Heh, quote of the year:

I speak fluent typo! 😆

I'm enjoying playing Lex Friedman's Lexicogs.

Screenshot shows clues and word components to assemble to answer each clue.

I didn't get off to a good start with the first book in this series, but Murder at the Wedding (Rina Martin Murder Mystery Book 9) by Jane Adams was a darned good read. 📚

I like these characters who are quirky and interesting, and the story cleverly uses their talents.

Book cover: Murder at the wedding.

This mantis on our front door today may be a South African mantis. [Later] The NZ Bug Identification Facebook Group confirms this as a Praying mantis (African) Miomantis caffra.

small brown Praying Mantis on a glass door.

Deb and I really enjoyed The Miracle Club 🎥 :

In 1967, in a hard-knocks community in Dublin, three generations of women have one tantalizing dream: to win a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes, a place where miracles occur.

Poster for The Miracle Club.

The miracles happened, but not as unexpected.

I picked about 5 Kg Granny Smith apples off the tree. I'm looking forward to stewing them up and eating them with my breakfast every day for quite a while.

About 5 Kg Granny Smith apples in a basket.

I'm 69 and have never played with? built? Lego. After hearing it mentioned the other day I bought a $50 Lego Technic Surface Space Loader set and am looking forward to experimenting.

First web search: how to open the box without destroying it.

First surprise: no words in the instruction book.

Lego Technic Surface Space Loader box.

That custom email domain I've had trouble with for the past couple of weeks … I fiddled, deleted, started over, double-checked, waited and finally it works! At last!

Deb and I watched the excellent Australian mini-series True Colours on Netflix. 📺

It explores complex questions of culture and justice: white-man's justice vs black-fella justice.

Also touched on are questions of the relationship of traditional art and culture, men's business and women's business.

True Colours poster.

This page lists Custom Email Domain Availability. Since Aotearoa is included I'm stumped as to why, a week or two on, I can't make it work for a new domain.

I've checked settings, tinkered etc. No joy.

On the beach yesterday. 🐦

Social distancing for NZ Dotterels.
Social distancing for NZ Dotterels.
NZ Dotterel looking fine.
NZ Dotterel looking fine.
Immature red-billed gull up close.
Immature red-billed gull up close.

Here's a stabilised version of the birds and waves video I shared before.

Many thanks to @sod for the suggestion.

Something I've noticed recently is that my hand holding the camera steady is no longer 100% successful in its task. Sorry for the shakes in this morning's video.

I was thinking about exploring the possibilities of a monopod. But I already have enough to carry …

Waves? What waves? 🐦

Waikawa Beach, Aotearoa, for the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊

There was one Ngutupapa | Royal Spoonbill at Kuku Beach this morning. 🐦

Spoonbill just coming in to land on shallow water, with wings spread.

Kuku Beach Estuary is a 3.5 Km walk north along the beach, but I drove there by road this morning. A local told me there had been a lot of birds there yesterday, but today there weren't so many. Lots of ducks though. 🐦

Oystercatcher and godwit hanging out with ducks at Kuku Beach.
Oystercatcher and godwit hanging out with ducks at Kuku Beach.

Chilly at the beach this dawn. We're now in one of the official Autumns. 🐦

Oystercatcher and almost grown up chick.
Oystercatcher and almost grown up chick.
Oystercatcher with a tasty grub, and a friend, possibly an adult chick.
Oystercatcher with a tasty grub, and a friend, possibly an adult chick.

Somehow I started reading Murder at the Willows (Rina Martin Murder Mystery Book 8) by Jane Adams forever ago and then only just came back to it. 📚

The clues soon point to murder. But dear Jean was beloved by the community, who would do such a thing?

I enjoyed the story and the characters are appealing. One more in the series …

Book cover: Murder at the Willows.

Visit to the dental hygienist today, after too long a break. Now all my teeth feel weird …

Now they're all super clean and everything I'm indulging in a jam doughnut as a treat. 😆

Long-tailed bat the weight of a AAA battery believed to be NZ's oldest | RNZ News:

A bat of at least 26 years is officially New Zealand's oldest known long-tailed bat/pekapeka.

Before people arrived in Aotearoa, nearly 1,000 years ago, bats were the only land mammals.