Sunday, April 23, 2006

wailing dogs

(continued from yesterday)

On one of those three days I regretfully decided to bring the dogs on my photographic journey. I'd enjoy the company and they'd love the adventure. Wind in their faces. Lots of good farm smells. A few stops for them to explore along the way--once in a forest and once on the beach. A half a McDonalds cheeseburger each.

Win-win for one human and a pair of canines. Or so I thought.

Mistake.


What a misguided romantic notion that was.

Every time I stopped the car to grab a photo or twenty, which was quite often, they hung out the window and cried. Occasionally they even wailed. Six hours of this gets a little old.

please just take me home STOP taking photos
When I was getting gas, a friendly woman, who (for some strange reason) was quite taken with the whiners, actually let me ahead of her in line because Kai was having a crying fit. One of the attendants, who also thought they were way cuter than I did that day, even went over in an attempt to comfort her while I was paying. At least it gave everyone a good laugh.
crying kai
Now I'm not going to make excuses for their "dependa-dog" natures, but... They do normally spend those hours sound asleep. With little to no external stimulation. It's their nap time. But with all the stop-starts and new sights and smells, they were far too unsettled to sleep.
An overtired, overstimulated dog will give an overtired, overstimulated child a run for her money any day of the week in the tantrum department. I now have proof. :)

Saturday, April 22, 2006

on the road

the open road
Over the last 3 days I have spent more than 20 hours behind the wheel snapping 1000+ photos of the ordinary and the extraordinary. No music. Only the voices in my head. And the sights. The beauty. Curious signage. Bits & pieces you may miss at 100 km/hr. Just taking it all in.

I made friends with a lonely horse. I frightened more than one herd of sheep. I got the evil eye from a few mad bulls. I got barked at by a seriously unhappy guard dog. I watched a buck vigilantly protecting his doe and fawn. I saw a woman on horseback wading (belly-deep) in an estuary when the light was nice and low. (Unfortunately my camera battery decided to die on me there and then...at the worst possible moment.) I found a beach that is a road. I chatted with a young boy who has "met people from the USA and Europe and they all sound the same." And I watched two ducks perched on a hillside gazing at the setting sun.

on the road mosaic
It's all part of a little project I have up my sleeve.

Next blue sky and I'll be back out on the road again, putting myself in mildly perilous situations and learning more about my surroundings. Another day and I hope to have captured what I need...for now anyway. Fingers crossed.
ducks @ sunset
One more thing: Take a lesson from these ducks...Don't forget to stop and smell the roses.

Monday, April 17, 2006

unfair

Everyone in my family is celebrating Easter together. Without us. It's been 3 years since I've seen my brother and his kids and the last time we were all together was our wedding. And that's just too long. I'm lucky that I get to visit a lot, but my brother and I haven't had any success coordinating a visit. Soon I hope...

Thursday, April 13, 2006

a fabulous find

I will always remember today as the day I found the Pohutukawa Tree bathed in Monarch Butterflies.

Boy am I glad I chose today to bring my camera on our walk...
monarch butterflies 1

A monarch visual triangle...
monarch butterflies 3

And the monarch motherload...
monarch butterflies 2

Monday, April 10, 2006

Happy Birthday Mom!

I know you wanted to skip this one, but you deserve a fantastic day and fabulous year ahead!

Happy Birthday Mom!

What do I love about my mother?

  • she is so thoughtful
  • she spoiles me with care packages
  • she has a great sense of humor
  • she is talented
  • she is loyal
  • she can laugh at herself
  • she has a great sense of style and interior design
  • she appreciates nice things
  • she is smart
  • she can get any stain out and her bed linens are divine
  • she likes to have fun
  • she is honest
  • she is fun to talk to on the phone
  • she likes to travel
  • she loves to help
  • she is a great cook & always wants to make everyone's favorites
  • she is a good cheerleader
  • she has a comfortable shoulder to cry on
  • she is the perfect example of the perfect mother

I hope you have a great day, mom! I wish I could spend it with you like I did 2 years ago.

Saturday, April 08, 2006

uber-cool

my nieces & nephews...
miracle & wonder
The future is definitely bright.
I miss their smiling faces. And I hate not being a part of the everyday lives of these uber-cool kids.

Friday, April 07, 2006

da bomb

Berkley is so the bomb.

Totally amenable.
Completely loveable.
Absolutely endearing.
Unbelievably trusting.
Truly huggable.
So simple.
100% flexible.

2006_03_C&Berk_lapdog2 2006_03_18_C&Berk_lapdog1
That's my boy.
{After so many Kai posts, photos, and layouts of late, I felt like Berkley was getting a bit of a raw deal. Poor guy.}

Thursday, April 06, 2006

what's up with kai?

Another photo of little Kaiser McAlpha Hound has made Flickr's top 500 for
4 April 2006.

Interesting Photos


(tongue)

Yipee!

ETA: The photo made it to 4th most interesting of the day. I'm so excited. Why? 'Cause thousands and thousands of photos get uploaded there everyday. And so so many of them are incredible. Yah, it may be silly, but I'm still excited. :-)

it's 8:03am

and the helicopter has started its day. And I must say, checking tree size has seriously lost its appeal.

puppy with a purpose

Kai is a puppy with a purpose. She feels compelled to bring sticks home from our walks. Not just any sticks. She is very selective. I have no idea what her criteria is. What I do know is once she finds one, she holds on tight and she prances with complete pride. Tail erect. Her pace quickens and she gains total focus. No more scent distractions or toilet breaks. No matter the size, she lugs her find all the way home. Without fail. It's her job.

Yesterday she scored some pine (which could have easily fallen on my head mind you). It was as long as she is. Seriously.

big stick

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

mahina bay under seige

Mahina Bay Hairy Leg Brigade, rise up! It's unlikely that this peace-loving, veggie-growing group will stand a chance in this battle. But it's not about winning. It's about trying.
(Especially in this neck of the woods with this lot of hippie pensioners.)

No, not ants this time. Today Mahina Bay is the victim of a very rich logger, non-stop helicopter noise, and tree pilfering. Ginormous pines to be exact.

The attack began at 0800 hours and apart from a 15-minute meat pie lunch break at midday, there has been no reprieve. It's now 1500 hours. And it continues.
2006_04_05_Helicopter1
2006_04_05_Helicopter2 2006_04_05_Helicopter5

This massive helicopter makes a roundtrip about every 5 minutes. That's a lot of noise. And distraction. And trees. I have a perfect view from my computer desk and I just can't resist checking what size tree they manage to uproot on each fly over.

Oh the hoops people will jump through to make a buck!

My solution...I've got Over the Rhine's Ohio disc 2 cranked.
I will not be defeated.
ETA: It's now 1600 hours and the war is over. Either that or it's afternoon teatime.
ETA: Ten minutes have passed and my hopes have been dashed. It was definitely just a break for tea and biscuits. This is going to make for an interesting walk to meet Jeremy at the ferry. Maybe earplugs are in order. Why don't I have an ipod?
ETA: I should probably get out of my pyjamas.
ETA: Now this is interesting...So I was walking, lost in my thoughts, watching the helicopter do its thing, trying not to step out in the road as I kept my eyes on the sky. Then it hit me. Probably not a good idea to be standing directly beneath a helicopter dangling a billion ton tree by a thread. I looked around and what did I see? Lots of (big) pine branches strewn about the beach and road. That's not a good sign. Then I noticed there were no cars driving by. They were stopping car traffic but not foot traffic in the copter zone. And I was right smack in the middle of said zone. Needless to say, me and the dogs picked up the pace a bit. When I reached the traffic director I said to him, "I guess it's walk at your own risk through here today, eh?" His response..."Pretty much."

Monday, April 03, 2006

april already?

How can it already be April? Time just flies by, even though the days sometimes creep along at a snail's pace. April Fool's came and went without us realizing. Next year I'll get him good!

ETA: It's 8:42am and we just had a little earthquake. Lasted only a couple seconds, but definitely a shake. This is not uncommon--Wellington sits on a mess of fault lines. Even though we get noticeable ones several times a year, they will always freak me out just a bit.