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What a delight to start my day with Himalayan Moon Drops oolong tea from Nepal:

Harvested in June 2023, … is crafted using hand-harvested leaves from Japanese and Taiwanese tea plant cultivars grown at an elevation of 1850m. The steeped infusion is smooth and creamy with notes of flowers, sweet malt, raw sugar and sweetened whipped cream.

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Yesterday morning I spotted a shag that was a bit different from our usual white-chested shags. The Bird ID Facebook group helped me learn that this is a native Kawaupaka | Little shag:

A small shag with a short yellow bill, black feet, a relatively long tail and multiple plumage variations.

Mainly black shag with black feet, white throat and yellow bill standing on a large piece of driftwood.
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My day went awry in the best possible way. I cut short my bike ride to collect my Fuji X-T5 and take photos of a rare visitor to Waikawa Beach: a Kōtuku | White heron. 🐦

Such amazing birds!

Tall white bird stands tall beside a river.
Pure white bird with sharp yellow beak and neck kinked flies across the image.
Black shag in the river looks at the heron on the bank.
Peekaboo!

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Today's beach photo is toetoe reflected in a pool of water left behind by the tide.

Toetoe bushes reflected in standing water.
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Check out this gorgeous late afternoon sun.

Late afternoon sun lights a more distant and hilly part of the landscape.
Late afternoon sun lights a more distant and hilly part of the landscape..
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Detective Chief Superintendent Fran Harman faces many challenges in Come to Harm (Detective Fran Harman Mysteries Book 1) by Judith Cutler. Menopause symptoms create problems, her elderly and very demanding parents are a long drive away, and the cold case she's assigned seems to have no clues.

It was a good read and sets us up for more character development in subsequent books. 📚

Book cover: Come to Harm.

Correction, 29 May 2024: somehow I originally linked to Book 2, Do No Harm, but the book I actually read was Book 1, Come to Harm.

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I knew it was still too dark at dawn to take photos of the Pūkeko by the lake, but I did anyway. I like the effect on this shot. Fujifilm X-T5, lens: XF100-400mm, ISO 12800, 600 mm, 1 ev, f22, 1/30 s. 🐦

Dark bird with glowing red face shield beside almost glowing rushes, everything else black.
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Calm ocean on an overcast day with hardly any waves. For the Pacific Wave Appreciation Society. 🌊

Here was the view to the north, with dark clouds lowering.

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OMG. I have shares currently worth a massive $16 in this company, and here's a screenshot from today's shareholder update. (I invested $140 initially.)

Blah blah meaningless jargon blah blah.
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It’s totally beautiful down at the beach this morning. So glad I came out even though rain was threatened.

Dark sky lowers over a pale sea.
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Model boat on a lake.

I've seen plenty of birds on our local lake, but a model boat on Lake Puna o te Ora was a first.

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It's not at all uncommon to find dead fish on the beach. Usually gulls have had a feed.

This poor little thing though was unusual for being intact, and because it was only as big as the palm of my hand. The dead fish are usually bigger, often small sharks, but other kinds too.

Small grey dead fish on the beach.
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Still in the beautiful Milford Sound back in March 2024.

Young seals on a rock.
Young seals on a rock.
Bush clad slopes.
Bush clad slopes.
Waterfall down bush-clad cliff face.
Waterfall down bush-clad cliff face.
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At the beach this morning: 3 spur-winged plovers and a pied stilt.

Spur-winged plovers, pied stilt by a large puddle of water.

In the next there's a spur-winged plover, a pied stilt, a black-fronted dotterel (in the background), while a swallow flies by. 🐦

A spur-winged plover, a pied stilt a black-fronted dotterel (in the background), while a swallow flies by.
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Back on 26 March 2024 we took part in a two hour cruise on Milford Sound in Fiordland, Aotearoa. Ours was the smaller boat on the left.

In an area that has some 7 metres (23 feet) of rainfall per year, the waterfalls are significant. You may (just) spot the boats near the bases of the falls.

An overcast, misty day at Milford Sound. High mountains, low cloud and two tourist boats at a dock.
Huge misty bare mountains and a small waterfall, with a minute tourist boat at the base.
Closer view of a tall waterfall from bushclad misty mountains with a small tourist boat nearby.
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I went to bed horrendously early last night. That's why it's now 0230 and I'm catching up on the Micro.Blog timeline. 😁

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Tonight I made @alexink's Chicken Cacciatore, with a couple of modifications. This dish was new to me, but I enjoyed it.

Modifications: no onion or garlic and I switched out the red wine for a 50/50 mix of fresh lemon juice and water. I also added a tablespoon of sugar as I found it a bit tart.

Chicken cacciatore in a big frypan.
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The Globe and Mail has Cryptic Crosswords. I'm so out of practice with them! It's taken me a day or two to get back into the swing. So nice to have a good challenge though!

Screenshot of one cryptic crossword.
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Can't wait now for Book 5! — The Language of Power (Steerswoman Series Book 4) by Rosemary Kirstein was another excellent read, bringing our heroes closer to their goal. 📚

The Steerswoman teases out some important discoveries that help on her quest.

Book cover: The Language of Power.
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The latest in a series I enjoy — The Man Who Came Back (The Shee McQueen Mystery Thriller Series Book 7) by Amy Vansant was another enjoyable read 📚:

Mason’s fellow retired SEAL buddy, Arturo, invites him and Shee to his Florida lake house for the weekend. … Clues lead them to an underwater cavern … and a chemical smuggling ring

Book cover: The Man Who Came Back.