Laughter and Relaxation

After a busy day which starts off with a nice walk through a bush track or in the country and perhaps continues on through to gardening, shopping or playing with the dogs. It is so nice to be able to relax at the end of the day, sitting on the deck with my husband in the late afternoon sun or, as in the photo at the end of an exciting and fun game of French Boules, with my sister and her husband, and a nice glass of wine. I might add I hardly ever win at this game, however, there are lots of laughs and cajoling throughout.



Brings me on to this little tale I read which made me laugh, hope you do as well.

At the end of a busy day, a man and his wife were sitting at home on the veranda in the quiet of twilight, broken only by the sounds of the gentle wind and the swash of waves.  They were enjoying a glass of wine together.  As the sun slowly sank below the mountains, she broke the soothing silence saying, "I love you so much I don't know how I could ever live without you."
The husband, a tad surprised, asks, "Is that you or the wine talking?"
She replies, "It's me........talking to the wine."
And the two burst out laughing!

Learning to laugh a little more may just save your life.
We cannot really love anybody with whom we never laugh.


Have a relaxing day

Reflections

'Autumn Fills My Heart With Dreams'
Abstract painting by T. Ralph Taylor, UK 

The above inspiring abstract painting reflects Autumn with it's rich colours and textures, painted by a very talented artist and friend, and hangs in our living room.

Today I had a later walk than usual. Having had five days of rain I was beginning to think I would never get back to walking, you see I do not like walking in the rain, for some it may be refreshing, just not for me.
The Autumn sun was so warm it felt like Summer, however the tell tale signs of the cooler season just around the corner, bringing darker mornings, cooler evenings and less humidity are imminent.

As I continued down the track I walked through a leafy glade, the leaves lying on the ground had fallen in all sorts of patterns scattered among broken twigs and branches,with rocks here and there. I thought of the artists who have the wonderful insight and emotions to put scenes like this into beautiful paintings. The river was sparkling in the sun and with the streaks of sunlight filtering through the canopy of trees I again thought this would be an artist's dream to sit and sketch or paint such a lovely woodland of browns, greens, gold and textures together with the gentle flowing river and to ponder the peace and quiet of the moment, such tranquility.

I often give a thought to what life could have been had we not emigrated to New Zealand and stayed in Scotland. I have never regretted the move, and having lived in New Zealand for over forty six years, I am not sure that the Scottish climate would enhance any thoughts of moving back except for a visit. I think of our relatives and friends that we left behind and miss growing older with them and their families. I suppose as I am getting older, and do not have a family of our own here other than my  husband of course, I feel the loss of such friendships and family times together, albeit the friends that we have made here are very supportive and have over the years embraced us into their homes and have become a 'family'.

Thinking of what might have been conjures up all sorts of pictures and emotions which, when analyzed make me realise, what will be will be. Life is after all, what you make of it.

So, to reflect, I have had a lovely day walking in the sun, feeling that warm fuzziness you get when you are at one with nature and all that surrounds you.



'What if the one and only right place to find the key to life is the deep, 
dark cave of our innermost being: our heart?'

Have a Happy day

     

History on our Doorstep and a Walk in the Native Bush

As I have mentioned in a previous blog, I like to walk. I walk as it makes me feel good and to walk in the fresh air with nature all around is so peaceful. This brings me on to my story for today.

I normally walk on my own in the mornings but have recently been walking in the afternoons also with my sister and her husband. They found  lovely walking tracks only about 20 minutes drive away from where we live.

The area to which I refer is a small mountain which is an eroded volcano cone rising to 241m above sea level. At the summit, the views of the city and harbour are just magnificent it is also host  to a memorial, an obelisk unveiled in 1957 that glows red in the night sky – a local landmark. The mountain was also the site of a Maori settlement which included three heavily defended Pa (Maori camp). The Pa complex was the site of a significant battle and massacre in the 1700's.

There are many tracks to follow and enjoy, walking alongside the river filled with huge boulders from the volcano is quite a sight to behold. Climbing up and over well laid rocks, it is a pleasant walk through the canopy of very large silver ferns, and majestic Kauri trees standing many feet high reaching up through the canopy to the sun.

As we continued along the paths – time to immerse ourselves fully in the beautiful environment, we came to a clearing, and looking just ahead of us was the bare trunk of a fern looking just like a big brown bear stretched up as if he was reaching for a honey filled bees nest, it was quite something to see. The picture of the bear you can see in the collage.

There are many seating areas along these tracks, also very peaceful clearings with tables where you can have a picnic alongside the river, the children can also have a dip in the river to cool off in the hot summer sun, I have no doubt the adults also would enjoy a cool paddle!

On another day we took a walk down boarded steps from the road to enjoy a rural walk that features a beautiful mature podocarp-hardwood forest, including outstanding Puriri trees. A walk through the limestone formations sculptured by the forces of nature was indeed very interesting. On the walk there are three underground caves that can be entered, very dark and slippery, not for the novice cavers, we left them for the experts, however, the huge boulders were amazing.

All this on our doorstep to enjoy and to be so close to a part of Maori history is kind of spiritual and being at one with nature. I will enjoy these walks in the days to come with my earphones on listening to my music and thinking how very fortunate we are to have such places to just........ be.

 I will leave you with this little quote from Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

'He who is satisfied with his lot is rich'

Have a great day

Things as They Might Have Been

How quickly can a beautiful day be turned into a day of pain and anguish.

The day started off with each of us having a chore or something to do in the garden or around the house.
So off we went to make a start. Having gone into the garden to pull some weeds, it was getting too hot to stay out and so I returned to the house to make some scones for morning tea.

My brother-in-law was up a ladder cleaning out some spouting when all of a sudden he came falling off the ladder in front of my eyes and crashed to the ground. Panic ripped through me with a sudden dash to get to him. We were all there to try and do something, however, after doing the necessary first aid checks he was eventually able to stand up, albeit shakily done.

When these accidents happen it is done so quickly and even though there were three of us with first aid knowledge, it is best to be left to one giving the orders so to speak.  It can be  more difficult to think quickly when it is one of your family, having said that, we were able to jump  into action and execute a safe and comfortable position for our patient.

Next morning he was off to the hospital to be checked out. Having spent the better part of the morning into the afternoon, he arrived home with a moon boot strapped to his leg and hobbled into the house to rest.
The outcome could well have been  more serious than cuts and a badly bruised ankle.


A few days have past and our patient is recovering well albeit still bruised and sore. Rest and relaxation now being the order of the day, and of course being treated like a King is not something one would give up easily, although the nurse (his wife) is reminding him of the TLC being administered, just in case the tables might one day be turned (heaven forbid).

Hopefully a full recovery will be made as the two are heading back to Scotland in a few weeks time having spent the better part of 5 months in New Zealand. This will be a memorable trip in more ways than one.

Who knows what is in store for us on any given day, Let us be thankful all's well that ends well, on this occasion.

Another little song from The Te of Piglet

Let's find a Way
Today
That can take us to tomorrow -
Follow that Way,
A Way like flowing water

Have an inspiring day

A Dog's Life

Charing Flashdance (Tweed)
A sketch by a friend who is an artist living in Scotland

The picture is that of Tweed who will feature somewhat in my blog today.

At this moment I am watching the little sparrows have a nice bath in the birdbath, it is very hot today and if you watch the birds closely you can see their mouths are open trying to cool down.They wait in turn to hop in and out of the water then proceed to hop on to a bush close by and shake all the water off, and so it goes on. The loud singing of the cicadas can be heard all over the garden, having been buried in the ground for 7 years who would not be singing their freedom song!

At this time last year my brother-in-law decided it would be a good idea to grow a few rockmelons.
The crop was very successful and they were a treat to eat. This year was no different out came the melon seeds and they were sown, manually germinated and watered every night without fail. Each day as we walked round the garden with the dogs we would watch these melons grow into little buds, then bigger buds, then small melons. There were about five in number at different stages of growth and we were all pleased with the progress.

Our apples are also becoming edible now, and for some time now our two insatiable Labradors have been sampling the fruit and have been enjoying the ones they considered edible to them. Of course the lower apples are all gone and now the dogs are actually eyeing the next apple higher up in the tree and jumping up to catch and eat them. The persimmons also have been sampled by these two rascals and they are not nearly ready, but hey guys, have a go they may be fine to eat........

This brings me now to Tweed and her antics at night.  The dogs have the run of the securely fenced garden and so can take nightly strolls at their leisure. We have a vege garden that we thought was dog proof, although we have had both dogs in and eating the broccoli, only because the gate was ajar and a target for hungry labradors. Anyhow, these prize melons were next on the hit list and last week on our tour of the garden we found the largest of the melons on the lawn, half eaten with half the plant attached. I could see where Tweed got in, I guessed it was her because she is the one that would rip the plastic coated fencing and her brute strength pushed the gate open. Bridie, her litter sister, would only follow as she is more of a softie and does not like to be scolded. I was quite sad about this night feed as my brother-in-law would not know about this until he and his wife returned from a few days away. So, I patched up the gate and of course could not chastise the dogs, not knowing exactly who the culprit was, too late after the deed was done.

Next morning on my rounds, there again were three little melons with the plants attached on the lawn but only the tops eaten!! and my perfectly patched gate in shreds. This was too much......the prize melons all gone, how was I to explain this one?

Luckily enough, Tweed and Bridie (my precious oldies) were off the hook and the funny side to the event was soon realised. It was decided that the gate was NOT dog proof from the start and perhaps a new stronger gate was the answer, I might add, the new gate has not yet been made and so before I plant the Autumn veges this has to be a priority. Who said it is not a dog's life........... it is at our house.

A Little song from The Te of Piglet

Let's leave
Behind
The things that do not matter,
And Turn
Our lives
To a more important chapter.


Have a wonderful day, and be kind to your canine friends.