Politicians and pigeons

I fluctuate between being impressed and being irritated by my contact yesterday with several politicians.  I'd sent off similiar emails to our Minister for COVID-19 Response | Minister of Education | Minister for the Public Sector | Leader of the House | MP for Remutaka, my local member of parliament and our local opposition party list member of parliament.  The emails were sent around 4.30 after I'd had a chance conversation with a couple who were lunching at the same cafe where I was treating myself.  A very politically vocal couple.  Is there such a thing?  You know, strong views about politics and not shy in sharing them.  I shared many of their views, by the way, but was stunned by their lack of compassion for the huge number of Kiwis who are stranded overseas and unable to return to their home because of our MIQ (Managed isolation and quarantine) system which has recently turned into a lottery that gambles with people's lives (in my opinion, of course).

I wasn't expecting replies till this morning but before I left my email page on the computer, there was a reply from the Minister.  I appreciate he must be a busy man with all those portfolios.  He's one of our leader's few trusted MPs.  But surely there is a way he could at least pretend to have read my concerns rather than sending me an auto response with no fewer than 15 links where he suggested I may find an answer my query.  No go on any of them.  His bio says he has a team of advisers and (2) press secretaries who do a lot of the day-to-day interfacing - with those with whom it is deemed important enough to be interfaced, I presume.

Two hours later I received a response from my local MP.  A lot of its content followed our leader's Be Kind approach and explained in a caring manner the party policy.  I knew what the policy was, that was not what I was on about.  However, her words in a couple of paragraphs told me she really had read what I had to say and that she has a heart.

The opposition MP took a bit longer to reply but it arrived around 9.30 pm.  It was short and to the point.  No waffle, no kindness, but he addressed my issue.

So I'm impressed with the time two of the three took to respond but I'm still smarting about that auto response.  I don't know why I expected more.

Today, at around the same time of day, I'm delighting in the company of my two regular visitors to my neighbour's old plum tree.

 

I had a close call with one of these two last week.  I'd waited for the rain to stop to go outside to retrieve something from the garage. I was reminded that I'd taken longer than I'd planned by very heavy rain on the roof.  There is a gap of a few metres between the house and the garage and as I stepped out from the garage door a low flying pigeon whooshed over my head, close enough to disturb my hair.  It's mate followed close behind but adjusted its course to go over the roof of the garage rather than take the shortcut through the gap.  It seemed to me they were fleeing from the heavy rain.

Sometimes they sit side by side

This is the time of year that kereru are laying their eggs so I'm hoping to see some of their babies in a couple of months.  It's lovely to see them so at home in town, I miss the two pair that nested in the big tree above my house on the farm.  But it doesn't surprise me, as they don't frighten easily, allow close approach.  I haven't heard these two make any sounds other than the whoosh of their wings as they fly.  The only time I've ever heard a kereru make a little "oos" sound was when there was a kestrel flying above, I think their call was an alarm.  

Sometimes they sit one above the other

First, find the right spot

I did.  I found a spot where I had a good view of little Lexis opening her fifth birthday presents.  Being able to see her delight was more important than getting good photos.  

Yesterday was a glorious sunny spring day, warm in the sun.  The glare from the sun coming in through the windows bathed Lexis in lovely soft light.  Beautiful.  But not very good for photography.

My very worst photo of the day is the one I simply must share with you.  Lexis has been asking for some weights.  No-one has any idea why, must be from something she's seen on TV.  The only one to listen is her godmother, who always has the knack of giving her the perfect gift.  Forget the dolls, books, toys, even her new scooter, nothing gave her a thrill like those weights did.

Lots of concentration required to open some of those gifts.

Little fingers busy decorating their own treats.

I can't think of a more perfect way to pass a Sunday afternoon.

Perhaps the first safari

I'm often amused at how the memory works.  I know the first time I met Graham (GB, Eagleton Notes) it was a Friday.  I think it was 2009.  As I waited for him to arrive at Whangarei Airport I ran into the chief executive of the polytech where I worked and he asked where I was off to on a Friday.  I had great pleasure explaining I didn't work on Fridays and was then a bit embarrassed when I realised he was just being chatty and not censoring me in any way.  

Graham, was it that trip that we discovered the flat tyre on my car when we went to leave for the airport for your return?  That was a record breaking tyre change.

Was it that trip that my granddaughters offered to teach him to ride the quad bike?  Can't remember.

So many details lost.  But there are some highlights that will never be forgotten.

You know, when you hear of people who wouldn't be alive were it not for ... (fill in the blanks).

I think it was the following year that we had our lucky escape. When Graham drove north in Dora the Explorer, a Ford Explorer and we ventured to the very northern most point of New Zealand, Cape Reinga.  We'd travelled over some rather treacherous dirt roads, including the steep and winding road down to Tapotupoto Bay.   Had Dora flown apart on that stretch of our journey we would have been in serious trouble.  Instead something broke with very loud bank under the bonnet (can't remember the details) and we lost power on a long straight downhill section of road and could roll to a gentle stop and pull off the road beside a letter box.  Often you will find a house near a letterbox but not in this case.  Here an access road lead to houses at a distant beach.

Here's Graham's photo of our plight.

But, all was not lost.  Graham's vehicle insurance covered not only the rescue of the vehicle but of it's passengers, too.  (I changed my vehicle insurance as soon as I got home to include that service.)

The bad news was the tow truck we needed was busy elsewhere miles and miles away and it would be hours before it would get to us.  It was very hot sitting there beside the road.  After a while I decided to ring my niece who had a holiday home not far from where we were stranded on the off chance that her family was there that weekend.  Our luck was in, she was visiting some distant relatives who lived even closer to where we were than her own home and within minutes she arrived to whisk us away for a birthday family barbeque in that family's new home high on a hill overlooking Doubtless Bay.  We enjoyed a glorious, warm evening and a stunning view.

Finally we received the phone call telling us the tow truck was at the scene of the accident and the driver was not amused to find us not there also.  He was a bit grumpy but Graham's friendly chatter had him relaxing as he ferried us and Dora back to Kerikeri where we were staying (over an hour's drive away).  

I remember that part clearly but the following couple of days are a bit of a blur.  We were given a vehicle to use while repairs were being done to Dora.  How did we get it?  It must have been delivered to where we were staying in a nice Air Bnb on a kiwifruit orchard just out of town.  The next day we drove back to my niece's beach house to pick up Graham's sunglasses which he'd left at the house on the hill in our rush to return to the vehicle.  Somewhere along the line we had coffee at a bustling cafe in the middle of Kerikeri.  I've been there many times since and always remember that first visit.

The repairs couldn't be started until the damage to Dora could be assessed and I think there was some delay getting that done.  Graham had to put off his return home while repairs were being done and I returned to work.  He probably missed a game or two of croquet.  No wait, I think he visited a croquet club in town one day to fill in the time.  

Then he had to drive back up north to pick her up before heading back to Napier.  I think Graham did a bit more driving than he'd reckoned on during that trip.  Oh, hold on a minute, I think Graham was following his Sat Nav for directions to my place when he arrived and it took him on an unfathomable route, miles and miles longer than it should have been.  Yes, he sure did do a lot of driving!

I'm pretty sure this next photo was taken that trip but can't remember whether it was before or after Dora's misadventure.  I'd guess after, the next day.  After we went back to pick up the sunglasses we must have taken the long way back - surely not! - as that looks to me like the beaches around Te Ngaere Bay.  

So thankful to have so many memories that make me smile.

Spring time memories

Thank you, Monica, for suggesting making use of my memories when my imagination is out to lunch.

Do other Facebook users enjoy the "You have memories to look back on" function?  I only hooked into it recently and am loving it.  Seems this is usually a very busy time of year for me.  But perhaps re-living my trip to UK and Europe around this time of year 6 years ago has left me feeling a bit sad thinking about how the world has changed since then.  

Instead I decided to dwell on how thankful I am that I made that trip when I did and the pleasures that remain the same. I'm surrounded by the signs of spring, new life, so the beauty of the changing seasons came to mind

Then I remembered the dolphins. 

During the autumn and winter of 2009 I ran a backpackers at surfside Mangawhai.  Most of the time during winter it was very quiet, many nights there was just 21 year old Aiden, a permanent guest during the week, and me.  Looking after the backpackers wasn't a fulltime job, I had three other part-time jobs, so I was kept busy.  It was a really happy time of my life.  I enjoyed meeting the backpackers from all over the world, I was pretty much in my element having new people to chat with all the time.

But the very best thing that happened during that time was the dolphins that visited at the surf beach.   A guest who was there for the surfing came in one evening hardly able to talk he was so excited.  He'd been riding a wave and saw a dark shape in the water beside him, on the side closest to the rocks.  At first he thought it was a rock, then he fell off his board as the "rock" shot out the front of the wave, flipped in the air over the crest of the wave.  He got back on his board and sat there, stunned, looking around and sure enough the dolphin came back, along with 5 or 6 mates.  He said they were obviously showing off, showing him how to really ride a wave.

After that, I started to take my regular walks along the surf beach rather than along the estuary closer to home. I saw them a number of times playing in the waves, sometimes only one or two, sometimes quite a gathering of them. They were small, were they children?

One day when I had with me 5 Finnish backpackers we all rolled up our trousers and waded into the surf with them. It was September, around this time of year, the water was freezing but we got quite carried away with the excitement of being there in the water with the dolphins. The taller guys could spread their legs wide enough for these darling little creatures to swim through. Obviously they were enjoying the fun as much as we were.

It was a remarkable, unforgettable experience. Just to see the delight in the eyes of the tourists would have been enough but I know that delight was also reflected in mine.

That was the last time I saw the dolphins. I figured that as the water warmed up they moved on.

But I will never forget the excitement and sheer joy of that day.

Magical Mangawhai where the dolphins played 

Today I believe summer really is coming.  I'm not going to get too excited about it, because I know what a witch Lady Spring is.  She lures you into tossing aside you winter woolies then hit you with a wintery blast, she may not be ready to roll over and make way for summer just yet.

And then, there's the good news for the day.  We in the north, along with the rest of the country outside Auckland, will have our Covid restrictions lifted from mid-night tomorrow night. 

 

Ta da!

Imagination

Does anyone else think that imagination could have a lifespan?  Or is it just my brain has grown old and isn't as active as it used to be?

I remember when I was a kid and could turn any boring day into an exciting adventure.  I was creative and imaginative.  What I couldn't do in reality I could easily achieve in my head.  Mind you, I had a good go at achieving in reality most things I wanted to do, too.  I would fearlessly swing on a rope high in a tree and compete to see who could land the furthermost from the tree.  And in my imagination I would fly.  I'd play football and cricket in the back yard with my brothers and I'd be playing for Australia.  Being a girl didn't limit me.  Even when I grew a little older and was forbidden from playing football (to protect my lady bits as my father said) I was the best commentator, Pauline Lovejoy, better even than the legendary George Lovejoy.

Eventually, I put away my childish dreams and became a pragmatic realist but there was always a fairy tale or a story in my head waiting for a child to hear it.  I wrote poems for my children and grandchildren, little books of fantasy for each of my grand-children.

Now I want to do something special for my great-granddaughter and there's nothing there.  When I play with her I can't keep up with her "Let's pretend" games.  My imagination is slow and dull.

May your imagination and sense of adventure never fade.