taking advantage of the fine weather

Yesterday was such a fun family day...the Botanic Gardens for most of the day, followed by a quick rest, dinner at the local pub, and chocolate from the dairy. From start to finish Quincy was nothing but pleasant. Just a real good day.

It was the tail end of the Spring Festival at the Botanic Gardens and they were holding the national tree climbing competition. Never knew there was such a thing. There were several different events based on speed, strength, and agility.

Those climbers were seriously skilled and pretty cool to watch.

They had tree climbing for kids too. Initially Quincy observed carefully, but then at the end of the day as we were leaving the park, he surprised us by giving it a go.

Mt. Everest, here he comes.

Earlier in the week, Quincy and I went with some friends and saw the tulips. Glad we did, because they were a bit sad by yesterday. I don't think they appreciated the 160 mm of rain the other day.

Naturally, Quincy had to introduce Papa to the ducklings we discovered last time.

We paid a visit to the conservatory too, where the tapoles and lily pads were a big hit. Actually, I'm not really sure if they were tadpoles, but we'll just say they were.

Jeremy was keen to head to the top and have a look at the weather station and the planetarium, so up we climbed. And climbed.

The boy couldn't get enough of "the big gun," which incidentally is pointed pretty much straight at our house.

Then a picnic lunch, a long play on the very cool and very crowded playground, and a quick stop to feed the overfed ducks.

As we headed down, our animal lover took us on safari through Africa, Australia, and South America where we came across crocodiles, leopard tortoises, black mamba snakes, monitor lizards, wombats, platypuses, echidnas, tiger snakes, and emerald tree snakes.

What an adventure.

tulips + ducklings => the arrival of spring

We met some friends today at the Botanic Gardens for a "Senses Walk". Most of it was aimed at school-aged children, but our three-year-olds still enjoyed sniffing and touching their way around the gardens, getting a tiny taste of what it might be like to be blind.

In the rose garden we came across these little cuties, a sure and welcome sign of spring.

Quincy wanted so much to take one home.

Growing up our neighbours had Daisy Duck, who made my old paddling pool home before moving on to their in-ground pool. So, yes, it's possible. But sorry, Buddy, I think two middle-aged dogs and Harold, your pet spider,* are all the animals we can handle at the moment.

*For about two weeks Q developed a fear of insects, mainly bees, ants, and spiders. Then one day he decided he wasn't scared anymore. He lovingly named a spider he found outside Harold. Now Harold is a bit of a magic spider, as he is able to regularly change appearance. In fact, every spider found in and around our house, dead or alive, is somehow Harold. Amazing really.

weta

So here's that weta I mentioned yesterday...

We don't have snakes, but we have wetas.

today was a good day

Today a little boy played in a big pine forest.

Today we had some much-needed quality family time. Good, wholesome, simple fun. The best kind.

Today we went on a hike and brought along a picnic to have amidst the enormous pines.

Today I impressed my(out-of-shape)self by carrying my 14kg monkey in the backpack for three fourths of the way, until we stopped for lunch.

Today Quincy impressed himself by then walking the rest of the way, with many stops to gather stones, of course.

Today Jeremy was able to clear his head and destress just a little bit.

Today the dogs were in their element.

Today we hunted for pinecones and mushrooms, crossed several bridges, and always stopped to watch the bubbling stream.

Today we got a rare family photo that includes the pups, thanks to the self-timer and a few perfectly arranged tree stumps.

Today I took some of my all-time favorite photos. They made my heart smile. This being one of them...

Today was a good day.

unreal.

As I type, mud and rocks are rushing down our street. There is a massive slip at Norma's. Her garage is full of mud and the water is just gushing down. It's unreal. And the bulk of it is going down into our neighbor's house.

It's nearly midnight and there are about 15 neighbours out there working hard; helping the 6 firemen. Trying to shovel the muck into wheelbarrows and build a barrier to guide the slip down the road instead of into our neighbour's house. It's coming down faster than it can possibly be shoveled though.

The sound of shovels scraping against pavement fills the night air. The stream in our neighbourhood sounds like Huka Falls. Unreal.

Jeremy is out there getting dirty using our only shovel. I tried to help but wasn't much use so came back inside.

I wish it was appropriate to go out and take photos. It is such a sight. The teamwork is inspiring. Teenagers through to pensioners. Everyone in gum boots, except my husband who seems to be the only Kiwi without them. Many with their Dry-As-A-Bone's on.

Also there is another slip at Sunshine Bay, the bay just past ours, making the only road to Days Bay and Eastbourne impassible. I was driving home at about 1030 tonight (I never ever go out, mind you!) and there were police at the bottom of my street forcing people to turn around to find accomodation for the night. I was able to turn up my road at least. I had to turn around once I get close to my house though.

Stefanie, I finally had a reason to go up Richmond. To park. Away from the mud.

Note to self: Crocs are not good for trudging through mudslides.

A further indication that the weather is insane... It took the ferry over 9.5 hours to cross Cook Strait. This is normally a 3-hour journey! There were 9-meter swells. The airport has been closed all day. Not a good day to be in Wellington.

ETA: The weather has cleared this morning thankfully. The slips were most likely caused by the logging from several months back. This morning Jeremy said to me, "I thought I'd come in and you'd have clean pants and a hot drink waiting for me. Instead you were there with your camera." To my credit after I took a few pics, I quickly got him dry clothes and a hot drink!

boy was i wrong

I was under the impression that we had a pair of wood pigeons that for about 8 months of the year lived in our yard.

Not so.

I moved my office yesterday and I have a different view of the yard from my new space. I glanced out just a bit ago to find

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SIX
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The kereru may be one of New Zealand's protected native birds, but you'd never know it if you looked out my window.

They are frolicking about and chillin' just on the other side of the glass.

They are massive. They are colourful. They aren't your average, everyday pigeon. They hang in groups. They make me want to grab my camera everytime they get in a new configuration. The wind makes their metallic-looking feathers do all sorts of funny things. They make me smile. They are distracting me.