Horses!!!

BABY horse appeared when we return to our house one day!

kapiti island trip

We finally made it to Kapiti Island.

....Finally...

as in I had one place I really wanted to visit on my list of "MUST DO BEFORE WE LEAVE NZ" I figured one place was a reasonable goal. I also say finally because my friend Susan and I had been talking about doing this for months, and my ability to book a trip was a bit lack luster. But it was lovely.

The native birds come right up to you

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We went for a guided walk and learned all about the plants, Maori history, animal life, and DOC projects.


There were paths by the sea...

and through the grassy flat lands....And up through the forested steep hills...
And plenty of places to just sit and wait for the birds to come and share some space with you...
The younger set did get a tad restless of sitting and waiting for birds to dazzle them, so we got out my camera and played around with its high burst setting. I had no idea how fun this can be!




We finished up the day playing in the warm sea water.
It has been said that once, in the not so distant past, the water between the island and the mainland -- all 5 km -- was so full of whales that it would keep you up at night!
And the trees were in bloom!
Better still we got to share the experience with our dear friend from Australia!

Chickens and cooking with horses

****Chicken naming contest****

Our friend Linde has suggested a wonderful set of names for our chickens:

1. Bluecheese
2. Indigo
3. Cohiba
4. Corona
5.  Melanzane (eggplant)
6. Zenzero (ginger)

We now just have to pick which name best fits each bird! 

 Suggestions welcome!

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Sometimes I feed my chickens in the little red wagon out front.  


 It makes for good cooking entertainment for me


Sometimes they hop on the fence and look in while I am making breakfast

And yesterday the horses tried to do the same, but the glass angled window confused them

recent adventures - dedicated to Laura, Pete and FINLEY!

This post is dedicated to my dearest friend Laura and her husband Pete who just welcomed into the world their wonderful son Finley. I hear Laura is looking for posts here while she is on Mat leave, and so I submit the following thrown together post as I nurse my cold and prepare to fly to Twizel for Rowing Nationals.

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Last weekend was Sevens weekend in Wellington. People dress up to attend the rugby matches. Anything goes, the only rule is to get a bunch of mates together and wear matching outfits. Always entertaining!I spent the weekend up in Wanganuni, about 3 hours north of here along the west coast of the North Island. It is a charming town, although it seems like most of the stores are always closed and I had the worst meal ever here the night before I left. It was nearly $20 for an all you can eat Mongonlian Grill... and well I couldn't even eat and just walked out. Oh well, live and learn.

I was there to row not eat anyways. And row we did. My fours team took 1st place and our eight didn't have a chance to race due to poor water conditions each afternoon.
Actually, I think we did more watching and sunburning than we did rowing...


As is our informal tradition, we stayed in a school hall near the river. I kept looking for the basketball hoops, but I guess basketball and school hall aren't as linked here.

I thoroughly enjoyed my new Christmas present from Traveler to pass the down time. Podcasts from NPR are a godsend when spending hours on end listening to teenagers verbally process life. I find both fascinating, but like to have a chance to alternate between the two forms. Kind of like I like switching between cooked and raw food throughout a meal.

And of course we went grocery shopping where I snapped this photo at Pak N Sav, park of their 'we save you money' campaign. Trolleys are shopping carts. Some use the word trundler as well for this thing. I just miss the bar to rest your foot on that are on American ones.
On the drive home I saw a llama on the back of a truck.. you know, as one does.

The next day I was flying back up the coastline for work. The plan was to fly over Wanganui up to New Plymouth. Unfortunately New Plymouth was covered in fog ALL DAY. So we landed in Wanganui and then were bused north. I was so glad to see this the following day because it meant the ceiling was plenty high enough for me to fly out.

Views from now

At nights we often walk up to eat with our neighbors or at least have a cup of tea or borrow an ingredient for our dinner.


Often the neighbors' horses are near by and our chickens are most social. They race to us whenever we open the door... if you are wearing gum boots they are extra excited.


My mornings are about rowing. If you are wondering why I have little time to hang out, it is because I am exhausted by the end of the work day and I race in regattas every weekend at the moment. Some nights I run up hills of sand or steps.

30th birthday

After Traveler picked me up from the rowing regata, we made our way up the hill. He mentioned that our friend Ulrika was coming over for dinner. Adult conversation and a beer was sounding really good.

Then he asked me to look under my seat for my birthday present. When I pulled it out I teared up for the first of three times that night. Traveler had organized permission for us to get a dog form our landlords and selected a collar for the large dog we'll have sometime in the next few months.

When I arrived home I quickly sorted that it was a surprised party. So many dear friends carrying really thoughtful gifts. Traveler had cleaned the entire house and created a massive mountain of food. It was exactly what I needed.
This photo is for you Kristin - turns out that my food photos actually are entertaining for some:)

Then my friend Hazel requested that we go see the goats. She had been waiting for awhile I suspect for me to arrive. We quickly ducked out and around the back of the house and then I had my second waterfall of joyful tears:
Inside my very own chicken coop were the most incredible laying boxes. The whole design was very impressive. I knew that Trav, Dai, and Al had been scheming and building all weekend. When I called out thank you, Dai yelled down from the grilling area on the deck that the girls were coming the next day. They actually didn't arrive until today, but aren't they lovely!?!?
And they are already laying... or perhaps the people who shipped them thought it would delay complaints if they tossed in an egg for good measure... we'll see when additional eggs start appearing:

Which leads me to the third moment of tearful joy... at the party Hazel and Iris each played a song on their violins. Seeing Hazel's new confidence as she played through two songs, one the classic of early violin students - Twinkle- that she now knows all the parts to beautifully and one that she created herself. Then Iris stood up and shared Rosie, her violin, with the entire group. The sight of them playing brought tears to me eyes. Then their mother stood up and impressed me with Happy Birthday. I've been playing with her for the past couple months and know how long it takes her to learn a new song. Each one goes more quickly, but I know that she puts time and effort into learning each one. I am sure there will be encores throughout the year.