growth

 

AQ Brown challenge: Growth

creating a garden

 This is the first time I have ever created a garden from scratch. Exciting and terrifying.  There have been moments of absolute surety and absolute indecision. And now a year in, I can't believe how much it has grown. There are lots of positives but also many plants that 'aren't quite in the right spot.' So now it's time to move things around, pull a few out that have gone out of favour plus add a few more, specificaly trees for shade. 

Locals warned me that "it's not called the Bay of Plenty for nothing" (i.e.everything grows bigger and faster than the label says) and they sure were right! So parts of my garden are overplanted and need thinning.

Oh well, I suppose that is what gardening is all about - ongoing change and growth. It's never a static endeavour. Here are some photos from the beginning to now:

my much neglected blog

 Wow, it is almost a year since I posted on here. Realistically, probably one of the most 'different' years of my life. Not necessarily in a bad way but in the adjustment to a completely new retired lifestyle in a new and totally different location. 

Anyhoo - I'll resurrect this blog and see if it still works for me. 

I'll begin with a few snaps from the year neglected:

king tide, blood moon

We have had a combination of large swells from a storm offshore with king tides and the blood moon. The beach has been thrashed by the sea. A reminder of the power of the ocean and the forces of nature. 

Full moon rising through cloud 26th May

The total eclipse. This is not my photo - a media shot. But we had a great view from the deck! I will get the tripod for the next eclipse in November. 

Sea at the top of the stairway! 

Battered beach. 

That's the trees roots sticking out - that's how much the dunes were eroded. 

My beach stairway almost washed away. 

 

home

 The house did get finished, I did move in, I'm still unpacking and it is feeling like home. 

Yes, the grass has been photoshopped in these photos (they were taken by the building company) but real grass is growing as I write!

hello 2021

 It is the second day of the new year. Hello 2021 - and remember - #bekind. 

Last moon of 2020, here comes the sun...

the election experience

 Yesterday the final results from the NZ Election were announced. Yes, there were postal votes, etc to count - it's what happens in a democracy when everyone's vote is respected. Some years our elections have been so close even to the point that the party with the most votes did not become the government! We have MMP in NZ - there are other forms of democracy other than the 250 years old unfit for purpose version the world now watches in horror unfolding in America. NZ citiznes accepted the final results and responded appropriately - even those who lost thier seats at the last hurdle. 

I recorded my thoughts about what we are witnessing in America but felt uncomfortable publishing them. So I have here a link to an article - one of many opinion pieces now being published - by an American explaining the shame and the relief. I think it says mostly all? - but maybe not the underlying issue of American christianity and it’s impact on culture and politics. Maybe I’ll find something incisive to share on that topic one day also. 

Now the world can let out a collective sigh of relief and move forward. 

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/nov/07/catastrophe-has-been-averted-let-us-all-breathe-a-big-long-sigh-of-relief?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other