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| View over Silverstream from our front deck |
The sunlight is streaming in our windows (Reminder to self. Tell my Beloved to get off her lazy ass during the day and clean the glass) and the flowers are in bloom.
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| The back deck. |
The cherry blossom was a sight to behold until the Equinox Gales scattered them over the surrounding acres.
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| The back deck from the other angle |
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| Please note the lemons growing happily in the pots. Just about every NZ house has a lemon tree. |
I'm just about to instruct my Beloved in the use of her new birthday presents.
A Fujipix s2000HD camera and an 8Gb iPod nano.
Pray for me.
That's a very nice little Leica (not a Fujipix). I also leica da person holding it. And I'm pleased to see she's using the viewfinder, although I don't recommend wearing sunglasses while taking photos.
ReplyDeleteLucky for her she doesn't have the option of holding the camera out at arm's length in front of her face, trying to make out some dim image, looking like a dork(ette). Ansel Adams would hate modern cameras.
A photo of a photographer taking a photo of the photographer taking a photo of.... Infinite regression (or is it recursion? - whatever, it's always fun). I remember the Wheaties packets of my childhood, with Willie Wheatie holding a packet of Wheaties, which had a picture of Willie holding....
Ah, the notorious ex-Clive returns from the outer reaches of Ruapehu.
DeleteAny frostbite?
I hear you're off with Kath and the kids skiing next week?
Have fun.
Recursion is fun. Have you ever tried moving mirrors to get an infinite recursion. I used to do it with my Mum's dressing table mirrors. Got me used to thinking about the Universe as being completely f*cked up.
Afternoon TSB and ex-Clive.
ReplyDeleteMorn...Afternoon Richard. Feel like a little dance?
DeleteThat's not funny.
DeleteNo it's not...sorry.
Deleteps I'll make sure it's PE next time.
Very cool presents.
ReplyDeleteI think so as well. Funnily enough, so does my Beloved.
DeleteRECORD!
TSB get it right (for once)
Lovely deck and yes, you did do good, congratulations!
ReplyDeleteThank you my lovely American friend. Even my Beloved agrees that the presents are appropriate.
DeleteWhere are the sheep?
ReplyDeleteI keep the sheep for my own personal uses.
DeleteAll thosee stairs! I prefer flat sections especially with my knees - a bit knackered after too many falls (especially a bad one I had at NLHS on the deck around hte prefabs when I slipped one day on the wet surface and then after that they finally decided to put covering on the surface!). Was off work for a few days after that as my knee and leg sweled up massively and then the balck and blue bruise .. it was huge. Dear Ringo though i should have come in though even though I could'nt drive because of the injuries and was doped up on painkillers and anti-infammatories, preferring to stay horizontal and had my medical certifcate.
ReplyDeleteOh, come on, your knees are quite cute.
DeleteBTW the prefabs are being demolished, but the MOE are only replacing 3 of the 6.
You cannot argue with a medical certificate.
How would you know what my knees looked like? I never wore short skirts to school, except when I was a high school student myself but that was sooo long ago now.
DeleteNot surprised the prefabs are being demolished. Didn't most of them leak and have mushrooms growing in the carpets?
I guessed.
DeleteYes, you're correct, there's mould spores impregnating the prefabs.
Apparently spring is when you have to keep a keener eye on the kids, according to my teacher friends.
ReplyDeleteYes, they are quite correct. Also when there's a high wind and/or a full moon.
DeleteI kid you not. I always used to think that these things had no effect, until I began to teach, and found out they are true.
Yes and the hormones start kicking in - just as with other animals. Mating season begins. Every year I observe more PDA occurring at this time of the year (Public Displays of Affection) - Boys and girls walking around holding hands (cute) and kissing (not so cute). Suddenly Year 9 Girls start flirting withthe Year 9 Boys in class (Who are highly embarrassed by this). Fights in the school yard become common as the males become territorial and regress to neanderthal behaviours, and pregnancy rates increase.
DeleteMother Nature!
We're trying to impliment the "See daylight" rule.
DeleteWhat's wrong with Neanderthals?
Have you looked at the Springboks?
Why would I look at the Spingboks? Are they pregnant? No I only have eyes for Ritchie and the All Blacks.
DeleteWhat's the "See Daylight" Rule? Is it like
"Twighlight" the movie - has something to do with Vampires?
Springboks=Neanderthals.
DeleteThe lovely couples can stand close to each other, but we must be able to see daylight between them.
I'm never sure which I like best, Spring or Autumn. Leaves are starting to fall here, and it gets darker earlier every day. I love that. But what matches the colors of Spring, with riots of flowers and tree blossoms? Seeing both at once doesn't help. It's almost too much to fathom.
ReplyDeleteNice landscaping, TSB!
I love the tree blossoms in Spring, but also the browns and golds of Autumn.
DeleteI cannot make up my mind, so I'll just love them both.
I love the "life" spring brings back to the environment with trees and flowers in bud and bloom. However it is a sad time for me as I remember close famly who have passed at this time of hteyear including my mum (14 years ago) and my Uncle (1 year ago now). Life goes on but I do miss them and how they enriched my life.
DeleteI hate the Bloody Hayfever Spring gives me! This year is the worst I have had it for so long, which means the pollen counts have increased this spring. Have now found some relief with antihistamines. Thank God for drugs. I would be a mess without them.
Sorry for the bad memories, but as you say, life goes on.
DeleteTry gargling with whisky, but make sure you swallow afterwards.
Beautiful 1st pic of the cherry tree--& your beloved is gorgeous!!
ReplyDeleteThank you, but that is NOT my Beloved.
DeleteI think it's a pic of Posh Spice, but I'm not sure.
I used it to illustrate a lady of little technical skill, trying to use a camera with the lens cap still on.
This is an untypical post.Lovely views but be careful you're site traffic must surely suffer without the racy photos.I'd be VERY happy with those gifts BTW.
ReplyDeleteI know, but I'm a reformed character. I'm now putting the quality of content over hit numbers. For at least one post.
DeleteMy Beloved is very happy with her gifts as well. I was amazed at the speed she took to the iPod nano, but we've still to approach the camera.
Your wife will have to learn how to use the camera quickly before she heads off to Scotland. She will go nuts taking 100 pictures a day o fthe new grand baby I imagine.
DeleteFear not TSB you wil not miss out on too many of the wee one's first milestones - 1st poo, 1st burp, 1st spew, 1st scream, 1st smile, along with hte fashion parade of new baby outfits he/she will be wearing!
Can't wait for your future tales as grandparents. Are you getting excited yet??
I bought her an 8Gb SD card, so there should be room for quite a few snaps and even HD video.
DeleteI don't need to see the poo and vomit again thank you.
I still have nightmares about my own kid's nappies.
No, I don't do excited. I try for a cool and moderate interest.
You have a lovely garden.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jen. I must admit that it is all my Beloved's planning. I just provided the muscles, sweat and occasional drop of blood.
DeleteIt is lovely with all the blossoms now out for Spring, and it's got a delightful fragrance.
I kept waiting for this to take a dark turn but it never did. You're losing your touch! Just now, a fall wind is whipping through the cross streets of Manhattan. Same planet, different worlds.
ReplyDelete@ ex-Clive: LOL!
I don't always look on the darker and gloomy side of life, but quite often that's how the damned thing looks at me.
DeleteA little niceness now and again doesn't really hurt.
That's a nice turn of phrase "a fall wind is whipping through the cross streets of Manhattan." quite evocative.
ex-Clive is a long term colleague who retired last year and now spends his time gallivanting around the ski slopes. He's a lovely bloke, with a dry wit and a superb command of English (and he speaks Frog as well)
oh my a lemon tree.... how delightful!!
ReplyDeleteThat's what we thought. Every kiwi house we've visited has had at least one lemon tree. Great for the Gin and Tonics in the rapidly approaching summer.
DeleteThee Lemon Tree is a very old kiwi tradition.
Deleteremember my Dad telling me about it when I wa a wee lass. We had one and then the house I bought had two (lucky us). WHne you finished building your new home or moved to a new home (that did not have one) folk would give you a Lemon Tree as a gift. Needless to say we always have more lemons than I need, and I am not a Gin fan. So many get given away to the schools for cooking clases and the old folks homes.
As someone who manages to put the kiss of death on weeds, that's some garden.
ReplyDeleteIt's been pouring down here for two days now (plus six days of last week). This is what we call "late summer".
It's not me, honest. I'm just a simple grass-puller and dandelion-uprooter.
DeleteWe (she actually) cheated. 2 years ago, my Beloved arranged for a "hit team" of lady gardeners to come in and do a remake of the whole place. It wasn't too bad, but they insisted on using organic fertilizers.
Do you have any idea how bad 1000kg of rotting sheep manure smells on a hot windless day?
Ah, I remember the delights of British weather, as you demonstrated with a couple of thise pictures of you crossing Morecambe Bay. At first I thought you'd forgotten to focus the camera, but then I realized the picture had been taken n a typical British downpour.
Never mind. It will soon be Winter.