Awarded

Well, fame!  Jay over in Depp country has come out and publicly said she loves me!  And now I get the nice job of spreading this around to seven more people.  I was going to post about manuka honey today, but this is far more important.

Here are seven of the blogs I visit and that I love.

Yorkshire Pudding.  For acerbic (sometimes), silly (often) and (usually) clever, interesting or cute posts that I love to read.  

Tillerman.  For his innocent passion for sailing, and his kind and thoughtful attitudes to everything else.

The Trouser Press.  For the fun name, and for those relaxing, everyday, well-written ramblings.

Monkeys on the Roof.  For transporting me away to Africa where it's dry, full of animals, drought and thorn-bushes, and yet also everyday things like painting the house and sitting on the stoep,  or getting an uncomfortable massage experience.  

I for an I.  For an insight into Judaism, and the everyday application of a universal spiritual journey that gently calls me.

Crofty.  Despite often long waits between posts, always worth waiting for.

Daily Painters Guild.  For a roll-call of painters who (usually) paint every day.  

Vendr.  For a gentle, honest person with courage and wit.  And brilliant photography.

Whoops, eight, never mind.  Better stop there.  There are many more I love!

God rays

Late afternoon at the park.  I usually walk early in the morning and miss the sun in this orientation.  Everything looked different.

 

There was a gold light everywhere and a 'settling-down-for-the-night feel about the place.

Grey warbler and shining cuckoo

I've been hearing the grey warbler, riroriro, as I weed and plant in the garden.  And today I heard the shining cuckoo, pipiwharauroa,  so at least one is back from overwintering in the Solomon Islands.  

The warbler has a particularly tiny hanging nest with a very small opening and it's a bit of a mystery how cuckoos get in to lay.   Now the secret is out.  A cuckoo (about the size of a sparrow) has been seen carrying its own egg in its beak and popping it in!

  

After the chick has hatched, it ejects all the warbler chicks (usually the warbler's second brood, fortunately) and the minute warbler parents work like crazy bringing up the large impostor.

Hmmm, I had hoped to paste a MP3 recoding here, but have had problems.  So if you'd care to take a little detour now, the Karori Wildlife Sanctuary website has a lovely selection of recordings of New Zealand native birds including the shining cuckoo.  Once you have heard the distinctive call, you never forget it.

There is an old Maori story: 

In spring, the song of riroriro the grey warbler  meant it was time to plant the crops. Some people were lazy. They didn’t work hard in their gardens and in the winter they would grumble because they were hungry. The people who had grown plenty of food would laugh and say, "I hea koe I te tangihanga o te riroriro?" which means, "Where were you when the riroriro sang?"

Super 2

This is the second juicer in two weeks that I have broken with my bare hands.  The other one, identical brand, I snapped off at the base of the upright, and tore through the cast metal of the base.  I forgot to take a photo of it, but you'll just have to take my word for it, that it was much more dramatic.

Either I am Superwoman, or this brand is cheaply made.  

I've had to resort to using the good old squeeze type (made in Mexico) that I bought at the Fielddays.

Contrast

I have a horrible headache, probably caused by eating too many of those chocolate-and-orange jelly biscuits during my brain-storming session with friend today.  At least we mapped out where we're going with the art presentation.  Being a very visual person, I will share these two contrasting images.

This is how I feel:

And this is some of what we're going to give a talk about:

Rain on the way

We've been having a few days of delicious, warm, light rain.  Very welcome as the garden was just starting to look a little bit dry.  As it approached, the sky went that wonderful weird green colour when the sun still shines but the dark rain band is gathering over the hills.  I love it.   A nice colour contrast between the bruised grey and the rhododendron flowers caught in the sun.

Click to enlarge images.

Christmas fun on Mars