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.
When I watered the tunnelhouse this morning I was surprised to find this frog on a tomato plant, about a metre or more off the ground.
Branch, boat, horses … bird.
A couple of years ago I ordered a down jacket and vest from Wear on Earth:
Custom made down jackets and vests right here in Christchurch, New Zealand.
100% European Goose Down with 750 Loft
Website and customer service were poor, but the gear is excellent. Warm and toasty!
Nothing odd about an overnight low of 3C if it was mid-winter! But it’s mid-summer. 🥶
These days we tap a button and a photo instantly appears. Back in the day a tintype photo took a lot of patience and messing about. Watch this fascinating 23 minute video to see a modern recreation. Recreating 19th Century Death & Mourning Photographs.
I haven’t been to the beach for a few days, but this morning’s visit was splendid. No wind, deep blue sky and ocean, clear air. And this fine horse and rider.
I have a few HTML files I’d like to be able to access from other devices. They’re really only for me. Meanwhile, GitHub has been a mystery to me. Today I followed excellent and clear instructions at Creating and Hosting a Personal Site on GitHub. Easy!
Update, 13 January 2023: looks like I took this site down at some point. My Te Reo reference site was at immiraz.github.io/index.html.
Magpies can be clowns. Spot the one hanging upside down, but twisting round to check me out. Moments later they were singing full throat together.
