Barefoot children and Tirau

Tirau School, home of the bare foot boy brigade! ;)!

On the road to Taupo we went through the small town of Tirau.  What caught my eye was a field of bare foot boys chasing around after each other.  They had on jackets, long pants and hats, as it was really 'fresh' (Nice way of saying cold as hell!) out with a blazing sun peeking out during the cloud breaks.  This barefoot thing is quite interesting.  I asked our hosts in Hamilton, both 5th generation Kiwis, about going shoe less.  Charlie said they just did.  They'd take off their shoes before going out onto the playground and put them back on when coming back into the school room.  This was 60 years ago.  I asked "Why would you not wear shoes on the playground?"  His reply was, "Well, I guess I could just run faster."  Some Brit. ex pat friends were 'whinging' about the fact that their boys were not allowed to wear shoes when running 10th grade cross country.  This was school policy.  The boys lived through the ordeal and NZ has a belief that barefoot is better for the whole body. 

Sheep dog cafe.

I had to take a picture of the swell cafe in Tirau.  I wasn't sure which member of the canine family was represented, but was told by Taupo friends this beast is a sheep dog.  I guess I should have made the association is the shepherd in evidence.  Do you think they serve 'hot dogs'?  Oh, so sorry!

Across from the 'Sheep Dog Cafe' was the ubiquitous NZ pub.  I love the look of roadhouse about these establishments.  I'm sure the advertised accommodation is probably very rudimentary with perhaps a shared WC, but then the price is probably right, as well.  I like the walk-ability of Kiwi small towns and the fact that they probably haven't changed much in years.

All good today,     J 

The Road to Taupo

Native Tree Cafe & Gardens

On my return to NZ from Washington State and Colorado, I enjoyed a wonderful reunion with my husband.  He did miss me!

One of the first things he wanted to do, in celebrating his successfully finishing his 'on the job training' and my return, was to take a road trip to Lake Taupo.  We had seen it in the 1980s, but wanted to see it again.

Local produce and culture (picture of Marilyn Monroe?)

We determined to take rural roads rather than highways and see parts of NZ we would not normally view enroute.  We left a rainy, cold Auckland and travelled south.  Unfortunately, we got stuck behind two heavily laden trucks. 

Beef and Mushroom Pie

I do not like to drive with my forward vision impaired.  But, as often occurs when driving with one's spouse the passenger sits quietly and mentally reminds him/herself that people do things in different ways and one way is not always the best!!!! Keep calm and carry your thoughts inward!

So doing the adult thing I feigned hunger to point of being famished and asked that we please stop at the next coffee shop.  Low and behold just before we pulled off the road into a cafe parking area the trucks took an alternate turn and we stopped at a quaint, horrendously expensive cafe (hamburger $14. with chips) and I ordered the beef and mushroom pie.  Nothing like beef stew in a pie crust to start the day with a delicious, aromatic, savory, flaky crust encapsulated 'diet guilt trip'!  But it cost only $6. and carried me well into dinner.  I did admit to my driver that the whole stop was a ruse to stop following large trucks, buses and caravans.  This did make for a less stressful auto trip as we progressed southward.

As the road trip continued the surrounds became greener, with quaint farms, cattle, sheep, etc...  It was winter, but the NZ sun blasted through the clouds warming the landscape and my heart as my eyes soaked in the beauty of country life.

Motel near bull ring

NZ is nothing if not a tourist's dream.  The roads are good and not clogged with conveyances.  The people are friendly and they seem to be always promoting the unexpected.  Maybe it is the mix of cultures which makes the country more interesting. 

I was amazed to see a sign promoting a 'bull ring'.  Come on! This is New Zealand not Cadiz! 

Good trip, happy remembrance! J

Gone for awhile, back with politics, local

New Zealanders Are Vandalizing Their Political Billboards And It’s Awesome

http://www.buzzfeed.com/bradesposito/nz-billboard

In September NZ voters will be electing new representatives and thus there is a sprouting of billboard advertising.  Some enterprising artists are changing the facial features and written messages on these billboards to make their political positions known, or rather their interpretations of the candidates evident.

My husband came home from work and asked if I'd seen the poster

of a political candidate who looked to be a bit of a zealot.  Then I noted a neat little mustache penciled onto another candidate's face as I stopped at a red light.

At the Ataro Market, which I will blog later, I noted that the Labor Party was well represented.

I like the fact that there are more than just the two parties here and that the electors do take an interest and that some local artists feel impelled to display their creatively in producing 'public art' with their message.  Do check out the URL above.  It is very interesting.

However, one person's vandalism can be interpreted as another's 'Street Art'.  Complaining years ago to a neighbor high school teacher about the the spray paint graffiti on the local security fence, he blithely said, "Oh that's just creative 'street art' as teenage expression."  When he blustered about the rearrangement of Xmas reindeer on his lawn to suggest carnal knowledge, we thought, yes more 'street art' creativity!

All good here as the rain, sun, hail, wind, and sun interchange at a moment's notice in heralding the arrival of Spring. J

Good to be home here in NZ.

Sydney Airport

Sydney Harbour on Departure

It's Sunday afternoon and I arrived on Thursday morning.  It was a very good flight with not too much turbulence.  I flew from Denver on Tuesday at 2:30 pm and arrived SFO, sat in the first class lounge for 6 hours until 10pm and then got a set of 3 seats together in economy plus so I could sleep.  This because the Business and First class sections were full.  Saved a few hundred dollars and still had a very good rest on the flight. Was 14 hours of comfort.

Must have been very tired as I tried to watch The Grand Budapest Hotel at least 6 times and fell fast asleep each time.  Finally, I watched it from the beginning in the last 3 hours of the 14 hour flight.  It was marvelous, so clever and filled with history, humor and heart-warming poignancy.  I moved quickly through Sydney airport after our 0630 arrival to catch the 0930 LAN flight to Auckland.  LAN Chile is now my favorite airline.  Gratis wine with a nice lunch and pleasant flight attendants.  Watched Inside Llewyn Davis, on that flight.  Another really good movie.  Was so excited when we started our descent into AKL.  The flight was pleasant the whole way and the sight of a very green pastured island on final approach always makes me happy.  My husband was in the arrivals area to shepherd me to the car and home to his hearty Filipino soup.

Final approach into AKL

Welcome Sun Rise!

House looks great, nice and warm with a raging storm yesterday morning, battering the windows and working up waves on the beach and that's part of what makes this a wonderful place to be.

Attaching picture of my first morning welcome across the water from our bedroom window.  All Good! J

Denver Storms, Demon Horse, Washington Park and White Pelicans

 Flying into Denver, Colorado is always a challenge in mid-summer.  Thunderstorms rule as the heat from the plains mixes with the cool moist air from the Rockies creating micro bursts, particularly at Pena International Airport.

Last night our son flew into Denver from Ohio to connect to a Seattle flight.  The dramatic storm started at 6 in the evening presenting Denver with a thunder and  lightening show better than any of the 4th of July fireworks.  As we watched and were wowed by the violent drama being played out over our heads, our son's plane was diverted to Colorado Springs, but they were denied access as too many planes were sitting on the tarmac there waiting for the storm to pass.  So they flew on to Grand Junction and found a safe harbor until the storm abated.Their connection was cancelled and they got back to Seattle the next day.

Flying into DEN is entertaining if only for the presence of the 'Demon Horse.'  The blue mascot with red glowing eyes which fell on it's creator and killed him.  The horse was finished by others and creeps me out every time I see it.



Washington Park is a nice area of Denver that is being gentrified.  The park itself is very pretty with two small lakes and too many Canada Geese to allow the locals access without geese scat adhering to their 'runners'.

During my last walk around the lake I was pleased to note the presence of white pelicans.  They are migrating through at this time of year heading north. Pelicans remind me of   remants from prehistoric times with beaks more than half as long as their bodies.

The Washington Park neighborhood is truly a walkers delight with good restaurants, interesting shops and architecturally interesting homes built in the ealry 1900s.

Good to visit,
Good to go home.
J

Fleur de Lis, pretty historic and a weed! Then the road less traveled.

The wild iris in bloom at Salmon Creek Trail

The fleur de lis is not a lily at all, but the Iris Pseudacorus, so a pseudo-lily?

This invasive water plant grows in shallow water or near swamps and blooms briefly on the Salmon Creek Trail I trek along with friends.  An attendant forest ranger, one morning, pointed the plant out as an invasive weed needing to be eradicated.  Then he said it was given the historical distinction of having saved a king in France in battle because it formed a mat for him to travel through positioning his army to best advantage. Thus it became the Fleur de Lis.  Okay I checked Wiki and: ‘Clovis [the Merovingian king of the Franks] adopted the symbol [fleur de lis] when water lilies showed him how to safely cross a river and thus succeed in battle’.

Driving home from the Long Beach Peninsula I followed old highway 4 taking my time to imagine what the trip was like for Lewis and Clark in the 1804-06.  This road twists along the north side of the Columbia River. It wends its way through bogs, amid forests, over streams and rivers that feed the Columbia and bottle necks in historic towns with graveyards commemorating folks who resided there before and during the Civil War. 

Rosburg Telephone

I stopped at a graveyard filled with Swedish settlers' bones, but was most taken by the telephone booth, sans telephone, left to herald the newfangled conveniences of the 50s and 60s.  Then there was the side trip to see an historic covered bridge.  The cover was placed over the bridge to keep the bovine travelers from slipping on wet, slimy wood when crossing the creek.  Might have been nice for the humans as well, you think?  These farmers were so practical, eh!

Still Creek

Also, of note are the logging trucks which are still harvesting for the pulp mills 'up the road'. There is definitely what locals call the "smell of money" when driving through Longview, WA.

Columbia River

Fertile banks of Columbia

All good here and planning my trip home to NZ soon.
Yes! J

Kelsey Family Farm is Good!

Had a lovely visit to ‘the farm’ on a sunny day here in Clark County, located in Southern Washington.

This is a working family farm. The Kelseys are striving to keep their produce as natural as possible. 

Nests for variety of hens laying

Happy Hens make happy eggs

Farmer collecting eggs

The farm produces eggs, which 'sell off the shelf within hours of their placement' at the local market.  The cartons are filled with eggs from free range chickens which are fed non-soy, non-GMO, natural grains imported for purity.  Besides the high quality of the eggs, the cartons come with a sequential story which progresses each week. 

Sheep are raised for wool and meat.  The wool is spun in its natural colors and can be purchased. The meat is, in my opinion, of good NZ quality.

Pigs and turkeys are raised for food and like all of the animals are nourished by organic feed.

Dandelion Wine with Sultana raisins

The farm has bee hives, fruit trees and vegetable gardens.

It is a great endeavor made easier each year with determination, ingenuity, imagination, creativity and loving care by the Kelsey family members.  Maybe the dandelion wine helps as well!

They can be reached at: 

www.kelseyfamilyfarm.com/

All good here, but I miss my NZ home.  Back in a week.  Can’t wait!  J