārama Sanctuary was established in Nelson, it's set to become home to a species of kiwi that had long been considered functionally extinct in the South Island.
Approximately 40 little spotted kiwi, or kiwi pukupuku, are being translocated into the sanctuary from Kāpiti Island in early May.
300 people in a small Michigan town formed a book brigade to move books:
300 people in a small Michigan town formed a book brigade to move books to a local bookstore’s new location from its old one. The move took ~2 hours and “the brigade even put the books back on the shelves in alphabetical order.”
Early eggs hopeful sign for bumper blue penguin season in Ōamaru | RNZ News:
Agnew said the early egg laying was also a good indication that the marine environment was healthy.
"Egg-laying is very food-driven, so to have eggs this early means we have good food close to the colony. It tells us that things are looking good for the season."
School lunches: 'A really great way to show our community that we care':
It's 8:30 in the morning and a crowd of students at Melville Primary School are at the breakfast table in the hall.
On this Monday it's scrambled eggs on wholemeal toast, with sausages left over from Friday's lunch.
With their best vocabulary, the kids describe to me how their food tastes. "Amazing" and "phenomenal" are the terms they felt appropriate.
Principal Bronwyn Haitana said breakfast makes a big difference, especially with attendance.
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In the video, a small egg, resembling a tiny hen’s egg, emerges from the neck of the unique land snail.
DOC has been managing a captive population of the threatened snails in chilled containers in Hokitika since 2006, when mining company Solid Energy started mining their habitat …
… “It’s remarkable that in all the time we’ve spent caring for the snails, this is the first time we’ve seen one lay an egg. We caught the action when we were weighing the snail. We turned it over to be weighed and saw the egg just starting to emerge from the snail.”
Ocean near New Zealand warming faster than anywhere else, study finds:
A study has found New Zealand's slice of the ocean is absorbing more heat than any other.
One of the scientists behind the work says the effect is not just making the sea feel a bit warmer for a dip, but worsening storms like ex-tropical Cyclone Tam, which wreaked havoc with heavy rain over Easter.
I'm glad to see this toolkit for women putting themselves forward for public office — Tools to cope with social media vitriol:
Developed in collaboration with online safety organisation Netsafe, it includes interactive educational modules, practical resources, and real-world case studies from women in leadership and public-facing roles. It offers insights and strategies for overcoming digital harm.
But Step Two is to stop the abuse in the first place.
Checking my previous blog posts and found this:
Uhhh, so, has anyone beeped Buffy yet? It seems way past time.
After Book 2 was such a stinker I almost didn't even start Let the Woman Go (Naomi Blake Mysteries Book 3) by Jane Adams. 📚
I'm glad I did though because I was hooked in and enjoyed the read.
Imagine being held hostage in a bank robbery. Now imagine being blind as well. But this is Naomi Blake and she has resources she’s only just dipping into.
