Sunshine
•September 15, 2019 • Leave a Comment
…just for a brief walk in the blossom watching the cheeky Tui’s duck and dive, such a delight.
Wet wet wet
•September 9, 2019 • Leave a CommentI love spring and I don’t mind the rain but sometimes too much is just too much. Time to dry out enough to plant the spuds and let Tuis play in the blossom and let me emerge from my cocoon.
Looking for the little spaces in the weather to escape out into the glorious colour that’s starting to show itself everywhere.
Dodged a bullet
•August 24, 2019 • Leave a CommentBarney is a WWII vet and was on the HMNZS Gambia in Tokyo harbour at the end of the war, they were alongside General McArthurs ship for the signing of the Peace treaty. At the time of the ceasefire the Gambia was attacked by a kamakazi and the ships company had scrambled, Barney was a gunner, they knew they had little chance against it when an American Corsair flew over and shot it down right in front of them. They were thought to be one of the last engagements of the war. Totally dodged a bullet. The men tracked down the pilot of that Corsair years later to bring him to NZ and thank him. Well he has totally dodged a bullet again, with no option to operate and half his colon hanging out they were preparing for the end, the surgeon was not optimistic but decided to give manually pushing it back in one last try. Like wrestling a reluctant jellyfish, then a miracle, it stayed in. Barney is back home now watching his favourite races and having a beer. Yes we know the time is not long but Barney is determined to relax and enjoy it to the end on his own terms and it sure looks like he will.
Barney
•August 22, 2019 • 1 Comment
Rain or shine Barney is out there at 97 cleaning up the rubbish on Old Taupo Road, he’s been doing it for years, it’s his way to give back and people toot and wave and stop and chat. One day he was cleaning up after a car crash and someone stopped and helped him put a car panel on his walker to get it off the road. He wobbled home with it and most of the rest of the car over the next few days, even going out with a broom to sweep up the glass. He hasn’t let his hip replacement or his colostomy slow him down and even now as he sits in his hospital bed and they are trying to prepare us for the inevitable he is telling the doctor to go home and get some sleep, he can wait. In the face of reality we have decided to both be stubbornly optimistic and unrealistic and expect the best. It’s so hard to have a loved one in hospital and face some of the things that brings up that you don’t want to think about. Nothing is simple and there are so many ways to view the same situation. I am trying to allow things to be what they are and not try to change them, just view them with unconditional love. We all have our own journey and as hard as it is to step back and allow others to have their own journey without wanting to change it or for it to be something different from what it is, I am slowly getting there. Not saying there are not lots of tears involved, this is after all a journey, one that takes a lifetime.
Cold But worth it
•August 13, 2019 • Leave a Comment
I never like my photo taken but sometimes it happens, freezing cold and bundled up to photograph the dawn, the photos and the hot coffee make it all worthwhile. Then I get to play with the photos afterwards and that just adds a whole extra layer of fun. Now if I could just figure out what to do with the thousands of photos I have taken, its so hard to just delete them, even ones that are not so great as I know I might be able to do something with them when I come back to them later. I think I must be an addict, thank goodness for technology or I would have taken over the house with a dark room and cupboards full of supplies and photos hanging on strings. I miss it though, I started at high school and I think developing the film had an alchemy aspect that I now get from playing with filters. Back then you never quite knew what would emerge from the chemical bath and you could crop and play to pull out all sorts of layers to make something creative out of an ordinary shot. It would be fun to go back to some black and white film and see what I could do with it now. Digital will never quite get the clarity of true black and white film. Oh for a macro lens and unlimited playtime 😀
Just dreaming
•August 12, 2019 • Leave a Comment
How great would it be to just take off in that little plane and rendezvous with a delightful adventure …. just dreaming …
Life’s journey
•August 5, 2019 • Leave a Comment
Spending this time with Barney on the last stage of his journey is an honour and at the same time it is a time of reflection and a reality that has me looking at my life and what’s next for me too. It’s so easy to live day to day with the hope that things will work out, somehow, maybe … and then the realisation that maybe it won’t, maybe this is as good as it gets. Scary, I often wonder how I got here and try and find some meaning and purpose in my journey.
Calm and peaceful
•August 1, 2019 • Leave a Comment
The lake is so calm and peaceful offering a chance to catch my breath after the last few days. The last part of life’s journey is hard and sometimes heart breaking and very much a roller coaster. We still have a long way to go and the lake is such a wonderful place to change focus and readjust.
The Traveling Kiwi 