I biked round to the village today. It’s a tiny trip: 5.5 Km return, but stops me from getting completely out of the cycling way. The river was very still, and fairly low. A stand-up paddleboarder went past, and then two kayakers.
Visit to Foxton Estuary; White-faced Heron.
A visit to Foxton Estuary; 4 Canada Geese all in a row.
If you’re a Kiwi (I was granted citizenship in 2004) and meet a few residency requirements, then when you turn 65 you receive a Super Gold Card. It gives you various discounts and some free off-peak travel on local buses and trains. Pretty darn good, eh! A few weeks to go yet…
This shocks me:
A local Kāpiti Focus Group formed early in 2019 to advocate for a cycleway, walkway and bridleway on the Ōtaki to North of Levin (O2NL) expressway, is urging NZTA and Government to commit to ensuring that plans for the project include a shared pathway.
Source: Horowhenua Chronicle 08 January 2020.
Why am I shocked? Because any expressway or similar anywhere in Aotearoa New Zealand should automatically include such a shared pathway beside it.
In this century surely we recognise that cars and trucks aren't the be-all and end-all of getting from A to B.
NetNewsWire on my iPad is so fast! So smooth and easy to use. Thanks @brentsimmons
What a great podcast episode! Lady Bam Podcast with Mary McDonnell - Episode 11 - Kate Mulgrew
starship captain and president of the universe walk into a bar… an amazing talk… Kate’s new book … their experiences growing up Irish-American … and much more.
I’m sick of the westerly wind today. Why is NZ so windy?
The “Roaring Forties" is the belt of wind at latitude 40 south… the Southern Hemisphere in the 40s is mostly ocean …. With a lack of land to slow things down the wind whips up across the sea, fuelled by storms
Tonight’s light meal of flounder, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, camembert and mashed potato (not shown) had a large percentage of local produce. The tomato, cucumber and lettuce came from our garden. The flounder was freshly caught off our beach by a neighbour. 🍴
Some here may be curious to see half a dozen Drone photos, January 2020 of where I live at Waikawa Beach. In the low-res, small photo attached to this post our house is top centre, marked with a pink circle.
missionaries’ early accounts of enthusiasm for learning to read and write in Māori were not exaggerated. Tangata whenua were keenly interested in new ideas and technology, and literacy was manifestly a key to Pākehā culture
Source: Tangata Whenua: A History (Kindle 3979-3980).
Lines in the sand.
By my calculations the nearly 20Km stretch of road between Ōtaki and Levin was affected by 7 vehicle crashes during 2019; several involved fatalities. My count may be incorrect and I’ve submitted an official information request to NZ Transport. Our road is notorious.
The Australians are doing it very very hard with the bushfires. I feel sad for the many people who have lost everything. Our NZ problem is the smoke. This image from Met Service shows the bands of smoke affecting us. Now in an atmosphere near me.
The spinifex is starting to produce seed heads. I love when they tumble down the beach in the breeze.
This passage about fighting in NZ in the early decades of the 1800s struck me:
Those encounters showed that, while possession of a few muskets could create community fear in areas that had little access to them, it seldom deterred opposing warriors. In fact, counter-tactics were soon devised. Murupaenga, the Ngāti Whātua leader at Moremonui, and ‘a man of very quick perceptions’, saw that the slow-burning powder used in trade muskets caused a delay between trigger and discharge, during which the target could move; he calmly ordered his men to fall to the ground as Ngāpuhi muskets were levelled and fired, and to leap up again and charge before the muskets could be reloaded.
Smart!
From Tangata Whenua: A History (Kindle Locations 3540-3544).
Also explained: the flintlock muskets that were traded to Māori were less reliable, less accurate and less powerful than the military muskets.
This pied shag was swimming beneath the footbridge this afternoon. I was struck by its fanned out tail, perhaps providing stability.
This morning I attended a neighbour’s mother’s funeral. The mother was a much-loved elder of her church and the congregation laid on delicious finger food for lunch. My neighbour’s brother, a butcher, supplied a delicious ham, and sausages for BBQ.
We only did a tiny bike ride: 3 Km, but it was a start. It’s more than a year since Deb has been on her bike and she needs to ease in. I may go out again later.
I’m not an author but am an avid reader of fiction by Kristine Kathryn Rusch who also blogs about the Business of writing. Her post The Future of Audio 2019 would be a must-read for actual authors. Check the snippet about how software can read a book with the author’s own voice.
