my magpie collection

My wish is that......

2012-01-03T10:55:00.013+13:00

you had a wonderful Christmas with family and friends,

with much love and laughter, as we did here,

and that 2012 is filled with peace, health and happiness.

This year I hope to greet each day with fresh eyes
and to remember the quote:

We do not stop playing because we grow old;

we grow old because we stop playing.

Christmas and New Year, with two family birthdays in the same week, have filled my thoughts and time in a most lovely way and I have found that I have lost my momentum here. I feel that I am not ready to return to my blog but I am sure that I will be hovering in the background!

Note: The above quote has been credited to both George Bernard Shaw and Benjamin Franklin.

Christmas Greetings Then and Now

2011-12-21T07:57:00.018+13:00

This card, dated 11 November 1916, was sent to my grandfather when he was serving overseas during the First World War. The message on the card seems inappropriate considering where he was and what he was experiencing; the friend that sent the card was aware of this as written on the back was: Wishing you as good a Christmas as possible.

I have just found this newspaper article in PapersPast - part of a letter from my grandfather to his mother:

Wairarapa Daily Times, Volume 43, Issue 133074, 18 October 1917, Page 5

The Christmas the New Zealand Camel Corps received the parcel would have been Christmas 1916, the same year that the card above was sent to him. I do hope that the appeals made by the men of the Camel Corp were successful.

==============

The message on the card above is my now wish for you:

A very happy Christmas-tide! --

I send my wish anew,

That long bright hours all pleasure-filled

Make glad the time for you:

And may the year that lies ahead

Hold happiness in store,

And bless you more abundantly

Than any year before

Happy Christmas

Happy holiday season to you all.

Visit Sepia Saturday for more images from times gone by

Play time

2011-12-18T20:46:00.008+13:00

With so much shopping and cooking
still to be done

I took time off to be with
my son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter

and I loved every minute of it.

Oh yes, I had so much fun, but now, where are my lists...

Dad's dinghy

2011-12-12T12:56:00.034+13:00

A memory - triggered by this image supplied by Tess for Magpie Tales.

We - Husband, our two young children and I - were holidaying on Waiheke Island, an island in the Hauraki Gulf, a forty minute ferry ride away, and back then also a life-style away, from downtown Auckland. We left our car at home, bused to Auckland then took the ferry over to the island. Leaving the car at home was an adventure, it meant a holiday where we would walk everywhere apart from the occasional island bus ride. We had been there for a few days when my parents sailed over in their catamaran to visit us.

Mum and Dad moored at Blackpool and we had spent an afternoon with them when they invited the children to stay the night; this was very exciting for our kids as they liked nothing more than to snuggle up on the narrow berths, with Nana and Grandad sleeping nearby, feeling the rise and fall of the boat as it moved with the sea, and to hear the creaks and groans of the yacht and the clanking of the ropes and metal fittings on the masts. For Husband and I the kids staying the night with Nana and Grandad meant we had to go back to our cottage to get overnight things for them.

As we climbed into the dinghy to row ashore Dad told us that we would need to leave the dinghy high up on the beach as the tide was turning and, being a very shallow beach, the sea would come a long way in. We were dragging the old heavy wooden dinghy up the beach when Husband decided that we had pulled it far enough. I tried to explain to him that Dad wanted us to take it further up the beach than that, but no, Husband said that the sea would never come up that far and the dinghy could be quite safely left there. So off we set to get the children's things. It took us quite a while to walk up and over the hill to our cottage in Oneroa on the other side of the island, gather a few things together, then back to Blackpool.

Unknown to us, about half an hour after we had left, Mum and Dad were enjoying a cup of tea and our children were exploring the tiny cabin and deciding which bunk they would sleep in when Dad noticed his dinghy floating past them, seemingly on it's way out to sea. There was a mad scramble as Mum and Dad had to up anchor and chase after the dinghy; when they caught up with it Dad had to jump overboard and swim to the dinghy (luckily the oars were still in it) get in and row to shore then pull the dinghy way up the beach to where we should have left it. This left Mum and the children on the yacht; Mum had to maneuver the yacht around and take it as close to shore as she could, being very careful not to become grounded in the shallow waters, so Dad could swim out and climb back on board. They then took the catamaran out to deeper water where it was safe to moor. Dad, not being a strong swimmer, was quite exhausted after this and collapsed on his bunk to try and get his breath back.

The whole time Husband and I were away I worried out loud about the dinghy only to be told by Husband that all would be well. When we got back to Blackpool we found the dinghy safe and sound, high above the waterline, and Husband shot me the most exaggerated I-told-you-so look.

Elizabeth

2011-12-07T07:12:00.012+13:00

"What a happy woman I am living in a garden..."

"I felt so absolutely happy, and blest, and thankful,

and grateful, that I really cannot describe it.

My days seemed to melt away in a dream of pink and purple haze."

"The first part of that time of blessesness was the most perfect, for I had

not a thought of anything but the peace and beauty all round me."

"...my spring happiness bears no resemblance to my summer or autumn happiness,

though it is more intense, and there were days last winter when I danced for sheer joy

out in my frost-bound garden in spite of my years and children."

"...for with people dropping in at all hours and wanting to talk to you, how are you

to get on with your life, I should like to know, and read your books,

and dream your dreams to your satisfaction?"

"...so I took it out with me into the garden, because the dullest book takes on

a certain saving grace if read out of doors, just as bread and butter,

devoid of charm in the drawing-room, is ambrosia eaten under a tree."

I have just re-read Elizabeth and Her German Garden,
one of my favourite books.

The photos were taken in my little garden; how I wish my garden was like Elizabeth's.

Handsome stranger

2011-12-05T09:24:00.005+13:00

he silently sauntered in

a ~~tall dark~~ handsome stranger

he just walked in

while I was home alone

he looked around

went from room to room

stretched out and made him at home

he even had a hug with my daughter

when she arrived to stay the night

- then he went

as silently as he arrived

the ~~tall dark~~ handsome stranger

Sandwiched

2011-12-05T08:44:00.010+13:00

sandwiched between

monotony and blandness

filling her mind with

coloured dreams

Above is my altered version of Lunch by George Tooker
supplied by Tess for Magpie Tales

Catnapping

2011-11-30T21:16:00.003+13:00

My daughter's cat Peanut resting up

after his busy day of

eating, grooming himself, sleeping,

more eating, more grooming...

it's hard work being a cat.

Peanut has grown so much since my

post about Kitten Wisdom.

Stained by life

2011-11-28T20:36:00.003+13:00

don't see me as I am now

sitting in mean street

dumped and discarded

stained by life

rather see me as I once was

filled with promise

plush with hope

- and valued

the homeless man

Photo supplied by Tess for Magpie Tales

Gone fishing

2011-11-26T09:17:00.017+13:00

Alan's theme photo for Sepia Saturday offers so many subjects to work with and I have chosen fish and fishing for my subject this week.

In the late 1950's my aunt and uncle moved from the Waikato to up north to manage a farm near Broadwood in Northland and during the May school holidays when the cows were dry and Dad was free to leave the farm we set off to visit them. According to Google Earth this trip would take about 6 hours now but when you factor in that our car at the time was an ancient hunchbacked Vanguard and the rough metal roads of the 50's it is understandable why it took so much longer. Also, the car was loaded with five of us kids crammed together on the tiny back seat and Mum, Dad and baby sister, then six months old and travelling in a carrycot, in the front, plus all of our holiday gear. It was a horrendous drive that took all day and, being the start of winter, the sun set early and we were still travelling when it was completely dark. Mum and Dad couldn't find my aunt and uncle's place in the darkness (it was our first visit to their place) so we had to sleep in the car, all eight of us, only to find come morning that we had stopped at the entrance to their driveway!

The highlight of our visit there for Dad and my two older brothers was a trip to Mitimiti Beach with my uncle where they had a day of fishing. Being mere girls my sisters and I had to stay at the farm with Mum and my aunt and young cousins.

Here Dad is trying his luck with one of my brothers looking on

and here is the proof that the day was successful. My older brother and sister

are holding the fish with my younger sister and cousin and aunt in front.

I remember how tasty these fish were after they had been hung in the chimney above the open fire and slowly smoked, I remember it very well as my older siblings and I couldn't resist sampling the fish while they were still being smoked and my aunt being very cross with us!

Staying with fishing but jumping forward fifty years Husband and I were holidaying in Northland and went to Karikari Beach one afternoon where Husband was surfcasting and I spent the time catching the beauty of the beach with my camera. We were still there as the sun set and the colours were just magic.

Husband was still fishing when the sun went down.

I don't know if it was the magic of the moment or not but Husband changed into a...

cartoon character!

Visit Sepia Saturday for more photos and stories.

Imaginary Visit To Autumn's Garden

2011-11-25T12:01:00.008+13:00

Something we have never grown in our Jeweler's Garden is aubergines. I am not sure why not, apart from the fact that we really do not have enough room. For the last few days though I have had an aubergine sitting on my benchtop looking so beautiful in all it's purples.

The reason why it has been sitting there for days is that I have just started an online painting class with Laure Ferlita called Imaginary Visit To Autumn's Garden. Taking this class during a blustery spring will make it all the more interesting. For our first lesson the subject has been an aubergine. It's not so easy to get all the purples down on to paper I found!

After being looked at closely, painted and photographed what happened to my aubergine?

I roasted it and it is now a very tasty baba ganouch.

A jeweler's garden

2011-11-23T14:49:00.009+13:00

We have a very small garden -
I call it a jeweler's garden

as it really looks as though it would only have
enough room for18 carrots (carats)

but it is surprising just what we do
grow in such a small space...

our strawberries are ripening and are full of juice and sweetness

beans are up and running, the first flowers have appeared

and our many tomato plants are doing much the same

we have:

rhubarb

capsicums

spring onions

chillies

silverbeet

rocket

marjoram

rosemary

parsley

thyme

mint

lemon balm

and sage

the cucumber is sending out runners

and forming flowers

and it won't be long until we are eating courgettes

we have lettuce year round

and beetroot too

we also have:

lemons

limes

mandarins

and the feijoa bushes are full of flower

and the promise of a lovely crop in autumn

All this in a very small space.

And the carrots?

Well we have eaten them.

If you tickle the earth with a hoe she laughs a harvest.

~ Douglas Jerrold

how long will it be

2011-11-21T08:09:00.004+13:00

Photo supplied by Tess for Magpie Tales

they lay together

in tender embrace

him whispering

softly to her...

'how long

will it be

'til this

photo shoot ends

my back

is beginning

to suffer'

I am not a storyteller or poet but this image made me smile hence my entry here.

Visit Magpie Tales for some wonderful tales and verse.

Sweet spring

2011-11-20T20:15:00.003+13:00

our first strawberries of the season

sweet and full of flavour

An outing to the beach

2011-11-19T08:46:00.015+13:00

This week on Sepia Saturday Allen's chosen illustration features this

scene with beautiful people and a beautiful car.

My photo shows a car from another era, another style of dress, and a happy family outing.

Here we are at the beach: Mum and Dad, four of us children, one of my two younger sisters in the pram, and Grandad. I am standing in front of my father. Looking at our faces, I would say that it was a bright sunny day; it also looks as though it was breezy. I am told that we were at Maraetai Beach, Auckland, although the beach cannot be seen in this photo. I think my grandmother must have taken the photo, Dad was usually our family photographer.

My uncle tells me that this car was a 1937 DX Vauxhall Light Six and that it had sophisticated hydraulic front suspension. Dad had this car for many years.

This photo can't be dated by the car as it was taken in the mid 1950's. Years ago, when I was in Norway, I was asked what happened to old cars in New Zealand and I said that we drive them!

My parents loved going out and about exploring. Our car used to be full to overflowing with children (all six of us) and all the things we needed. The car would be especially full when we were off on one of our wonderful holidays when we would also have our bedding, as we used to stay in the most basic of cabins, as well as everything else we needed for a holiday such as clothes and food things. I have such wonderful memories of these holidays, usually during the winter when the cows were dry, off we would go to places unknown, us children sitting high on the seats on piles of blankets. Our holidays were just magic.

Go to Sepia Saturday to read more posts of times gone by.

Off to explore

2011-11-18T11:03:00.006+13:00

Busy busy busy.

What a wonderful time in a child's life when they first start exploring.

So much to see, all of it new, all of it interesting.

There are no seven wonders of the world in the eyes of a child.

There are seven million.

~ Walt Streightiff

Fiery start, stormy end

2011-11-17T10:18:00.005+13:00

It was early morning when we set off for a few days away; the birds were only just waking when we set off.

As we drove south the sky started to change with the rising sun casting rich colour on the broken clouds.

As early as it was the cows were already grazing

and this small lake took on the sky colours.

As the sun rose towards the horizon the sky lightened

and the land looked darker against the glow.

A few days later on our way home we drove into a storm. We set out for home in bright blue sky that was dotted with fluffy white clouds but only a few kilometers into our journey the sky changed dramatically, the clouds thickened and darkened and huge bolts of lightening flashed down to the ground.

Then the rain started; Mount Edgecumbe was disappearing in the heavy

rain as we neared Kawerau, when the rain stopped the hail started.

We stopped on the side of the road and tried to sit out the hail storm

Nearly an hour later we got on our way again going very slowly on the icy road.

Viability was poor with heavy rain and hail mixed.

Luckily most of the other traffic was travelling just as cautiously as we were.

The road was awash and at times completely flooded.

Slips brought down trees down, twice we had to wait as diggers worked to clear one lane.

It was such a relief as we drove out of the storm and eventually into bright sunshine.

While we were still stuck in the storm our son-in-law sent a text asking if we would like to stay for dinner, "Yes please" I very quickly replied. A wee while later he sent another text asking if we would like to stay the night, "Yes please" I replied just as quickly as before. After our nightmare drive it was wonderful to be somewhere safe and welcoming.

Celebrating 100

2011-11-11T12:22:00.026+13:00

Sepia Saturday, hosted by Alan Burnett, is celebrating it's 100th week. I have been a part of Sepia Saturday for only a few of those 100 weeks and have thoroughly enjoyed each and every Sepia Saturday post I have read. Each week Alan suggests a theme but it is only a suggestion, as long as there is an old image and a bit of a story, you can take part. This week I have decided that I would go with the themes of 100 and celebrations.

In 1983 my grandfather celebrated his 100th birthday.

In this photo Grandad is reading one of the very many birthday cards he received - this one is from one of my uncles.

I have a copy of the telegram he received from Buckingham Palace.
It reads:
THE QUEEN IS MUCH INTERESTED TO HEAR THAT YOU ARE CELEBRATING YOUR ONE HUNDREDTH BIRTHDAY AND SENDS YOU WARM CONGRATULATIONS AND GOOD WISHES.
PRIVATE SECRETARY.

Below is a poem that was written especially for Grandad's 100th birthday

by my grandmother's sister, my lovely Great Aunty Mae

Grandad was a wonderful man,

he was, as Aunty Mae said, a great example to us all.

Click here for an earlier Sepia Saturday entry about my grandfather.

Note: The first part of the poem was incorrect in that it was Grandad's father who was born after his own father had died, everything else in the poem is correct.

I didn't mind

2011-11-08T18:25:00.001+13:00

No, I didn't mind because...

I love trees - in their winter state showing their beautiful bones

and in their acid-green spring-time finery.

I love clouds, all shapes and sizes...

like these magnificent clouds dominating the landscape.

I also love shady spots and little waterways.

No, I certainly didn't mind walking to the supermarket...

then returning and playing with our wee one.

Photos taken in Resthills Park, Hamilton.

Looking back on October

2011-11-07T19:45:00.001+13:00

Last month was a busy month for me

I was away more than I was home.

October started with a visit to Taranaki

a five hour drive away - a drive I always enjoy.

I love the West Coast, the wild black-sanded beaches and the many rivers that flow out to sea.

Kaupokonui is a very tiny place, not much more than a basic camping ground,

the Kaupokonui River offers safe swimming and whitebait when in season.

I asked this whitebaiter if she was having any luck and she told me she was having a slow day

- she said she had caught enough to make a fritter or two.

One of the places we always visit is King Edward Park in Hawera.

We went for an early morning walk...

and were rewarded with a show of spring blossom

All was quiet in the park, nobody else was out and about, the only movement came from the ducks

- they were busy doing whatever it is that ducks do.

Mount Taranaki was showing itself on our drive home, so often this mountain is hiding behind cloud.

I love how it rises up from the green farmland, here it looks as though it is in this farm's backyard.

Then on we went, the road takes us through farmland

and along the sea edge.

These cows were busy feeding; seemingly unaware of the the sea so close,

of the the bird flying overhead and of us as our car as went by.

The road has many ups and downs, many twists and turns

and as always, we stopped for a break at Mokau.

Mokau is a small settlement that still has so many of the old holiday bachs.

Sadly most of these wee bachs have been replaced by bigger, grander holiday homes in other areas.

Mokau is a lovely place to just be...

a place to take in the beauty all around us.

Then on we went, going north, travelling through the farming

district of Mahoenui, through hilly landscapes and onto Pio Pio

before getting back onto State Highway 1 and on to home.

The further north we went the more gentle the hills became.

A special moment

2011-10-21T10:25:00.003+13:00

A special moment during a busy time...

my mother and my granddaughter

Taking a break.

2011-10-12T17:53:00.002+13:00

We had a wonderful trip down to Hawera and saw the mountain both going down and on our way home.

Jeff's uncle enjoyed his birthday - just the two of us with him. Uncle Pop is so very well that he doesn't even look 90 let alone 97; he is a wonderful person and such a character, we thoroughly enjoyed our time with him.

Once again life seems to sped up and I am not finding the time to post on my blog, nor am I able to get around and visit other blogs as I would like to, so I have decided that I will have to take a break for now.

Time with Elderly Person

2011-10-05T10:03:00.006+13:00

King Edward Park, Hawera

We are off to help Elderly Person celebrate his 97th birthday.

A lovely drive through some of my favourite countryside

through lovely rugged farmland and

traveling along the wild west coast for part of the way.

If we are lucky, if the clouds allow it, we will have a view of Mt Taranaki.

Then family time - Elderly Person and us.

Boats, boats and more boats

2011-10-03T14:30:00.004+13:00

New Zealand is hosting the Rugby World Cup. Nineteen visiting teams from all corners of the world have joined NZ's All Blacks team; the pool games have finished, the quarter finals are next week, excitement is building for the rugby fans. Flags are everywhere, on cars, houses, businesses, on poles in the streets, just about everywhere, throughout New Zealand.

I am not a great rugby supporter but it is difficult to ignore the hype so during the week I went up to Auckland to see 'Party Central', to see where all the fans gather together to watch the games on the big screens, to see where the entertainment is held. I chose a day when no games were being played knowing it would be quiet.

As interesting as it was to see what had been done for the world cup it was the boats that really caught my eye. Super yachts were berthed along the waterfront - multi-million dollar yachts - here for the Rugby World Cup from all over: Australia, US, Europe - I was told one was chartered from Europe for the duration of the games at a cost I couldn't even begin to comprehend. Global recession? Obviously not for all.

This super yachts were so huge I couldn't even capture the whole thing in my photo
- and there were so many of them.

This one had it's 'boot' open where two small 'normal' boats were housed.

I much preferred the little boats

such as the fishing boats

with their nets rolled ready for the next trip out

but the one I loved seeing most of all was the Kestrel,

one of the old ferries that used to work in the Auckland Harbour.
It reminded me of the ferries that went to Waiheke Island years ago.

Here we are on a ferry going to Waiheke for a winter holiday.

I am seated between my parents.

But why?

2011-10-01T17:28:00.025+13:00

But why? This was what I asked my husband in the early days of our marriage, why did he want to hang this framed picture of a fierce battle scene in our house. But why?

All he could tell me was that his grandfather had it in his home, then his mother had it in her home, and now that we were married, she was passing it on to us. At the time I thought that my mother-in-law was very cunning to offload this ugly piece. I asked her why she had it but all she could say was that her father had treasured it.

The picture was taken from a newspaper and the caption states: On 16 May 1846, fifty men of H.M. 58th, under Lieut. Page ...were surprised an hour before daylight by 70 natives. Bugler William Allen was attacked when he went to sound the alarm, he was struck on his right arm by a tomahawk but he managed to raise the bugle in his left arm and ...blew a blast which raised his slumbering comrades before another blow laid him dead. The caption also stated that the battle took place on Boulcott's farm in the Hutt Valley.

On the back of the framed piece was written: Mr Samuel Peck, No. 7 Ormond Road, Woodville. Make two copies of this actual size. Show printing on bottom. No frame. Two for 24/-, deposit 5/-.

Samuel Peck was my husband's great grandfather, so this newspaper cutting was his. When Samuel died it went to his son Henry, then to Henry's daughter Daphne ...then on to our home.

I always came back to my very first question, "But why?" The names mentioned in the caption weren't family names. It wasn't until many years later I came across an old map of the Hutt Valley showing Boulcott's farm where this battle took place, it also showed that the adjoining farm was owned by Daniel Peck, Samuel Peck's father. At long last I had the answer to my question. Samuel Peck was born on 18 January 1850; this battle was before Samuel was born but no doubt his father, Daniel, spoke of it for many years.

I later found this exact picture in The Oxford Illustrated History of New Zealand, edited by Keith Sinclair, with the note that: 'Boy' Allen was actually aged about twenty, and is unlikely to have been quite so dwarfed by his foe as this picture suggests.

Samuel Peck died on 23 March 1931, so the picture was printed in a newspaper some time before that.

Samuel Peck is seated in the front with his wife Frances Peck nee Stent

with their four sons standing behind them.

I should add that Samuel and Frances also had nine daughters.

Allen Burnett pointed out that his image for the Sepia Saturday theme this week is neither sepia nor a photograph; I thought of this picture of the battle scene as it too is neither sepia nor a photograph. Click here to see more Sepia Saturday posts.

A bit busy

2011-09-27T21:26:00.001+13:00

Do you ever feel as though the world is spinning and getting out of shape at times?

This is how it seems to be with us just now.

Sleeping baby

2011-09-24T09:42:00.018+12:00

In his Sepia Saturday post Alan Burnett wrote that in the early days of photography subjects had to stay still for so long that a sleeping subject was perfect for a sharp print.

In this photo the baby was very much asleep when it was taken. I have often wondered just how long the mother had to hold the pose ...and her baby.

The baby is my great grandmother Mary Elizabeth Green, she was born on 5 June 1857 at Camden Town, London, England*. She is being held by her mother Harriet Green nee Gould, my great great grandmother.

At a guess I would say that Mary would have been about a year old meaning the photo was taken in 1858. This is the oldest photo I have.

I was very interested in just when photography was available to the public and after a search on the Internet I found this:

The mushrooming of photographic establishments reflects photography's growing popularity; from a mere handful in the mid 1840s the number had grown to 66 in 1855, and to 147 two years later. In London, a favourite venue was Regent Street where, in the peak in the mid 'sixties there were no less than forty-two photographic establishments! In America the growth was just as dramatic: in 1850 there were 77 photographic galleries in New York alone. The demand for photographs was such that Charles Baudelaire (1826-1867), a well known poet of the period and a critic of the medium, commented:

"our squalid society has rushed, Narcissus to a man, to gloat at its trivial image on a scrap of metal." source

I would like to know the cost of having a photo taken then, and who could afford it.

My grandfather always had this photo hanging in his living room - his mother and grandmother, I can remember gazing at it from my earliest childhood. I appreciate so much that it was handed on to me; it would have been given to me because I was always interested in family history from those early days and used to ask question after question.

The detail in this photo has always fascinated me. An artist has added to it. A black line has been added to the inner part of Harriet's (the mother) eyes and they have been coloured blue, as have some of the stripes in her dress. Mary, the baby, had the lower edge of her eye lids drawn in and very definite eye lashes are added, and the wee flowers in her bonnet have been coloured blue. It is interesting that Harriet is wearing just one glove. (Click on the photo then click it again to see the added detail.)

I was in England for a few years during the 1970's and while there I visited a cousin of my grandfather, Horace Green, he had a matching photo hanging in his lounge. In Horace's photo his father was the sleeping baby being held by Harriet, in just the same pose as she is in the photo above, and the frame was very similar to this one with the same curved glass. I wonder if Harriet had her photo taken with each of her children.

* Exact date taken from another family researcher's tree.

Carla's Thursday Blob Challenge

2011-09-23T15:42:00.001+12:00

Thanks for the fun Carla.
Carla's instructions: Print, turn the paper, draw and color!

Drive down to the Waikato

2011-09-21T11:54:00.012+12:00

An early morning drive to visit Mum.

The sky was cloud covered and the light was dull.
Will it rain/won't it rain we wondered.

The road took us through a piece of bush

and through the dairying countryside of the Waikato.

Some trees had definite signs of spring with new acid-green leaves

but so many were still winter-naked.

I often think that apart from the cows, and maybe some sheep, there isn't

usually much farming activity to be seen - but two men

were out working on one farm, a plane was passing overhead.

Then on the drive home the sky was washed with watercolour-hues as the sun set.

It was a lovely day, cloudy but no rain, with precious family time and so much talking.

Bush fungus

2011-09-19T21:06:00.003+12:00

Yesterday Jeff and I went for a walk in a patch of beautiful native bush. We can see this bush from our kitchen window; it's always a lovely to place to spend some time. To me there is something so special about being in the bush - the greenness, the peacefulness, hearing birds and the gentle sound of wind - I experience a feeling of calmness.

This particular piece of bush is very near where my grandmother used to live as a young girl, with her parents and many siblings. I like to imagine my grandmother walking amongst these tall trees and the palms and ferns, and her younger brothers running around and hiding from each other and having fun.

It was late in the afternoon when we were there and the sun was

quite low and cast long shadows as it danced through the leaves.

Just as we were leaving to walk home again I saw this fungus, such a

standout colour in all the green and brown, especially when the sun lit it up.

I have been trying to find out what fungus it is. I have a book

'Mushrooms and Other Fungi of New Zealand' but I couldn't identify it.

It certainly made a beautiful display.

Carla's Thursday Blob challenge

2011-09-18T20:54:00.005+12:00

Every Thursday Carla Sonheim, author of Drawing Lab for Mixed Media Artists posts a paint blob on her blog Snowball Journals and her instructions are very simple: Print, turn the paper, draw and color. Only it's not as simple as it sounds, I find it quite a challenge.

Here is Carla's paint blob for last Thursday:

It took me a few days but this is what I found in last Thursdays blob:

On a magic carpet maybe?

Out with her elephant ...as you do!

My 'findings' may be a bit strange but it's all good fun.

Thanks Carla.

Addie's wedding day

2011-09-17T21:15:00.003+12:00

This is my first Sepia Saturday post for quite some time. This post is about my 2 x great aunt Addie Abbott.

Addie was born on 29 November 1878 at Otaki, NZ, and she married Henry Perry Lomax on 24 April 1895; this is their wedding photo.

I love this photo. Addie looks so lovely and her dress has great detail: I like how Henry is sitting. I think his pose shows confidence, his moustache adds style, however, his heavy boots look more suited for work than weddings. On their wedding certificate Addie's age is given as 16 but she was 17; Henry's age was given as 25 and he was a storekeeper. Henry went on to be a Chemists Assistant. Addie and Henry had a family of eight children, the first born in 1896 and the last in 1922.

Their wedding certificate also says that Henry's father James Lomax was a Gentleman, whereas Addie's father, my 2 x great grandfather Joseph Abbott, was described as being a Settler.

Addie was the daughter of Joseph Alfred Abbott born c 1844 at New Bedford, North America and Mary Ann Abbott nee Hutt born c 1856 at Ealing, Middlesex, England, and sister to my great grandmother Annie Abbott.

Click here for more Sepia Saturday stories.

Orchids it is

2011-09-15T08:49:00.011+12:00

As I have said in my earlier posts, if I have any time to spare when in Auckland I try to pop in to the two big glasshouses that are the Auckland Winter Gardens, and few days ago I had the chance to visit again.

Each time I visit I look forward to seeing what is the main showpiece.

I made my way around the central courtyard

past the figures representing the four seasons

to get my first peep in the doorway

and past a display of cyclamens

I saw that orchids held centre court.

The featured plant isn't always a flowering one.
One visit aubergines had this honour, all colours shapes and sizes,
another time it was capsicums of all varieties - the chilies being my favourites.

I never know what plant will be showcased.

This time it was orchids.

It's a windy day

2011-09-14T17:22:00.015+12:00

grey clouds
scudding across the sky
birds free-wheeling
trees bending
spring leaves
tossed every which way
grasses rippling
walkers buffeted
as they pass by

How to sketch moving animals?

2011-09-13T11:29:00.029+12:00

As previously mentioned, I am doing an online course with Jane Lafazio - Sketching & Watercolor Journal Style: On Location - and last weeks lesson was Animals That Move. Just how do you sketch animals? This was what I was asking myself as I knew they wouldn't pose for me.

Off I went to the local Franklin Zoo & Wildlife Sanctuary, armed with my sketchpad, pencil, watercolour paints ...and camera, the camera was just for photos as my sketching and painting had to be done on location.

The animals in this very small zoo are all there for a reason. Mila the elephant used to work in a circus, she was very distressed, both physically and emotionally, when she was accepted into the zoo two years ago; now she is so healthy and happy. Other animals are there because they were being victimised by their own animal group in Auckland zoo, or have injuries - for instance a wild goat was taken in by the zoo after it was found to have had dreadful injuries after a dog attack, or they are part of a breeding program.

Ring tailed lemurs sunning themselves.

Snake necked turtle.

Tiger, a black handed spider monkey.

Carol, a pigtail macaque.

Animals enjoying the peace of the countryside.

Mila, the ex-circus African Bush Elephant,
looking and feeling so good after a warm mud bath.

This duck was wandering free - and looking as
though it was trying to work out what was I doing.

How did I get on with the sketching and painting? Well, it was very difficult as I was right in that they wouldn't pose, so it was a case of starting a sketch then waiting for the animal - or bird, turtle or whatever it was I was trying to sketch - to return to a similar pose, and to be very quick! Below are a few of my attempts.

I must say that once I started I thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and I would like to repeat it as it was so much fun, plus it's great practice for quick sketches.

Muriel was having one of those days...

2011-09-12T11:00:00.001+12:00

Visit Carla Sonheim's wonderful blog; Carla has started Paint Blob Thursday. Print the blob and turn it round and round till you 'see' something and colour or paint what you find.

A spring walk around my neighbourhood

2011-09-08T07:50:00.014+12:00

I admire the colour of the clouds

and the beauty of the magnolias that are in so many gardens.

I get down low to take in the perfume of these freesias which

triggers memories of my Grandmother's garden

and wander through the totara trees and love seeing the

sunlight dance through the branches and around the trunks.

Lastly I stop at a small gate-stall near our home to buy a few punnets of tomato and

capsicum seedlings to add to those we have grown ourselves for our summer garden.

Early morning sunlight

2011-09-06T10:16:00.007+12:00

cast a rosy glow as it rose over the Bombay Hills showing fog lying in the lower areas of town and making silhouettes of the trees - two birds are just specks as they fly by in the distance

it crept slowly into the house

and gave a golden glow to our lancewood that is reaching for the sky.

We have a beautiful blue-sky day.

I love the different light there is at different times of the day throughout all of the seasons.

Teresa Evangeline has a wonderful post showing light.

Thoughts of Christchurch

2011-09-05T10:19:00.014+12:00

Photo by Tess for Magpie Tales

Christchurch
a city of broken houses

broken hearts

buried under piles of rubble

thousands of homes uninhabitable

families displaced
lives lost

but looking ahead

clearing

planning

rebuilding

bright dreams and hopes

resilience

still it goes on

when will the rumbles end
how much more can they take

One year on from the September 4 earthquake, Cantabrians are still asking when the aftershocks are going to end.

Just this week, three jolts magnitude 4 or larger have shaken the region, following weeks of a relative lull in seismic activity.

In the twelve months since the magnitude 7.1 earthquake, more than 8,000 aftershocks have struck the region. source

Click here for more Magpie Tales.

A quiet moment of reflection

2011-09-04T14:18:00.003+12:00

In my courtyard today

2011-09-02T19:07:00.004+12:00

For Jane LaFazio's online course Sketching & Watercolor Journal Style: On Location.

I am doing this course as I would like to keep a sketchbook journal.

This lesson is On Location Outside and as I couldn't get out and about today I went

into our courtyard instead.

I am very new to sketching so have much to learn!

What to do when travelling by train

2011-08-31T10:50:00.001+12:00

For the first time ever I tried sketching while travelling on a train. The young chap and the surrounds were quite difficult but the older man was wonderful to sketch, he had such a friendly face.

I used a Tombow marker with water. My page is quite messy but it was a bumpy ride between stations and I am new to this whole sketching business!

I also found that I was really looking at my fellow travelers: the woman opposite me who was knitting and having to refer to her pattern often; the older couple who looked as though they were on a days outing; a young student madly studying her textbook; a mother/daughter duo both dressed in red and black; young ones with ear plugs nodding their heads up and down; hearing odd pieces of conversation but never learning the full story. Pulling out my sketchbook made me aware of so much more.

Busy with visitors

2011-08-30T20:15:00.002+12:00

and it was wonderful.

It was a joy to have a wee one in the house; to see her beautiful smile each time she woke, to have 'conversations' with her, and to see the wonder when she discovered grass for the first time.

Blue sky days

2011-08-23T08:08:00.002+12:00

I love them.

Spring is certainly opening the door of winter and peeping around the other side.
Who would have thought that we had snow this far north just a few days earlier.

Cafe time

2011-08-19T16:25:00.003+12:00

We have had the most gorgeous warm sunny day,

a perfect day to sit in the sun so this morning

was spent at a country cottage cafe

we sat out in the gardens soaking up the warmth from the sun

and the peace and beauty of the garden as we chatted

and for the first time ever I took a sketchbook and watercolours

Nana time

2011-08-17T18:39:00.000+12:00

How wonderful Nana time is

- lots of fun and giggles and cuddles.

Ready for home.

Not finished with us yet

2011-08-15T09:51:00.003+12:00

Spring has been showing her face and we have had

many days of blue skies and warm temperatures

but Winter is letting us know that he hasn't finished with us yet.

So much of the South Island has blizzard conditions that are expected

to last for days and there has also been snow in the North Island,

even in areas that would normally never see snow.

I woke to strong winds and grey clouds racing across the sky.

Colour in the gardens makes such a difference on days like this.

I must add that it snowed here this morning after I added this post.
It never snows here, not this far north!!
(weather records say it did snow on a local hill once in the 1930's)

I was like a child watching it. Big soft silent flakes falling to the ground, so thick
at times it was just like the snow in a glass snow globe after it had been shaken.
It just wasn't cold enough for it to settle.

I felt as though I experienced something magical.

It's that time of year....

2011-08-11T20:15:00.004+12:00

...when tui are enjoying the cherry blossoms.

A good dozen or more tui were feasting, playing and singing - moving this way and that, twisting their heads, going upside down and every which way - such quick movements that I couldn't capture one perfect in-focus shot of them but these photos still tell the story. The same story I captured last year and I will never tire of it.

Fish & chips by the sea

2011-08-08T21:08:00.002+12:00

After a day out visiting we decided to ramble our way home

and stopped for a while at Kaiaua on the Firth of Thames.

A very quiet place with a few permanent homes, a few holiday homes,

and some mobile homes set up for the night along the sea edge.

A perfect place to enjoy a meal of fish and chips, something we don't usually eat,

but Kaiaua is the perfect spot to eat them straight from the newspaper wrapping.

Gulls raced to see if we had anything to share with them

this gull dared to be different.

It was lovely to sit and watch the night take over from day

and to watch the birds fly in for the night before we continued on our way home.

Waiatarua Reserve

2011-08-06T15:35:00.007+12:00

In a part of Auckland that we had never been to before and with time to spare

Jeff and I discovered the Waiatarua Reserve - a wetlands area

pukeko were busy on the waters edge

ducks came swimming across to us

tall harakeke (flax) had dried empty seed heads

and I admired the red gum stains

on the tall eucalyptus trees

we were walking along enjoying the day and exploring somewhere new

when all of a sudden this...

~~monster~~ dog

ran up to me and shook himself ...as if I was a mud magnet!

Beautiful bloom

2011-08-04T20:27:00.001+12:00

warm spring-like days

and beautiful magnolia blooms

what could be better

The beauty of small things

2011-08-01T15:05:00.015+12:00

Yesterday, a gorgeous blue-sky warm winter day, found us off exploring, going on a walk we hadn't done before - the Puhinui Stream Forest Trail - a two hour walk that, as it's name suggests, follows along a pretty musical stream, water tinkling as it flows through beautiful bush. While we walked along enjoying the fresh rainforest smells and the sun sparkling through the leaves and palm fronds adding life to the bush, we were also aware of the birds.

There were tui singing their songs, a mix of sweetness and throaty clicks and cackles; the seemingly overweight kereru and their loud swoosh of wings; and the friendly little piwakawaka cheep cheep cheeping as they followed us on our walk.

As lovely as these birds were, and as much as we enjoyed the green freshness of the bush, there was something else that was very special - a small grey bird that, more often than not, is just a quick movement off to one side, never still enough for me to photograph. It is one of our smallest native birds, relatively insignificant, insignificant that is until it sings it's lovely song. A beautiful warbling trilling song. It is the riroriro. To hear it sing is to hear something special.

The beauty of small things.

Winter...

2011-07-29T12:23:00.004+12:00

sparrow-brown leaves

leaf-brown sparrows

tossed in the wind

The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating

2011-07-28T11:18:00.006+12:00

This year I discovered snails.

Snails have always been there, in our gardens, in plant pots in the courtyard and on our paths, especially after it had rained. I remember my grandmother always struggling to rid her garden of them and I was never in favour of the methods she used. Snails have been a problem for gardeners forever, but this year I really discovered them and started photographing them.

This year I really looked at them and saw how perfectly they are formed, how the shells of the smallest snails are almost transparent, how they glide along, how they withdraw back into their shells if disturbed.

Imagine my delight when I discovered this book: The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating by Elisabeth Tova Bailey. As a result of an illness Ms Bailey spent long periods of time confined to bed. One day a visitor gave her a plant in a pot and the visitor placed a snail on the plant. Not being able to get out and about Ms Bailey started watching the snail and became intrigued with it's daily routine and this led to learning more about snails; this book is a result of that. This book is part Ms Bailey's journey through her illness and and part discovery of snails. I was fascinated right from the start.

I think I will have to place a guard on the snails

in our garden now!!

Oh dear

2011-07-27T20:19:00.005+12:00

For some reason I started playing around with blog design ...and this is the result. I don't know what I did to undo it either. Oh well, maybe it was time for a change anyway!

Photo taken at Auckland Wintergardens

Precious moments

2011-07-26T11:18:00.002+12:00

Are there any moments more precious

than those spent with a wee one?

To watch a wee one grow and develop

to see the first smiles

...and the first raspberries.

To hear the first little laugh

and watch the first deliberate roll

...and watch the wee one do

it again and again.

To be saturated at bath times

from the splashes and kicks

...all the time with smiles

My last few months have been

dotted with these most precious moments.

And here is our wee one

looking hard at the jacket that

I had just knitted for her.

It looks at though she is thinking

"How has Nana done that?"

And yet another online course

2011-07-22T09:18:00.022+12:00

Here I was having a break from my computer and after I finished my online course with Carla I immediately took another online one - this time a photography course taken by Carla's photographer husband Steve Sonheim called Photo Silly. For years I have used my DSLR as a point and shoot, was never brave enough to take it off the auto setting, but really this was because I didn't know how, and manuals and I don't mix.

In no time at all Steve had me shooting in aperture or shutter priority and in full manual mode, and thinking about white balance, exposure compensation, composition and light - I even got my manual out and studied it! Steve made me work hard but in a fun way, the hardest assignment for me was having to go out and take photos of strangers and to have a stranger take a photo of me ...but I did it! Once again I thoroughly enjoyed being in a class situation and seeing the work of others and interacting with them.

This was a lesson in exposure compensation, certainly something I didn't know about let alone know how to do!

One of the days I had to use aperture priority and take photos for an eight hour period at half hourly intervals, setting the camera to f/5.6. Most, if not all, of the other class participants lived in the northern hemisphere so they had bright summer weather conditions but with me being in winter dark dull days were the norm during this course, however the day for this assignment was as bright and sunny as a spring day so I was able to capture light in most of my photos - plus my son, daughter-in-law and Precious Granddaughter visited that day which was a lovely bonus. No matter that they had to put up with me grabbing my camera every half hour!

We had to learn how to create blurs ...this was supposed to have been of night lights in a city or car lights at night but as there is only one street light nearby and only one car came up our street that night (and it was a Saturday night!) I had to find another way to create a blur and came up with this.

There was a lesson on people/portrait photography and I had to wait a day or two for my volunteer (hmmm - not sure he would have called himself a 'volunteer') to have a free day for this - and once again I was very lucky with the weather. This was taken not long before sunset and the low late sun added a golden glow.

Finally after all the lessons covering so many aspects of taking charge of our cameras we had to go out and take a photo of our own choice and use whatever mode or settings we wanted. Wet dark days were back in force then so I was restricted to what I could photograph indoors and this was it.

Jeff's pitcher plant.

Another fun course, and I learnt so much.

The two courses I did may have been online ones but the reality was that I spent most of the time off the computer 'doing'. They gave me an opportunity to take part in classes that I would normally never be able to do where I live. The internet has changed the way we live; it can consume so much time if we let it, but it also opens up many opportunities.

What have I been up to?

2011-07-21T11:01:00.013+12:00

I have been having fun.

I have enjoyed my break from posting here, although I must admit I missed the contact with others, but it has been a good break. I spent far too much time at my computer before so I don't plan on posting as often or regularly as I used to.

Strangely though some of the things I did made great use of the computer!

The first thing I did was take an online course called The Art of Silliness with Carla Sonheim and I had so much fun. Carla is a great tutor and there was a wonderful community feeling, it was great to see the work of others and interact with them too. Amid all the fun and silliness there were so many drawing lessons (drawing certainly isn't one of my strengths!) - the things Carla covered in this course were drawing with non-dominant hand (I found this very freeing - and it made me really stop and look), shading, one-liners, contour drawing including blind contours, 'finding' art in lines and scribbles, upside-down drawing (surprisingly accurate) and so much more ...all in all I thoroughly enjoyed Carla's Art of Silliness.

A quick one-liner.

Blind contours of my reflection in a mirror. Yes, I do wear glasses but I don't think these are all that accurate

Finding pattern and design in randomly placed lines, curves and squares.

An imaginative approach to join-the-dots.

As part of a scavenger hunt we had to go out and about with our cameras or sketch pads and find some art in cracks in concrete, tree bark, clouds - anything that caught our eyes.

This is a photo of cracks I found in a footpath...

and below this is what I 'saw' in these cracks...

It was great fun.

Thank you

2011-04-15T05:35:00.005+12:00

A year ago today I started my blog, not knowing where it was going and what form it would take. I didn’t know about having followers or following other blogs; following your blogs has been the highlight of my blogging experience. I have ‘met’ so many talented people and learnt so much.

I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing how others live in many different places. Although we may live in different countries, have different cultures and different seasons, we are all the same. We have the same wants and needs, the same love of life and nature, and we all matter.

My year of having a blog has been wonderful however I have decided that this might be the time for me to take a break; I don’t know if this will be a short or long term break, I just feel that it is right for me to do this now.

I would like to thank you all for making my experience of having a blog so enjoyable, for all your visits and comments, but most especially, for your wonderful blogs.

Thank you for your friendship.

I send my thanks and best wishes to you all on the wings of these Welcome Swallows.

Arohanui

Hot stuff

2011-04-14T10:03:00.007+12:00

I was admiring the shining redness of the chillies

as I harvested them

but had to quickly put my cutters down and pick

up my camera when I found great numbers of

very tiny snails all over the plants and chillies.

I love small snails with their almost transparent shells.

They were tiny and even tinier

and this one had a wee creature free-riding on it's back

and riding on the wee creature which is riding on the snail

is an even tinier wee critter - it is hardy visible.
(Photos can be clicked & double clicked to enlarge
but the tiniest 'thing' isn't very clear!)

Our microscopic world is fascinating.

Chillies, together with the beautiful tender ginger
that Jeff grew this year, create magic.

Wonderful rich-red shiny chillies.

It had been a hot day

2011-04-13T09:24:00.018+12:00

Photo by Tess for Magpie Tales

It had been hot the day we were given the rabbit. We had spent the day supervising the pick-your-own pea patch on our friends' farm in Kent. Our friends lived in one of the Dillywood Cottages in Dillywood Lane near Strood; coming from New Zealand we thought their address was so very English. It was these friends who gave us the rabbit - meat to cook, not a rabbit to keep as a pet.

We had been to the Kent County Show a couple of days earlier and I had bought a copy of The Country Housewife's Handbook, full of recipes plus tips such as how to keep bees and how to make hop manure; when we were given the rabbit they said to look for a recipe in this book. Our friend's mother said that there was only one way to cook a rabbit and that was to casserole it long and slow with plenty of wine and she gave us two bottles of her special elderberry wine. Sure enough there was a recipe for this - joint the rabbit, toss the pieces in seasoned flour and brown in a pan with onions before placing it in the casserole dish with fresh herbs and a generous quantity of wine.

It was a warm evening and the sun was streaming in as we settled back to wait for the casserole to cook for two hours - make that three hours as the old cooker in the caravan wasn't that good. At first we thought we would have a glass or two of the wine while we waited, while we sat enjoying the sun on our shoulders and chatted about where our travels would take us next.

We decided it was very nice stuff, this homemade elderberry wine. We opened the second bottle as there really wasn't that much left of the first... we must have used a lot in the dish.

I remember how pleasant the wine was, how easy it was to drink as we sat and chatted and waited for our meal to cook.

I don't remember the meal.

Magpie Tales, hosted by Tess. Click here to read more tales.

Old cars in New Zealand

2011-04-12T20:25:00.003+12:00

Once, years ago when working in Norway, I was asked what happened to old cars in New Zealand... I quite truthfully answered "We drive them".

Aren't they beautiful.

Monday madness

2011-04-11T09:26:00.005+12:00

Need for discernment.

It is to be hoped that brides-to-be show some discernment when choosing a groom even if, as this board states, they do excel.

Shadow Shot Sunday

2011-04-10T07:14:00.007+12:00

two shadow shot sets

both taken

several weeks ago

first set

taken out of town

striking sharp shadows

on a fernery roof

second set

taken on a local walk

such soft shadows

on roadside flowers

Shadow Shot Sunday

Hosted by Tracy at Hey Harriet

Annie

2011-04-09T07:41:00.012+12:00

This would be my favourite photo of my great grandmother Annie Newport nee Abbott.

Here Annie sits with her book and her dog as companions, it looks like her life of work is done.

To me she still has the beauty that she had in a photo I posted on a previous Sepia Saturday when she was quite a bit younger - click here to see for yourself.

This photo wasn't taken on a porch or even in a garden but appears to be taken out in the open somewhere. I often wonder if she had a special spot she liked to sit and spend some time.

This photo isn't perfect, it has been damaged over the years, but it is one of my treasures.

Annie was born on 23rd June 1875 at Cust, Canterbury, NZ and died 19th December 1947 in Auckland. She was the daughter of Joseph Alfred Abbott of New Bedford, North America and Mary Ann Abbott nee Hutt of Ealing, Middlesex, England.

Sepia Saturday, click here to see more photos and stories.

Autumn morning fresh

2011-04-08T15:32:00.011+12:00

on way to school

holding hands, arms swinging

autumn morning fresh

I looked out my kitchen window at the sparkling morning; big white clouds against the blue sky and a breeze moving the long grasses like the waves in the sea. Into this scene walked a young couple - a very young couple - they would have been about thirteen or fourteen years old, no more. They were as bright as the day itself; wearing school uniforms, holding hands and swinging their arms as they walked briskly on, chatting away to each other, their faces radiant. They walked off around the corner and out of sight. It was as if they walked off into a bright fresh future - autumn morning fresh.

Haiku My Heart hosted by Rebecca at recuerda mi corazon.

Inelegant frenzy.

2011-04-07T11:22:00.009+12:00

inelegant adj. lacking elegance or refinement
frenzy n. a state or period of uncontrolled excitement or wild behaviour

Click on the photos to see more clearly.

Final harvest

2011-04-06T16:49:00.007+12:00

Today I gathered the last of the tomatoes

from plants that speak of the end of their season

and gathered the chillies, full of summer heat.

I admired their colour

and beauty

...and made a tasty meal.

It is difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts
while eating a homegrown tomato.
~ Lewis Grizzard

Wee sleeping beauty

2011-04-05T15:35:00.010+12:00

I spent some precious moments with my

wee granddaughter yesterday.

We went for a walk through a park and she was
as snug as a bug in a rug in her pram
with the hat and shawl I knitted before she was born.

She is such a gorgeous bundle of joy.

Magpie Tales

2011-04-05T09:17:00.006+12:00

autumn raindrops fall

ending summer's dusty days

- crickets seek shelter

It is raining here today after days of hot sunny weather and crickets are trying to come into the house!

Photo supplied by Tess for Magpie Tales.

Shadow Shot Sunday

2011-04-03T11:46:00.007+12:00

A walk along the beach at Port Waikato on

a hot sunny autumn afternoon

...and up in the sand hills.

Shadows in the sand patterns - click photo to see the fine lines.

The sand at Port Waikato is iron-sand which, being dark,

heats up to the point where it can be too hot
to walk on and this was the case last week - at times

we ran from one patch of grass to another!

Click here if you would like to read about iron sand.

Shadow Shot Sunday hosted by Tracey at Hey Harriet.

Sepia Saturday

2011-04-02T10:41:00.018+13:00

Dad started his working life as a farmer but in 1949 he decided on a change and trained as a telegraph linesman.

This photo was taken the day he completed the Post & Telegraph Outside Plant Training School on 25 November 1949.

He was only 23, I love this photo of him and, to me, he never really changed.

Dad is in the centre of the back row in this photo

of the group he trained with; he got each one to sign the back.

Here Dad is standing with the Post and Telegraph truck

I have been reading of the progress of telephones in NZ and was amused to read what was written in 1930 "It was official the telephone was here to stay. People were talking, not just across the back fence, but to friends, relatives and businesses across towns and cities. The news of the world was more readily available. Gossip travelled at light speed. Talking to the world. On November 25th 1930 the minister of Native Affairs Sir Apirana Ngata had a chat with Australia's acting prime minister Mr Fenton, marking our first international toll call. A year later we connected to Britain - a call cost six pounds 15 shillings and there were only 312 calls in the first year. By 1939 the rates had reduced and 3,457 calls were recorded to the old country. In 1930 The NZ Post Office had 125,000 customers that had nearly tripled by 1950. By 1960 subscribers rocketed to 686,021. ' Source

Dad was a linesman for just a few years and later returned to farming for more than a decade (then another career change); the move to the farm was shortly after I was born. The phone we had on the farm was a big black Bakelite telephone with the handle on the side, very much like this one (as I remember it).

(Note: Since reading Brett's comments I have remembered that our phone was wall mounted and I am not sure it had a dial - I was very young then!)

photo source

We were on a party line: 'Many country districts were served by party lines, with up to 10 customers each. Users could listen in on other people’s conversations. International toll calls were booked in advance and organised through a toll operator.' Source

Each household on our party line had a different ring, our phone number was 143U and our ring was short-short-long. If another member on our party line wanted to ring us they would turn the handle on the side - a short turn another short turn then a longer one - and we would know to answer it. We knew our neighbours calls and would turn the handle accordingly. To make a call out of our party group we would give the handle one long turn and the the telephone exchange operator would answer and place the call for us. To know if the line was free to use we had to pick up the handle and listen - no one talking meant that it was free.

I am not sure how many years we were on this system but I do remember how exciting it was when this was changed and we weren't on the party line any longer. Our phone didn't need a handle and when it rang it was for us, nor did we have to listen to our neighbours getting calls. I also thought that our new phone number was great - just 854.

For more Sepia Saturday stories and photos click here

Haiku My Heart

2011-04-02T07:45:00.000+13:00

dark misty morning

gulls soar and glide, man fishing

- peace, solitude

Haiku My Heart hosted by Recbecca at recuerda mi corazon

Gull at Port Waikato

2011-04-01T08:35:00.003+13:00

I made the wee slideshow below from photos I took of this gull

flying and gliding above the sea at Port Waikato.

I dream of flying like a bird.

Beautiful osytercatchers

2011-03-31T16:43:00.003+13:00

I have always loved oystercatchers and can spend hours watching them on the beach, they are so beautiful, but I often think that there is also something comical about them too - as though they could have been drawn by a child with their long orange carrot-like beaks that clash with their purple-pink legs and their round black-dotted red eyes.

Yesterday Jeff and I went for a drive to Port Waikato and there, on the sea edge and at the Waikato Rivermouth, were so many oystercatchers feeding or walking about, and flying.

We sat and watched and marvelled at these lovely birds.

It was wonderful just to sit - and watch.

After some time we left the sea edge and were walking among the sand hills when we saw an oystercatcher ahead of us and as we got closer it started to cry out and was flapping it's wings. It didn't take us long to realise that it couldn't fly, one of it's legs was caught in something, we couldn't see what. Not sure what to do, as we didn't want to cause it any further distress, we stopped - but we had to help it - it was obvious that it couldn't free itself. When we walked up to it the oystercatcher became very still and quiet. I gently held it's wings against it's body in case it became alarmed and hurt itself, and also to take the strain off it's leg which was caught in old fishing nylon, the nylon was wrapped tightly around it's leg. With me holding the bird Jeff was able to free it's leg - then I took my hands away.

It sat there for a moment, quite still, before flying up and away - so gracefully, so very beautifully. It flew to the sea edge, near a small group of oystercatchers, it didn't join them but sat apart. We stood and watched silently for quite some time, almost holding our breath, then we were thrilled to see it walk and poke it's long beak down into the sand, doing what oystercatchers do, it started looking for food. Only then did we start talking, we felt as though we had experienced something wonderful - to see this bird free - I can't express just how wonderful it was.

The tangled mess of fishing nylon - it came home with us and is now in our bin - we must keep our beaches safe for all.

Fly free, stay free, beautiful bird.

Nature's work

2011-03-30T09:42:00.002+13:00

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.

~Lao Tzu

Photos taken yesterday.

A drive around Mt Karioi

2011-03-29T14:44:00.001+13:00

We went for a drive around Mt Karioi while we were in

Raglan as neither of us had been around it before.

Very quickly the sealed road ended and we found

ourselves on gravel roads for the rest of our drive.

We stopped a short way from Raglan and had a look

over the edge and out to sea.

It is very windy along the coast as these trees show.

The road followed the sea edge for quite a way

before turning inland to go around the mountain.

Suddenly this bus appeared out of nowhere, alone

and abandoned high on a hill, why is it there?

The road twisted and turned up into the hills,

this is a view down to the road we had just

travelled on as we left the sea.

This house looks rather sad now, boarded up and neglected.

I wonder who had lived here, what were their hopes

and dreams when they first moved in.

At what would have been the gateway to the old house

are these naked ladies, flowering bravely.

Were they lovingly planted many years ago?

This photo shows just how isolated this house is.

The road is rough now, it must have so much worse years ago.

What a lonely place it must have been.

Back from our drive we enjoyed a late walk along the beach

before coming home the next day.

Magpie Tales - Mona Lisa

2011-03-29T10:31:00.007+13:00

Tired of him owning her,

of being told what to do,

she thinks of the insurance money,

of him eating her arsenic-laced stew.

--------------------------------------------------

I am remembering a young NZer

setting off excitedly on her big OE*,

as so many young Kiwis do.

Her mind filled with thoughts of

all the countries she would visit

and all that she would see.

She finally made it to Paris

and visited the Louvre,

the Musée du Louvre,

and after hours of queuing

and walking through the roped maze

she was standing in front of

the Mona Lisa.

I am remembering how this
young NZer gazed at this wonder,

this masterpiece,

marvelling that she was there,

that she was actually seeing it 'in the flesh'

- for all of what felt like 10 seconds before having to move on!

*Overseas Experience

Magpie Tales hosted by Tess; click here to read more tales.

A short break away

2011-03-28T17:47:00.015+13:00

Last Thursday was our wedding anniversary. We decided to go away for a couple of days but didn't fancy a long drive so we went to Raglan, a small harbour-side town just ninety minutes drive away; close but somewhere we hadn't been for several years.

Raglan is a busy place in the summer months - for someone like me it's a place to avoid then, but at this time of the year it is lovely and quiet.

An early morning walk on our anniversary day was peace-filled. The tide was out and being a harbour meant that there were great expanses of exposed seabed with a wide ribbon of water in the channel. Puddles in the sand reflected the clouds, there were areas of shells and sea-grass, gulls were lazily flying and gliding overhead and oystercatchers were feeding.

Being early morning the air was quite cool and I needed a light jacket - Mt Karioi in the background.

The clouds cleared and the day was hot and sunny. We enjoyed 'doing' the town, walking up one side of the street and down the other, stopping to have a browse here and there. I loved the art in a wee shop called Jet Collective with works of five artist - paintings, photography, metalwork, ceramics and fabric. 'Doing' the shops doesn't take very long in this small town.

This is the main street of Raglan, it was very quiet.

We used the Kopua footbridge to walk into town and back from where we were staying. This bridge will be replaced later this year by a new one which already under construction.

Just down from the footbridge this little family was happy at play; I can remember years ago playing like this with my brothers and sisters in just about the same spot.

A short drive took us out beyond the harbour to the open beaches; it was a very warm day and people were out on surfboards and sea kites.

The clouds were big and beautiful; summer was having a last say.

The next day autumn made it's presence felt. It was a blustery, wild grey-sky day and trees were tossing their heads and there were spits of rain in the air but it wasn't at all cold. I love walking on days like this.

We walked down to the old wharf. A small fishing boat was tied up and two ladies were fishing from a low platform and ever hopeful gulls were flying around overhead hoping to catch anything that might be thrown back to the sea.

Old pohutukawa trees leaning over the sea edge, red and yellow leaves littered the ground; a black cat was asleep on the back on an old armchair out on a porch; a man biked past towing a clear plastic-covered cart with two small children sitting in it enjoying the ride; gulls were calling out from across the harbour - it was a wonderful walk and Raglan was the perfect place to have a break.

Long morning shadows

2011-03-27T14:19:00.002+13:00

Shadow Shot Sunday hosted by Tracy

at Hey Harriet - click to see more shadow shots.

Early morning on the beach at Raglan

even the little things such as these shells

and this tumbleweed

cast long shadows

so Jeff and I thought we would have some fun.

Sepia Saturday - Susan Young nee Cox

2011-03-26T20:04:00.003+13:00

This week I thought I would post about Jeff's 2x great grandmother Susan Young nee Cox born c1827 in Cambridge, England, daughter of Lawrence Cox , a brewer, and Eliza nee Surry.

Last week for Sepia Saturday I went along with Alan's hotel theme and posted about Susan's husband Nathan Young who was killed in a shooting accident on 2nd August 1868, his inquest being held at the Otepopo Hotel; and of how Susan was left a widow with eight children aged from 19 down to 2 years old and a ninth child born three months after Nathan died. Susan was also left with their farm to run.

I can only presume that sons Joseph (19) and Thomas (14) would have worked on the farm, together with an employee who was with Nathan when he died. Susan would have been helped in the house by her daughter Mary (16) and many of the children would have had duties. When the youngest daughter Julia was born three months after her father's death it was older sister Mary who registered her birth.

I know very little about Susan's life as a widow but from old newspapers I found that early in November 1870 Susan was advertising an auction for farm stock and implements for sale. This must have been the end of the farm. At some stage she moved from Otago in the South Island to Wanganui then to Hawera in the North Island and some of her children moved north with her.

Susan died on 24th August 1907, after being a widow for 39 years. Her death notice states that she died at her son's residence in Hawera and that she was a 'relict of the late Nathan Young; aged 80 years.'

It is from Susan's obituary in the newspapers that I learnt more about her and Nathan's early life; of how they went from Cambridge, England to Australia in 1849 and 'after spending some time on the Victoria diggings great reports were received of the prospects in New Zealand and they left for this colony, arriving in Dunedin in 1863. For some time they were on the Otago goldfields.'

Her obituary says that Susan was an 'old and respected colonist', 'and by her kind and loveable nature made many friends, who will learn with regret of her death. A grown family of six are left to mourn their loss.'

Susan is the older woman wearing the dark hat, to the right of her is her son Nathan Charles Young with his wife Eliza Matilda nee Collingwood standing at the back and their five children.

Susan's headstone in the Hawera cemetery, her son Nathan is also buried here.

Sepia Saturday; click here to read more SS posts.

An autumn day

2011-03-23T10:31:00.007+13:00

crisp mornings

real afternoon warmth

- crickets chirp

Haiku my Heart at recuerda mi corazon hosted by Rebecca.

Magpie Tales: The Pioneers

2011-03-22T10:28:00.004+13:00

they set out from their homeland

and travelled across the sea

they took with them all they would need

to protect them from their foes

their enemies weren't great armies

marching across the land

but hunger and homelessness

as they carved out their new lives

not for them swords and shields

but hammers saws and hoes

Photo by Tess for Magpie Tales.

Sepia Saturday on a Monday

2011-03-21T12:14:00.013+13:00

I am little late for my Sepia Saturday entry but I thought that I would still post as I was quite taken with Alan's pub theme and I decided that I could write a story which feartured a pub ...or, in my case, a hotel.

My story starts with Jeff's great great grandfather Nathan Young. He was born on 4th October 1830 in Barnwell, Cambridgeshire, England, the son of Joseph Young and Mary nee Mynott.

At a very young age, not yet 18, Nathan married Susan Cox on 13th June 1848 at St Andrew's the Great in Cambridge, England. They had one child in1849 in Cambridge, then set sail from Plymouth, England on 17 August 1849, their baby just three months old. Their destination was Port Philip (Melbourne), Victoria, Australia arriving there on 28 November 1849. Records show that both Nathan and his wife Susan could read and write and they had a bible.

Five more children were born in Victoria, Australia, the last in 1861, then the family came on to New Zealand and their first of their three NZ born children was born in 1863.

In New Zealand Nathan was farming and appears to have been well known, he often placed advertisements about his stock also the newspapers carried reports of annual ploughing matches that were held on Mr Nathan Young's property.

What has all this to do with a hotel? Well, on 2nd August 1868 while out duck shooting with two men and his eldest son, Joseph, Nathan Young was accidentally shot and died in his son's arms and his body was taken to the Royal Hotel in Otepopo, Otago and the inquest was held there.

The Royal Hotel, Otepopo, Otago. *

The once Royal Hotel is now a private residence.
Photo taken 2002.

From searching through the old newspapers I found that this hotel was used by the community in many ways such as sports or business meetings, and many inquests were held here. I often wonder if the present day owners know it's full history. The walls of this building would hold many stories such as Nathan Young's inquest which makes very grim reading. Nathan's last words were: "Oh my God, Tom, you've shot me! My God I'm shot! My God I'm shot! Joe! Joe!" - Joe was his son. If anyone is interested the full inquest report can be read here.

Susan Young was left a widow in her late 30's and their ninth child was born three months after Nathan was killed.

* Photo taken from 'Otepopo and Herbert Township' by Dorothy McKenzie

Click here for more Sepia Saturday photos and stories.

Shadow Shot Sunday

2011-03-20T18:41:00.010+13:00

Little things in life
are so important;

little things can bring such joy.

Some are hard to spot

but then there are others that

make themselves known

such as the praying mantis.

There are scores of them just now.

They seem to be queueing up waiting to get inside.

They are under the eaves

and around the doors and windows.

Upside down or right way up

it's all the same to them.

I named this one

The Poser

as it was quite happy to sit

while I took it's photo

on a hot afternoon.

Shadow Shot Sunday hosted by Tracy at Hey Harriet.

Haiku My Heart

2011-03-18T21:16:00.005+13:00

in the still of night

as the world unites in prayer

hope rises on wings

Haiku My Heart at Recuerda mi Corazon hosted by Rebecca

Double click on photo to see more clearly.

National Memorial Day

2011-03-18T15:19:00.006+13:00

Today is National Memorial Day and a service was held to pay respect to the lives lost in the earthquake in Christchurch.

Tens of thousands gathered in Hagley Park in Christchurch to attend the service, including Prince William who had earlier met with the people of Christchurch and with members of the Urban Search and Rescue teams and the Student Army.

Today I searched for some beauty for the people

of Christchurch as they continue to grieve for those who were lost

and at the same time plan the rebuilding of their city.

As the memorial service was being held in Christchurch

rain fell like tears from Heaven here.
This rose caught them and held them beautifully.

Kia kaha Christchurch - Stay strong.

Hayley Westenra singing Amazing Grace at the Memorial Service today - link.

An email from my Japanese friend

2011-03-17T20:11:00.010+13:00

I received a reply to my email to my friend in Japan this evening and as so many passed on prayers and wishes for the safety of her and her family I thought I would share it here:

Dear Marilyn,
Thank you very much for your love and prayer for this tragedy.

I was in Fukuoka at that time in order to attend a wedding ceremony. Now I'm back home.

I could not know if Maro was safe or not for a while. He has lived in Yokohama near Tokyo. So we were very worried, but now I can talk to him on the phone. He told me that it seemed hard to get food, petrol, or to go by train in Yokohama and near there, including Tokyo.

I think you've already known the earthquake and tsunami, a terrible disaster in Northeast District and outbursts of nuclear power plants in Fukushima. I have been praying the survivors of this disaster will be able to live safely and have their hopes.

Thanks for praying. I am very pleased to have a special friend like you.

Take care.
Bless you.
Love

Continued prayers
for the people of Japan

and for the people of Christchurch

Stillness

2011-03-17T07:59:00.010+13:00

In the midst of movement and chaos,
keep stillness inside of you.
~ Deepak Chopra

Sunrise this morning.
Our horoeka - lancewood - reaching up in the stillness.

A special friendship

2011-03-16T15:19:00.021+13:00

When I was at primary school my class was encouraged to have a penfriend. I thought about it and decided that it would be a good idea; so began a long friendship.

Because my teacher was organising it I had no choice of who I wrote to or what nationality my penfriend would be. I can still remember the thrill of that first letter with overseas stamps, the excitement I felt as I opened it - my penfriend was a girl, a Japanese girl. All of a sudden I was introduced to another culture, one so very different to my own, a very interesting culture. We exchanged letters about our families, our schools, holidays and as we got older our letters included things about magazines and clothes, music and so much more.

When we were in our early 20's my penfriend came to NZ and this was the start of a very real friendship. She stayed with me at my parents' home initially then she and I travelled together; we travelled the length of the North Island from Cape Reinga in the far north, where the Pacific Ocean meets the Tasman Sea, to Wellington in the south. We learnt so much more about each other then than we ever did in our letters.

Not long after her visit we both married; our husbands' birthdays were on exactly the same day, the same year. We called them our twin husbands, one dark, one fair. A few years later my pen friend and her husband came to NZ and it was wonderful for the four of us to get together. We both had two children and our letters then contained news and photos of their progress. My parents went to Japan and stayed with my friend and her family, and also with her parents and met her extended family. She always called my parents her NZ Mom and Dad.

About five years ago, with the help of one of her sons, my friend emailed me but this only happened a couple of times and she went back to writing letters - until recently - until the second earthquake in Christchurch just over three weeks ago when I received an email from her offering her prayers for all who had been affected.

I emailed her immediately after the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan but as yet I haven't received a reply; very likely her son may not be there to help her with emailing.

They are in my thoughts and prayers, as is all of Japan.

The above photo is of my friend wearing a special kimono to celebrate her engagement.

Magpie Tales

2011-03-15T07:28:00.012+13:00

Photo by Tess for Magpie Tales

call of kerry

daydreaming

of green hills half obscured by low clouds

of wild coastlines and swirling mists

her heart filling with longings of home

the grandmother looks at her shamrock

in the pot of flowers on the windowsill

then looks out the window

at the dry tussock-covered land

and sighs

Click here for more Magpie Tales