Weekly update

Full of new zeal for the blog, here is another update.

We are looking forward to a weekend of warm settled weather as a high slowly crosses. I have been teaching my Year 11 class about weather forecasting this week, and we have been watching this high as it formed over Tasmania. For a change it has reached us in time for the weekend. Often at this time of year we get into a pattern of lows at the weekend followed by highs on Mondays!

Last w/e was a 3 day one and marked the official start of the summer as Monday was Labour Day. The forecast was giving out rain for Sunday and Monday, so we went out for our fun on Saturday. I was actually crook on Saturday, with almost no voice and a thick cough. That wasn't going to stop us as we had an evening kayaking trip planned. We took off to Tokerau beach, because the swells were supposed to be small there and also because it tends to fish well in the evenings.

The plan was to set up 2 lines baited with 3 hooks and a big sinker on the end. Two fishing rods were set up on the beach with the line free to come off the spools. I put both weights into the rear hatch of the kayak and lightly screwed it down. Then I was pushed off into the surf to take the lines out. Even though it was very calm, it still took some effort to get out. The kayak is very wide and stable so takes some paddling to get moving. I was going all out trying to get beyond the breakers. I was encouraged by the shouting of the family back on the beach and kept going until I was in deep water. When it felt safe to turn round and see if I was far enough to drop the weights. Everyone was waving to me from the shore - what a great family I have - I thought - backing me up 100%!.

I looked at the hatch to remove the lid and got a jolt when i realised that it was not there any more. There were no lines in it either! I turned round and had an exhilarating ride back in, carried by the surf and getting tipped over as the wave shifted the kayak sideways.

Apparently one of the lines had got stuck on the reel and the operator (who shall remain nameless) had tugged the rod and pulled the hatch off. It was made from dense plastic and disappeared into the surf never to be seen again. So that was the end of the kayaking for that night. I have been trying to obtain a replacement hatch, because I definitely want to do it again. I might carry the weights differently next time!

We had hot chips for supper and that was a good night out. We went to a bbq on Sunday at the home of the Salvation Army captains - Helen and Bernie. As predicted, it rained a lot on Monday so we had a quiet day at home. That was our long weekend all over.

Family news: Stuart is getting ready for going to College. He brought home a guitar body from school tonight and is going to restring it. We finished off his chicken coop last week and put the cock in with the rescue hen. They seem to be getting on OK. She is a red hen from the battery farm. They sell them off in pretty poor condition when they are a year old. Our friends bought her but she was getting harassed by their chucks so she came to us as a refugee.

Eric is coming home with some good school results. He is learning German with Frau Schoffa and got 100% in a recent test. He is quite dedicated towards his work. He is currently trying to catch a possum that frequents our bottom field. It has been going into the live trap and removing the bait, without getting caught.

Patrick has whacked his elbow tonight and is looking a bit pale. This is the one that he broke recently. His mate Ruben is over for the w/e, so they are into all things pokemon. Patrick bid for and won an auction on Trademe for some Pokemon cards. He was very helpful in the garden for a week while earning the money to pay for them, but he seems to have tailed off since then.

Chantelle is out at her group tonight. She has been working in the Sally's shop this week, as they have been short staffed. She needs a new picture on here as she has acquired some hair straighteners and looks quite different.

That's about it apart from a bit of local news: they are doing up the main street of Kaitaia again, putting in new footpaths and benches. The local environmental business centre that employs 70 odd people in a variety of eco jobs celebrated its 20th birthday today.
National news: Rodney Hide is being questioned over his use of taxpayer money for taking his girlfriend on holiday to the Uk.

Til next week.

These pictures just show how desperate we were for meat on the camp. One night Mike, Stuart and his friend went possum shooting and only got a headchog. So we bake it in clay and ate it. Well what meat was actually on it. It tasted like crispy chicken but not nice chicken!

Spring pictures

Here is a long overdue post with a few recent pictures.
Sometimes we get so busy living life that there is no time to report on it. I find that my daily rhythm changes when the clocks change - there are possibilities for going out and playing after tea. The grass is growing fast and the garden needs planting. The boys are wanting to run around like little spring lambs (stretching the imagination there ..).
Anyway here are 5 pictures showing some recent activities.
Patrick and I went for a paddle on lake Ngatu last Sunday to test out a kayak that we had borrowed. We hope to do a more challenging sea trip this summer holiday. We found that it was uite difficult to capsize this kayak - we managed in the end, though and had some pracice at getting back in in calm water.
Eric went out shooting turkeys and between us we bagged another 4. They are more challenging than possums but easier than rabbits. Plus they carry a lot of free protein. There is no comparison between these genuinely free-range tureys that wander about the grasslands in mobs of 10-20 birds and the "free-range" birds that we occasionally ate in the UK.
Patrick went to the local soccer league prize giving yesterday. It started at the ungodly hour of 9am on a Saturday and went on quite a while. His coach gave alot of his free time for the weekly practice and the Saturday games. Thanks Darren. He has now moved away from the area ao we could not thank him in person. Patrick got a certificate for playing, plus a medal for winning the league and a trophy for something else. NZ is slowly switching on to soccer. It does not compete yet with rugby which is definitely the national game. But soccer is growing.
Finally the rest of the family are all very keen on the 2 lagomorphs - Minty and Peanut. I will let them tell the world about them.