Such a moving essay about environment: The Sunday Essay: Piercing the living waters | The Spinoff:
I was promised dolphins, whales, and maybe even manta rays, but the surface of the sea was broken only by wind and the occasional gannet trying its luck.
Apparently in April 2022 I advised myself about having spent too little time
sightseeing:
It's easy to look back decades later and make judgements.
A great reminder as I've recently berated myself for not frequently visiting Takapō when I lived only 2 hours drive away (nearly 50 years ago).
I saw this video a couple of days ago after the huge earthquake in Taiwan and told Deb to watch it. She couldn't find it, so here it is for posterity: Watch: Taiwan earthquake shakes man in rooftop pool.
Bag 3 of the Lego build complete. It required only a minor fix where I must have messed up in a previous stage. 😅
I encouraged this little Southern Bell Frog out of the garage yesterday. So glad to spot a frog again — they seem to have been in short supply.
MB April Photo Challenge: windy 📷
Sasha, tail flying, on a windy day at Waikawa Beach in August 2019.
Just before our tour to the Mt John observatories (photos strongly discouraged up there because of stray light). This was Lake Takapō at 8 pm with fog rolling in through the mountains and an almost full moon illuminating the lake.
Takapō is so beautiful.
Having recently visited Tekapo I was intrigued by this new murder mystery set there: Dark Sky: Murder among the stars - by Marie Connolly. But I don't buy / read books on paper (it's a real chore for me) and it seems there's no ebook. 😢 📚
Not a new thought, but today it really hit home to me — someone on the radio said "grow the economy" and I thought: what say as a society we valued wellbeing above all else (rather than growth or money)? Wellbeing of humans, plants, animals, the planet, communities, nations, businesses …
According to the team behind the study, extra effort needs to be made to educate people about the benefits of good sleep and the link between poor sleep and poor health.
Yup, keep 'educating' me on how my poor sleep endangers my health. That's sure to help … 😵💫
Maybe half way between Temuka and Takapō is Fairlie, with its James MacKenzie and Dog statue.
is named after James Mackenzie, a shepherd and would-be farmer. … Said to be immensely strong physically, he was admired as a rebel who challenged the powerful and wealthy in a class-conscious community.
I was doubtful about The Jenny Starling Mysteries Books 1–4 by Faith Martin at first but really rather enjoyed the books with their understated gentle humour. 📚
When she wasn’t saving the trees, whales, or whatever else needed saving, Jenny’s mother was painting; and painting anything at all that took her fancy. Her daughter’s long-suffering van, council walls, park benches — once, even a neighbour’s poodle …
Books:
- The Birthday Mystery
- The Winter Mystery
- The Riverboat Mystery
- The Castle Mystery
Winchester, in Te Wai Pounamu, lies between Temuka and Geraldine. We were recommended to breakfast at Mia Flora (FB link), a residence, garden shop and cafe. The food was good, the grounds lovely and the hospitality excellent.
Today I was out the door at 7 am to visit the supermarket, then spent the whole morning making muesli, mushroom soup and beef stew. Whew! To follow, some photos from our recent holiday.
It annoyed me while on holiday that the Sunrise/Sunset complication on my Apple Watch stopped working. I've finally fixed it thanks to Sunset / sunrise Apple Watch not working:
sunrise/sunset on AppleWatch comes from the “clock” app not the “weather” app. … go to settings>location services>clock> SELECT “while using app”
Also set Precise Location.
It flows slowly, the Waikawa River, but it's still a 'flower'. 🤣
MB April Photo Challenge: flowers 📷
The waves might be little in our barely moving air from the east, but they're still Pacific. For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊
Brooklyn 99 is perfect to (re)watch while I eat breakfast. Every single episode leaves me laughing.
This sounds bad — DOC spent nearly $500,000 to kill one stoat in Fiordland until we see this:
[Auckland University Professor of Conservation Biology, James Russell] said half a million dollars does sound like a lot of money but people should remember that DOC manages 33% of the country on half a percent of the government's budget.
At the Dark Sky Project in Takapō I bought this Great Spotted Kiwi backpack clip as a memento. Not that I saw a kiwi there, I just like to collect these NZ native birds as I travel around. 😁
MB April Photo Challenge: Toy 📷
