Miraz Jordan

After a very still day, in the last 10 minutes Ex Tropical Cyclone Gita has started to make itself felt at our place (white dot on the map). Winds gusting over 60 Kph just now, but forecast to increase. I can still see patches of blue sky though…

Getting dark and the local pheasants start squawking. Moments later (as expected with such an efficient early warning system) a magnitude 5.0 earthquake gives us a bit of a shake. Those pheasants are so reliable. 〰️

Ohhh, Star Trek Discovery was a blimmin good story, beautifully told. And that reminder of the Original Series stirs up so much for me. I watched it as a kid at the time of Apollo missions and moon landings and discovery and hope and excitement. The world was new to this kid and there was so much possibility in the universe.

Actual space exploration and sci-fi space shows help us move out and beyond and be bigger than the petty mundanities of our daily lives.

Star Trek has been there, a constant element in my life. I realise I have such a deep attachment to it. That mention, and the original theme music, all but brought me to tears.

It may sound silly to attribute anything much to a TV show, but really, it has touched me deeply. I so hope there will be a Discovery Season Two. 🖖🏼

I stopped drinking tea and coffee in about 1981. Over time though I’ve become a green tea drinker, lately switching from bags to a variety of loose leaf teas. There are so many flavours to explore, from the subtlety of an AnJi to the gutsiness of a Gunpowder.

This package arrived in the mail today and the Contents Description had me stumped: “aluminium pack, cotton coaster, Iron filters”. What the heck! Turns out it was the green and white teas I’d ordered, with tea sieve and free coaster. Whew.

This morning, as the day dawns, I look outside and everything is the same as it was yesterday. At the same time it is dawn in Tonga. Thanks to a direct hit from Tropical Cyclone Gita overnight, for them everything will have changed. Trees and buildings flattened, power out, wreckage everywhere. 5 years ago we visited. This famous tree in the capital is now gone apparently.

Yes! 23mm of rain today and counting. That should have added 1500 litres of water to our house tank. I love this direct relationship with the water we use every day. It rains: we get to shower, cook, wash, make hot drinks etc.

I was wearing thick work gloves when I pulled a tall weed this evening. Good thing too as I disturbed a rather angry wasp that managed to sting my finger through the glove. I suspect things could have been worse. Just a bit sore now. I applied vinegar and it helped.

From a better angle I can see that kite is a stingray.

Monster kite at the Ōtaki Kite Festival.

I love finding out things like this about other languages:

A village in the northern Malay Peninsula … Comprising just 280 people, the villagers speak an Aslian language newly named Jedek …

The community has almost no interpersonal violence, they actively encourage their children not to compete, and there are no courts or laws, the researchers said.

There are also no strict gender divisions or professions, with everyone learning a gamut of skills required for the hunter-gatherer community.

All these characteristics are reflected in the language, with no words for professions or laws or ownership. Instead, there is a rich vocabulary to describe exchange and sharing.

A previously unknown language has just been discovered in Southeast Asia

This evening when I arrived home that little Silvereye was back and waiting by the door. I had to almost pick it up before it moved. Great opportunity for a good closeup with the iPhone though. 🐦

I stand on the deck at 6 AM as pink tinges the clouds near the horizon in the East. Between the clouds and me there are duelling roosters about a kilometre away. Cows in the paddock next door are quietly munching, sometimes blundering through the lupins, gently mooing or coughing.

To the South I can hear magpies, and cows just past the neighbour’s place, eating quietly.

To the West is the sea and a few gulls. Closer to the house I can hear my quail, one of them at least, who is calling Look At Me! Look At Me!

In the North I can hear some distant geese.

And all around the occasional singing of frogs.

I love waking up in this place.

I think this Silvereye must have been very young. It let me get very close this afternoon before flying away.

In the last few years my eyes have been a little unpredictable — I feel as though I just can't see right. Frequent eye tests let me know I should be able to see just fine with my current glasses.

I value my sight, so my glasses are something I spend money on: high quality, high refraction index progressive lenses, with anti-reflective coating and rimless lightweight frames.

Today I finally realised: the problem may well be that although I treat my specs with great care the photochromic coating I’ve availed myself of in the last few years has become blotchy.

I can’t afford new glasses really but I dislike constantly feeling as though I can’t quite see right. I’m getting a quote for new daily specs, just the same as my current ones but not photochromic.

Later on maybe I’ll convert this frame to carry polarised lenses for sunny days.

Spinifex is wonderful stuff: it helps hold the sand dunes together and build new dunes. At this time of year the spiky seedheads are blown around by the wind, looking for a new home.

An overnight low of 5C is a bit of a shock to the system after a month or so of the temperatures never dropping below 15 or 20.

I started the day feeling a bit overwhelmed with so many things to do. Now I’ve done a random bunch of smaller things and feel better. Whew. 😅

Hard to believe Ares and Aphra turn 16 tomorrow. Here’s the two of them at about 6 months sitting on the TV. Then Aphra in her ’pod’ and Ares on the couch. Such sweet cats. 🐈

Well, good morning Moon. You may no longer be blood red, but you’re still super! Nice to see you after all that cloud.