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Sunrise comes in half an hour. Birds are singing their wakeup calls. It’s only a couple of degrees above freezing. There’s a mist in the air. I love this place.

A serene mountain landscape is seen at dusk with the horizon glowing softly as the sun sets behind the peaks.
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Sitting out in the sun with my little Aphra. 🐈

Small black cat looking at the camera.

Small black cat looking at me.

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Those little fluffy white cygnets from a few weeks ago are growing up. They're grey now.

The cygnets are growing up.

The cygnets are growing up.

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Sometimes seals visit our beach. There was a baby seal there today. We all kept our distance, of course, but a zoom lens and some cropping helped get me a photo.

A small seal pup is sitting alone on a sandy beach near the ocean waves.
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The basket fungus, Ileodictyon cibarium, has been quite the in-thing at our place this year. All over the place.

A white, irregularly shaped fungus or mushroom is growing among green grass and small plants on the ground.White, curly fungi with a somewhat spongy texture are growing among green grass and clover.White, serpentine fungal growths are emerging among green grass and plants on the ground.

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The little known breed of legless dog. (Oshi the hole-digger).

A small, fluffy dog with closed eyes is lying on the dirt near a wooden fence in an outdoor setting.A small dog is buried in the dirt up to its neck while another dog is sniffing the ground nearby.

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Full sunrise splendour.

A vibrant sunset illuminates the sky with shades of orange, pink, and purple above a darkened landscape.
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Sights and sounds of a clear dawn

What a gorgeous morning! A clear sky with the last of the stars, dawn starting to show pink on the horizon. To the southwest the sea is roaring. One of my Coturnix quail is loudly crowing “Look at me! Look at me!”. All around me is the dawn chorus, a distant rooster crowing now and then and the cackle of a wild pheasant.

Listen to a 1 minute .m4a track of the dawn chorus.

Photo: looking north.

A dark landscape silhouette is set against a clear sky transitioning from sunset to dusk.
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Not an amazing photo, but cloud cover is light so I can see the lunar eclipse for now. Maximum in about 40 minutes.

A bright full moon partially obscured by thin, wispy clouds is shining in the dark night sky.
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This kid picks up rubbish at his school to help the planet. He’s challenged authorities to help too. He’s in line for an award now. Look at that “Not standing for any rubbish" face! Glorious. (Te Kaea news 25 July 2018)

Three children are standing outdoors in front of a building, with one boy in the foreground crossing his arms.
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Well, that was an interesting double earthquake. A smaller shake immediately followed by a biggish one. And yet, Geonet are calling it light.

An earthquake occurred on Sunday, July 22, 2018, at 3:14 PM, 25 km northwest of Picton with a light shaking, a magnitude of 5.2, a depth of 96 km, and was rated as good quality.
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Heard item on bird strike. Googled UV window stickers. Followed 1st (hacked) link. NASTY stuff. Pix: seemingly legit link, survey offer, MacKeeper, web history (faked).

A webpage snippet from projectkereru.org.nz explains that window strikes often happen when birds perceive a line of flight, and features a decal reflecting ultraviolet sunlight to prevent these collisions.A pop-up message on a Safari browser claims the user is today's lucky visitor and asks them to complete a survey for a chance to win a Ford Ranger worth $60,000.A warning message recommends running a virus scan on a Mac due to potential malware risk from visiting suspicious websites, with options to download protection software.A list of repeated URLs and the word MacKeeper appears multiple times in a scrollable window.

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The Tararuas at sunrise today were gorgeous as always. I recently learned the term for this effect is ’landskein’.

Layers of mountain ranges fade into the distance under a soft, pale sky.
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A very appealing sunrise this morning.

A vibrant sunset with a glowing orange and pink sky lights up the horizon above a grassy landscape.
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Sun rising over frosty paddocks.

Woohoo. First (frosty) sunrise on the way to mid-summer.

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This has become one of my favourite recipes: easy and quick to make, delicious to eat. I don’t eat onion so use celery instead. Red lentil, chickpea & chilli soup.

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We went with friends and the dogs today to Whanganui for a glass paperweight making workshop. Afterwards we climbed the lookout tower on Durie Hill. It was a great day!

Two people are shaping a glowing, molten glass sphere with a specialized tool.A metal structure with a conical shape extends upward, resembling a funnel or inverted cone against a blue sky with scattered clouds.A tall, cylindrical stone tower stands beside a large, leafy tree under a partly cloudy sky.Three small dogs are peering through the gaps of a metal railing near a street.

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Down at Waikanae Beach this morning I spotted a Kotare, Sacred kingfisher, on some driftwood. nzbirdsonline.org.nz/species/s…

A small bird with blue and orange plumage is perched on a dry tree branch against a blurred background.
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I drove 35 Km each way to walk the dogs on Waikanae Beach, visit Russell Nature Reserve to see the flowering Kohekohe and to buy essential supplies. Guess who forgot their wallet! Oh well, 2 out of 3… Now, another 30 Km to get the supplies…

Small white flowers are growing directly from the trunk and branches of a tree, surrounded by green leaves.
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The Kohekohe tree flowers only once every few years and provides crucial food for native birds. This 4 minute video on YouTube is very interesting: youtu.be/qQ081mpJi…

A man with gray hair and a beard is gesturing towards a tree covered in flowering plants during a nature walk.