Winds aloft and within

My neighbor, a lovely woman whose heart bleeds for small animals women who are home alone while their husbands work.  She has obviously made me her project and walks me whenever possible. Actually she is a wonderful source of local lure and I love the exercise.  On our last walk she informed me that 3 days of clear weather with winds from the north means rain on the next day.  

Right, I think, there will be rain tomorrow, we’ll see, just another urban myth.   

What the waves brought in for a brief visit

Oh yes, there was rain, sustained winds of 30 miles per hour and gusts to shake the window panes.  Water hurled at the glass on a horizontal path and us poor mortals wondering again about the tensile strength of un-tempered 4’x5’ windows.  We didn’t tape the windows this time, and just kept in mind that they had probably withstood worse in the years they’ve been here.  The house was built in 1905 and the windows were replaced somewhere along the way.  They are framed out in very cool copper tones, reminiscent of the best the 60s could offer.  So…. that is only 50 some years of wear and tear.  That said the storm passed and went south to devastate parts of the South Island with ‘slippage’ (landslides) closing roads, electrical outages and flooding.  We fared quite well in comparison.  When the tide receded we saw an incredible new ornament on the beach.  The pictured log was at least 60 feet long and massive in diameter.  It rested on the beach until the next tide and disappeared into the depths again.  The strength of water is so incredible when we watch this Tamaki Straight from our windows.   

Roiling waters below our deck

When there was a reported 8.1 earthquake in the Solomon Islands our radio programs were interrupted to make us aware of the tsunami potential along our coast.  But hopefully our beaches on the Tamaki Strait waters are somewhat sheltered by the Coromandel Peninsula and Waiheke Island.

Ah yes, my neighbor who walks me regularly, introducing me to Howick Village from many directions, is a fount of information shared  in  local NZ colloquialisms. As we trekked across the community she asked if I would like to see the wonderful probiotic she and all of her friends take daily.  “It is sold at the local pharmacy for $1.25 per capsule and sets our digestion right”.  She asked if I had a ‘windy stomach’.  I was amused to respond, “What a delicate way to describe gas.”  She laughed and said, “Yes, that’s what it is.”  Well, she says, all of her friends (she’s 62 years old) take it and swear by it.  Inner Health puts the good flora back in their digestive track and after 5 days they experience no more GIRD. 

So we are on the Inner Health supplement and will let you know if there is a cessation of windy stomach and reduced outer byproduct, so important for social situations!

All is good. J