Central Plateau, North Island

Central Plateau, North Island
View from a friend's farm

Friday 28 February 2014

Photos on Your Blog

 

This link was on the forum “ Ugly Hedgehog” and is good value and excellent advice for us all. I will be extra careful from now on  . When I do use a photo from the internet, that has free availability,  I acknowledge it, and put the original person’s name, if it has been posted originally,  but this might not be enough.

And in light of KB’s experience, maybe we all need to be aware of photo theft.

 

http://www.blogher.com/bloggers-beware-you-can-get-sued-using-photos-your-blog-my-story?page=0,0&from=comments

 

Our English Elm Tree in season’s changes.

 

English  Elm Tree, late summer

English Elm tree in early sunlight

English Elm Tree

Quotation of the day. from Henry  Ward Beecher

 

The sun does not shine for a few trees and flowers, but for the wide world's joy.

Greetings from Jean

Wednesday 26 February 2014

Delicate Flowers

 

I have posted this Clematis bloom earlier, but gave it a little processing.

Ribs and shoulder are still giving some pain and discomfort,  but the good news is the email problem is all fixed. Thanks to a site on Google, I did it myself, using the detailed instructions. 3 easy steps, then  today I received a feedback email to be sent to Microsoft, so I told them, gently, ( Hugh would not call it gentle at all) and very tactfully, ( not that either)  that their man did not fix it, suggested I pay $100, and as it was so easy in the end, why didn’t he know this.Oh dear, maybe a little blunt, but  I was truthful. If it was my laptop at fault, I would pay our local man who is a whizz at all this.

So here is “ Nelly Moser” a late flowering lanuginosa species.

Clematis Nelly Moser

Quotation of the day , from Derek Landy

 

“Every solution to every problem is simple.

It's the distance between the two where the mystery lies.”

Cheers from Jean

Monday 24 February 2014

Email problems with my unread mail


email box
For some peculiar ,unknown, and frightening  reason, my emails go from the unread box, to vanishing. The  Microsoft  man seemed to think it is  a peculiar problem, and after trying some of his magic tricks, suggested that I might like to pay $100, and if that didn’t work, $150, to fix this. I replied that this is Outlook 2010, and should be good for years!!!  Sorry, he said, it is out of warranty. What happened to that good old-fashioned “ I’ll fix it for you”?  I declined his costly suggestion. That is the frugal Scottish background coming through loud and clear!!So if you do not get a reply to  your  mail, or a comment is not published, do not fear, I hope to solve this tomorrow. I will post an OK, when all is fixed.
Quotation of the day, author unknown
“ I was told  there would be mail today, but after walking 500 yards  to the letter box, through the snow, in boots, parka, hat and gloves, three times, it had not arrived.
Maybe the mailman was snowed under”
Greetings from Jean

Sunday 23 February 2014

This one stood still for me

 

At the beach the other day, lots of seagulls flew around, squawked loudly, foraged for food, and flew off again, Occasionally one stood still long enough for a portrait shot. Some post processing, to add at least some more seagulls to the day.   

One seagull

 

One seagull PP#2

 

One seagull PP#3

One seagull with PP

 

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Quotation of  the day from  John Masefield,

“I must go down to the seas again,

for the call of the running tide

Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;

 

Greetings from Jean

Friday 21 February 2014

Sea Breezes, Lapping Waves, and Fog

 

Yesterday Hugh suggested we have a few hours at a nearby beach, Waitarere, not too far to drive, had very comfortable chairs to sit on, and that water to look at, paddle in, so refreshing. Some swimmers, a lady with her little toddler on a surfboard, no photo of this, as by then the fog and mist rolled in right past the shoreline. This was our day.  Just click on the photo for a title.

A few sticks in the sand

 

A little  house with no walls

The fog kept rolling in

 

Same place, with fog

 

West Coast sand, leading to the  South-West Pacific Ocean

When we left, the fog rolled in, way past the shoreline, to  float over the land, Wellington Airport was closed once again, and we arrived home to 33 Celsius, no breeze, and ate cold watermelon on the back steps!!!

Quotation of the day, Anonymous,

“Our memories of the ocean will linger on, long after

our footprints in the sand are washed away by the incoming tide”

Greetings from Jean

Sunday 16 February 2014

Nature, wildlife, and families, in Wild Sweden

 

 

http://www.youtube.com/embed/SB8WlqfJJRE?feature=player_detailpage   

 

This link was sent to me, it is truly beautiful, heartwarming, and I thought I might share it with you today.

                         Quotation of the day,from David Ogden Stiers

Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.

Greetings from Jean

Friday 14 February 2014

Laughter is not the “Best Medicine” right now

 

Bones in my body #2

My doctor said” Do not cough, sneeze, or laugh, it will be excruciatingly painful” He is right. Photo courtesy of the Internet.

I had a fall at home last week,I leant over to close the curtain,  somehow caught my foot under a chair, fell over the chair and onto the floor. The bruise is spectacular, colours fading from black, to purple, to green and yellow. But the cracked ribs are so much worse, nothing to see on the outside, but inside not a laughing matter.

So the next 6 weeks will be a matter of taking pain relief, keeping mobile as best as I can, and never listening to a great joke!!!

Quotation  of the day, author unknown

“ Your X-Ray showed cracked ribs, but we fixed them with  Photoshop  and Picasa”

Greetings from Jean

Sunday 9 February 2014

Waipakihi Road Camping Trip

 

Last week Hugh had  a few days in the outback, and here are  some  of his photos. The Wonky Wagon was a transporter for the Quad bike, then doubled as a bedroom, cooking done under that wonderful tent canopy I so bravely manufactured last year!!! No fish, no deer, but days full of fun and adventure.

A Fishing Pool, accessible by walking a long way, or taking the quad bike on a narrow metal track for  several kilometres.

Pool on the Waipakihi River

Waipakihi River, not far from where I took my photos the other week.

Waipakahi River pool #2

Mt Ruapehu, Central Plateau, North Island, the Eastern view.

Mt Ruapehu from the East #1

Up above a fishing pool.

Waipakahi River near a fishing pool

One of many tracks in the bush.

track in the bush  #4

The Wonky Wagon ,  transport,  kitchen and bedroom compartment,   what more could a man want when in the great outdoors???

Waipakahi Road , Hugh's camping spot

Quotation of the day, from Aristotle, 384 BC - 324 BC

“ In all things of nature there is something of the marvellous”

Greetings from Jean

Thursday 6 February 2014

February colours in the Garden

 

The mornings are a little cooler, days still hot,  the sun is  rising later  every morning. Subtle signals in the garden that autumn is on its way.

Leaves turning to russet gold, the yellow day lily flaunts its last blooms, and the Gossamer Grass leaves have their red/pink seed heads that show at the very end of summer.This is a beautiful plant also known as New Zealand Wind Grass, as it waves so delicately in the slightest breeze.

autumn leaves  in February 2014

Last bloom of the day lily for 2014

gossamer grass

 

Gossamer grass fronds #1

The water lily blooms have gone, and coloured leaves tell me it has signalled a change in the season.

Water Lily leaves #1

Quotation of the day  from John Steinbeck

“What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness.”

 

Greetings from Jean

Wednesday 5 February 2014

A Little Bit Of Whimsical Nothing

 

Pink Elephant

The Frog Gets a Loan

One day a frog went into a bank.The teller’s name was Miss Patty Whack. “ I want a loan” said the frog. Miss Whack replied, “ Well, we need proof of your identity and you will need to show us some collateral. Who are you and what do you have to show ?”

“Well, my name  is Hermit Jagger, and I have this” he replied, proudly pulling a pink china elephant out of his briefcase.

“ I will have to talk to the manager to authorise any loan for you”

Patty Whack went into the manager’s office. “ I have this frog, he wants a loan,  says  his name is Hermit Jagger, and this is what he has for security.  What is this and what do I do now”

The manager looked at Miss Whack, and said, very seriously.

“ It’s a nick knack, Patty Whack, give the frog a loan,

His old man’s a Rolling Stone”

Quotation of the day from Horace

Remember when life's path is steep

to keep your mind even.


Greetings from Jean