This 5.4 quake 67Km deep shook us awake. There was a gentler one 4 hours ago, just to get us in the mood.
Moderate earthquake occurred 45 km north-west of Paraparaumu: www.geonet.org.nz/earthquak…
Oh, and Legends of Tomorrow Episode 501 was bizarre, chaotic fun, but can I really hope that Constantine (who I really dislike) is actually gone now? We’ve suffered him for how long now, 1.5 seasons? Let’s get back to the core timeline wrangling.
I’ve been lukewarm on Arrow TV show for a bit; skipped a few eps here and there. 💤 Now the Crisis crossover has rebooted everything I really enjoyed E0809. 2 slightly older women (Dina and Canary) are mentoring Mia, the new Arrow. Female focus for the win! It felt so different.
Our motorcycling friends from up north are visiting. Breakfast at Taper in Levin. They had just washed roadworks dirt off their bikes.
Late last year volunteers planted Spinifex (silvery) and Pingao (golden) in the dunes. They are growing well.
Hmmm, the new intern seems to be hindering rather than helping at Deb’s office today: our dog Oshi on the lap of Laurette. 🐶 Later… morning tea for Oshi and Sasha.
Arrrgh! I should have set a timer. I put 12 quail eggs on to hard boil, meaning to turn the element down later. The noise of the clothes dryer stopped me from hearing it though and the pot just boiled dry! I guess the eggs’ll be ok. Just hope my favourite porridge pot is too.
This morning when I took my daily selfie something odd happened (apart from somehow the flash being on — I retook the photo without it). I recalled a photo of my mum, sitting in her armchair before she really succumbed to dementia. This photo of Mum, aged 85, from June 2003.
This relatively small dragonfly got itself stuck between two sliding doors. Luckily closing the door didn’t kill it as I feared. Then it was reluctant to go.
Heh, love it “Batwoman” Adds Another Lesbian Character and a Major Coming Out Storyline:
A woman does not get kicked out of the most prestigious military academy in the country for smooching her girlfriend, move to the frozen tundra to krav maga away her heartbreak, choose that hairstyle and wear a leather coat in all weather and park her motorcycle every place she goes so she can lean on it to have people assume she’s heterosexual, okay?
Today I paddled maybe 1Km upstream from the Waikawa Beach footbridge, past the shag colony. Then I went down ~500 metres past the bridge and finally back to base. All up it took me about an hour. Glad to get out on the kayak again. In 6 years of ownership I’ve used it ~6 times.
I’ve been working slowly on an extended project: tidy and sort the garage and another shed, toss junk, give away stuff, sell stuff. Organise. Locate shelves and containers. Group related stuff. Haven’t yet sold anything (I hate the selling process), but progress is encouraging.
I tried something a bit different on a stunning morning alone at the beach. This 360 degree video starts and ends looking east towards the sun. Then I turned south, west, north and back to the start. See Kapiti Island.
Today was the first time in months that I’ve biked the dogs in their trailer to a walking spot. Today was the trees across the footbridge where it was cool. It’s about 5Km all up, with 3 speedbumps to navigate. Sasha and Oshi handle it well. 🐶
The river’s been fairly low and still the last few days. Perhaps that’s because it’s the time of year when we don’t get any rain. I didn’t go in, but probably less than waist deep. These views West and East from the footbridge in the village.
Was out with a client at coffee this morning when she mentioned she was being spammed via her WordPress contact form. I investigated and was thrilled to use an IP address site Deny. Spammer was sending 8x+ per minute about a video blogging service. In Cyrillic.
Yesterday morning’s recording was of a Skylark (I think). Very low tide and slight Easterly meant the sea was quiet and the iPhone could actually pick up the bird.
At the Waikawa Beach estuary this moning. Pied Stilt birdcall, with a view of the river mouth and the bird itself. Very low tide (the sea is a hum in the background). Gentle wind from the East means tiny to no waves. Blue sky. Sun. Volume UP.
Wind, tide and a fickle Waikawa Stream
After flowing west from the Tararuas the Waikawa Stream makes a sudden southward turn about 400 metres from shore. It meanders parallel to the coast for another 1.5 Km then exits from the throat onto the inlet sand where it makes a lazy loop before actually reaching the sea at Waikawa Beach.
Depending on the tide, that creates a sandy, watery playground of about 16 hectares, enjoyed by all.
When you live on the coast though you quickly learn that wind and tide shape your life. That inlet area is fickle — there are times when a full river, a high tide and a driving westerly fill the whole area with water.
Back in 1872 the Waikawa Stream joined with the Ōhau around 2 Km to the north. In 1942, on the other hand, it flowed south 1.5 Km from its current location, before joining the Waiorongomai Stream to enter the sea.
The inexorable power of ex-tropical Cyclone Gita in February 2018 eroded a huge amount of sand and changed the course of the river across the inlet, cutting off vehicle access to the beach. After much discussion between the Waikawa Beach Ratepayers Association, Horowhenua District Council and Horizons Regional Council a high-angle groyne was removed, and a river channel cut to reshape the flow.
In the 6 months since, the river has stayed away from the dunes it previously eroded. Vehicle access has been restored, and wind and tide have even brought back a little of the sand that had been lost.
We thank the Miratana family for allowing folks to cross their private land in order to access the beach.
One local community member is able to provide the Ratepayers Association with high-resolution drone photos of the river mouth. We now get a photo every few months which helps us track exactly what's going on with the river and the sand at the mouth. We hope that when there are problems in future we'll be able to use this resource to make a case for action.
Even if we don't need the photos for that purpose, it's wonderful to be able to watch the development of our own local community.
Originally published in Ōtaki Today, December 2019, page 21.
It can pay to be friends with the owner of your favourite cafe. Taper in Levin now offer White Tea as well as black and herbal. Decent chocolate chip biscuit too.
